Weekly Instructors
Founding instructor Raychel Wengenroth is an artisan member of The Society of American Silversmiths (www.silversmithing.com) and is a nationally recognized artist who has completed commissions for Oprah, LJ duPont and the Bob Hope “Humana Award”, among others. She has taught at: The Woodstock Guild, Mill Street Loft, Silvermine School of Art, Brookfield Craft Center, Wesleyan Potters, Farmington Valley Arts Center, The Connecticut School of Jewelry Arts and Southern Connecticut State University in Connecticut; Fletcher Farm in Vermont; Pennsylvania Society of Goldsmiths in Pennsylvania, Peters Valley and the Art School at Old Church in New Jersey.
She has also run a successful wholesale jewelry and giftware business selling to over 100 accounts in the US and abroad. She began teaching in order to train potential employees and found a second career. She maintains her studio work with commissions, repairs, restorations, limited edition and one-of-a-kind pieces.
Website: www.raychelwengenroth.com
Workshop Instructors
Charles Lewton-Brain learned and worked in Germany, Canada and the United States. His work is concerned with nature and structure. His jewelry and research into compositional systems for metal working has been published internationally. He invented and disseminated foldforming, a system of working sheet metal new to the field. Charles received Canada’s highest honor for Craft, The Saidye Bronfman Governor Generals Award. He co-founded the Ganoksin.com Project with Dr. Hanuman Aspler in 1996, now the worlds largest educational website for jewelers. He has over 1000 pages of his writing there.
Website:
Stephanie Maddelena has a BA in fine arts and has been lampworking since 1994 after a workshop with Kate Fowle Meleney launched her addiction to molten glass.
Lissa Queeney studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Upon graduation she earned the Jewelry Design Award from Van Cleef & Arpels. After a summer in Europe she returned to work as a designer at Van Cleef & Arpels Atelier on Fifth Avenue followed by the position of bench jeweler creating Van Cleef & Arpels work at Georges Peyrot, Inc..
She was a co-owner of the retail/wholesale jewelry company Spirit of Two who sold their work to galleries and stores across the United States. They maintained a gallery and studio in the Rondout section of Kingston after moving the business up from the meatpacking district in Manhattan.
Lissa has worked for a handful of noted designers creating their one-of-a-kind, and models for production. She currently maintains a studio making jewelry and housewares. Gold, silver precious and semi-precious gems are incorporated into her work which includes bridal, commissions and one-of-a-kind pieces.
Website: www.queeneydesign.squarespace.com
Christine Eschbach studied traditional metalsmithing with Lisa Gralnik and John Cogswell at Parsons School of Design. Christine went on to explore a newly created (at the time) material, Precious Metal Clay, under the guidance of Celie Fago. Bridging the gap between traditional and modern metalsmithing techniques has been, and continues to be her creative passion.
Website: www.westand28.com