Sandkühler Studio Newsletter

Oahu: Sept 2-8. We've got the classes lined up at The Bead Gallery on Oahu (Sept 2-8) and I'm looking forward to seeing familiar faces as well as new ones to accompany some exciting twists on several workshops. A quick run down: Fusing with Beads (square links), a flowery take on Hugs and Kisses, the ever popular Matchsticks and Torches (great way to become familiar with and practice using a torch), Hot Worked Chains: Fused, and for those students who relish a more complex project: The Ancient Double Loop-in-Loop which is also a fusing class. If you go to the calendar on my site, you can navigate to the workshop descriptions as well as The Bead Gallery's site to see their samples and register.

Maui: Sept 9-15. I'm offering Sheet Shapes at Maui's Community College (located across from Queen Ka'ahumanu Center) on Saturday the 13th, and am open for private lessons from the 9th-15th. First come first served/scheduled so contact me right away with your requests. Private lessons are still $25.00 per hour plus the materials/handout/use of tools fee listed in the individual workshop descriptions on my site: www.sandkuhler.com. If you are a fan of the Hui No'eau Center, be sure and mention my name to them (again and again) if you'd like to see me teach there.

Sign up for private lessons on Maui now in order to catch me before I leave September 1st.

I'll be participating again at Hooked on Wire in the Bay Area. Come say hi at the teacher's reception on Friday September 16th and I'll see you in class on Saturday night. I've got a special project that I cooked up just for this venue. Its three different versions of the Double Heart Link. If you go to my calendar, you'll find a link to their site.

You're invited to Adorna Bella in North Beach! In addition to the usual style of jewelry that I make, I'm focusing on a series of more figurative work by drawing (embossing) into copper and submerging the images in natural resin to create necklaces. The results are mysterious and whimsical pieces that I call the Champagne and Chocolate series. Preview them at: www.gallery33west.com/iris The drawing counterparts to this show are pen and inks of floating nudes set in landscapes. You can preview them at www.sandkuhler.smugmug.com

November 7-9th I'll be at a Ranch Retreat in Quincy California. When the Green Horn Ranch approached me about having a retreat at their great location in the mountains I took a special trip there to check it out. What a great inspiration! After photographing horses, saddles, horseshoe, a saloon, wreaths and still lifes made of western paraphernalia etc., I came up with a great image as a jumping off point to learn how to cut sheet metal. Besides my workshop, there will be loads of activities such as happy hour at the saloon, camp fire sing-along, line dancing, horse back riding, just to name a few. Contact me directly for minute by minute details and workshop enrollment, then contact Green Horn Ranch for your lodging reservation. Email me for a detailed itinerary.

While December is generally a slow month for workshop venues, I often get last minute folks asking for private lessons. No worries! If I'm in town I'm available so book me early. Whether you're Buddhist, Jewish, Pagan or a good Christian just looking for an excuse to get away from the relatives, I'll be here. Otherwise, I hope to run into you at one of many festive events around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sandkühler Studio

A couple of months later I taught at Vitec, the University of Hawaii's Community College. [It was a success and I'll be returning to the islands in September]. While on Maui, my sister (Hi Tina!) joined me from Germany to see Hawaii for the first time. We were planning to hike into the volcano Haleakala; a barren, moonscape filled with cinder cones, red, orange and brown sands, trails and infinite photo opportunities. During our week on the island, the park was first closed due to strong winds, then snow! No kidding. The emergency broadcast system warned people on the Big Island to seek sturdy shelter immediately due to golf ball sized hail. The day before we left Maui the snow turned to rain and we drove up Haleakala to check out the snow. The park was only open for a few hours but it was long enough for us to enjoy our first Hawaiian snow woman made by a local.

Travel teaching is one of my great loves and if I can't go somewhere physically I like to enjoy a close second: teaching students from all over the world via distance learning. It took a while but I finally finished the Diagonal Thai Weave lesson. Had to teach it a few times to get the bugs worked out and decide how many pre-requisites it required to keep it short and less expensive. It's available for purchase to return students who have taken Jumpin' for Jump Rings, Fused Loop Pendants and Stackable Rings, Hot Worked Chains Fusing and either Soldering with Beads or Beach Glass and Pebbles. Without these prerequisites and all their details, the Diagonal Thai Weave lesson won't make much sense.

If you've noticed a conspicuous lack of workshop bookings on my website calendar it's because I've had some technical challenges keeping it up to date. Actually I'm teaching and travel teaching quite a lot and am already booking up to the end of this year! Contact me at isandkuhler at yahoo dot com for a complete list of all the dates and places. I hope to have the website issues resolved soon. Meanwhile: the following are some of the highlights.

Upcoming Pen & Ink Figure Drawings, Jewelry Show and Related Workshops March 24th - April 9th. I just shipped out twenty pen and ink figure drawings to the Averitt Center for the Arts in Statesboro Georgia. I hope to be sending jewelry out within the next few days. At the end of this month, I'll be flying there to attend the opening as well as teaching related workshops at both the Averitt Center and the Huelsewiesche Studio. Besides all these fabulous activities I'm looking forward to seeing my southern buddies and black water kayaking on my days off.

Hawaii in the beginning of September. Maui students can find me at the University of Hawaii's Vitec program at the Maui Community College. I'll be teaching Sheet Shapes on Saturday the 13th. Also looking into teaching at The Bead Gallery on Oahu. Jamie and Jason said they are interested so Oahu students be sure and put in your workshop requests!

Green Horn Ranch. Late October or early November, four day weekend October sounds like a great season to go teach at a ranch! I'll be working with the horse motif and cutting techniques in jewelry. We are working out the itinerary right now and it looks pretty exciting with a Saloon, campfires, line dancing and of course: horses!

Finally; I am writing from a hotel room in Anchorage Alaska where I have returned to teach jewelry workshops again. The days are getting much longer and the snow is mixing with slush. I've been invited to go explore Barrow on the North Slope above the Arctic Circle. My hope is that we might see the Aurora and/or some polar bears. If not, it'll be cool to just see the northern most point of this country. Believe it or not, I will also investigate whether or not there are any opportunities to teach in this wild and rugged part of the world. There could be a lot of bored people (and spouses) there. Wish me luck and check out the blog on Beaducation's website for an update on how it went in Barrow. By-the-way Beaducation video taped me teaching The Viking Knit. It's currently being edited and should be available through their site within the next eight weeks.