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Jewelry Making Workshops at Historic Stifel Mansion

Create Beautiful Handmade Jewelry with Expert Instructors

Jewelry artists and aspiring jewelry artists now have a new, fully equipped studio in which to work. Oglebay Institute’s Stifel Fine Arts Center in Wheeling has expanded its jewelry making capabilities.

Funding from the Elizabeth Stifel Kline Foundation enabled OI to transform a large area in the Stifel Center basement to a studio devoted entirely to this art. New materials and equipment will broaden the array of opportunities available for students of all levels.

Five jewelry-making workshops are on the OI winter schedule of classes. They take place on select Saturdays, January through March.

Workshops explore jewelry making techniques using Precious Metal Clay (PMC) and other materials. Newly purchased tools enable students of all skill levels the opportunity to use techniques in soldering, metalsmithing, enameling and polishing to create amazing pieces of handmade jewelry.

Experienced jewelry artists Sandi Ziolkowski and Donna Penoyer will lead the workshops. Beginner students can follow along in a step-by-step format while more advanced students can create their own designs.

Jewelry Making Workshop Schedule

Stacking Gemstone Rings
Noon-4pm Saturday, January 14 ($75/$69 OI members)
Create three gemstone rings in sterling silver while you learn to size, solder, set stones and finish. Sandi Ziolkowski instructs. Register here.

Jewelry Making at the Stifel Fine Arts Center

Sterling Silver Wire Bracelet
Noon-4pm Saturday, January 28 ($75/$69 OI members)
Learn to solder silver wire easily while you texture, hammer, stamp and assemble components of your own design. Sandi Ziolkowski instructs. Register here.

Designing with Domes in PMC
10am-5:30pm Saturday, February 11 ($110/$95 OI members)
Precious Metal Clay (PMC) is an amazing material that’s worked like clay and fired to pure silver. Learn to texture and form domed circles or join dried domes to make hollow beads and layered designs. Donna Penoyer instructs. Register here.

Jewelry Making at the Stifel Fine Arts Center

Hammered Gemstone Earrings
Noon-4pm Saturday, February 18 ($75/$69 OI members)
Learn metalsmitihing techniques like soldering while setting gemstones, filing and finishing to design your own special earrings. Sandi Ziolkowski instructs. Register here.

Sterling Silver Stamped Cuff Bracelet
Noon-4pm Saturday, March 4 ($75/$69 OI members)
Solder, stamp, hammer and polish to create a wearable bracelet of your own design. Sandi Ziolkowski instructs. Register here.

Jewelry Making at the Stifel Fine Arts Center

All materials are provided. Classes are open to ages 14 & up. To register, by phone call 304-242-7700.

Click here for a complete listing of upcoming classes and workshops at the Stifel Fine Arts Center

Oglebay Institute’s Stifel Fine Arts Center is located at 1330 National Road in
Wheeling, West Virginia.

About Our Art Classes

OI’s visual arts classes, workshops and summer camps introduce the many ways to explore visual expression as well as the knowledge and tools with which to do so. Topics range from painting and pottery to contemporary media like digital photography to traditional crafts like woodworking and stained glass. Our classes provide the flexibility to build skills session after session, supportive learning environments and individualized attention.

Programs are available for all age levels – preschoolers, elementary students, teens, adults and seniors. Our youth classes and summer camps nurture the natural talents of kids and provide a venue outside of a school classroom to develop artistic expression and creative thinking. Our adult classes provide opportunities to try a new hobby, explore new interests or engage in an artistic passion. Advanced courses allow seasoned artists the opportunity to further their skills and reach their artistic goals.

 

 

 

The Gallery At Towngate Hosts First Friday Events Jan. 6

Railroad Exhibit, Reception, Short Films & Improv Jan. 6

Join us from 5:30-9:30 p.m. January 6 for First Friday events at The Gallery at Towngate!

View the current exhibit on display.  Railroad photographer Frederick J. Ripley is the featured artist. In addition, you can go upstairs to the theater and watch a series of short films by independent filmmakers from across the country.  Film shorts will be playing on a loop. So, you can come and go at your leisure. Afterwards, Towngate’s improv group, the Left of Centre Players, takes the stage.

All events are free and open to the public.

“Appalachian and Allegheny Mountain Railroading: A Photographic Essay by Frederick J. Ripley”

The exhibit features photographs of American railroading, taken between 1988 and 2015.  These dramatic images include scenes from Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.  An exhibit guide describes each photo.

For nearly 30 years, Ripley has created almost 50,000 images of American railroads, taken in 20 states.

Ripley uses his material to create exhibits around a theme and presentations that illustrate a particular section of a railroad.  Supported by historical material such as timetables, maps and schedules, his presentations offer an interesting and educational look at the subject in its historic, economic and geographic context.

Ripley has a keen interest in history, combined with a love of the outdoors and regional geography. His style of photography not only presents scenes of modern railroading in the context of history and tradition but also illustrates the railroad’s evolving interaction with its environment.

Ripley’s exhibit is on display at The Gallery at Towngate through February 28.

First Friday Fun!  Have a Drink on Us!

Enjoy a glass of wine or craft beer. Have some light refreshments, too. The event is free and open to the public.

Whether you are out with the family, on a date or enjoying a night out with friends, stop by Towngate Theatre.  Enjoy the art, film, reception and improv. Meet our staff, too.  Most of all, explore our theater. You’ll discover more about all the arts and entertainment events that take place here year-round.

Improv at Towngate

The Gallery at Towngate

Towngate Theatre is well known in Wheeling and its surrounding communities for community theater productions, children’s theater, concerts, ballet, film screenings, spoken word and other performing arts events.  But did you know that Towngate is also an art gallery?  The theater lobby is now home to changing art exhibits.

The Gallery at Towngate is an extension of the exhibit season hosted by Oglebay Institute’s Stifel Fine Art Center and aims to combine visual arts with performing arts and cinema.

The Gallery at Towngate enhances the growing Centre Market District, and it helps attract more art enthusiasts to events in the area such as First Fridays.

About Towngate

Oglebay Institute purchased the Zion Lutheran Church in Centre Wheeling in 1969. Extensive renovations transformed the historic church into a performing arts center.  The community enjoys hundreds of live performances, films and classes and workshops year-round.

Constructed in 1850, Towngate is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.