karen.wollscheid@gmail.com – Sun Lakes Rock Gem & Silver Club

April 2022 – Gourd Awards!

Standing: John Perkins, 1st Place Carving; Karen Wollscheid, 2nd Place Coloring Techniques, and 2nd Place Functional Art; JoAnn Vail, 2nd Place Masks; Ruth Rogolino, 1st Place Bowls/Containers; Ginger Johnson, 2nd Place Mixed Media. Seated: Barbara Thompson, 2nd Place Sculpture; Susan Conner, 1st Place–Sculpture and Sponsor’s Choice Novice Division. AWARDS! GOURDS! EXPLORED! AWARDS: Seven members of the Sun Lakes Rock, Gem & Silver Club entered their Gourd Art in the 2022 Arizona Gourd Society’s Gourd Art Competition & Show, and brought home eight ribbons. Gourds can be crafted for any number of things: this year’s entries included a votive candle holder, vase, … Continue reading →

Flash from the Past

by Cathy Porter Appeared in the Sun Lakes “Splash”, June 2021 The SLRGS Club has been around an exceptionally long time. Opal M. Rickensrud was the Secretary of the Club in 1984. This a great article written by her in the Splash in April 1984. She is an entertaining writer. Makes for some fun reading. She starts by telling how a guest speaker from the National Treasure Hunters League located in Apache Junction whose subject is Metal Detectors spoke to the Club. How metal detecting sounds like a great hobby for people “our age – not too strenuous”. Do people still do that? Sounds interesting. … Continue reading →

May 2021 – Artist Linda Murray

by Cathy Porter Appeared in the Sun Lakes “Splash”, May 2021 Who does not love jewelry? Imagine designing and making your own unique one-of-a-kind pieces. Shown below are some of the gorgeous pieces made by Linda Murray. The lapis lazuli pendant is a piece you can learn to make in the silver one class. A bezel is cut to fit the stone and then soldered to the backing. These stones are cabochons. You can learn to make them in lapidary class at the Club. The design for the copper pendant with a silver tree scene is cut with a coping … Continue reading →

April 2021 – Artist Jan Meyers

by Cathy Porter Appeared in the Sun Lakes “Splash”, April 2021 Delicious free time! What does an artistic and creative person find to fill their time with! Jan Meyers retired from a career in finance and travel in 2010 and was looking for something to grab her interest. She found an outlet for her creativity in glass of all kinds. And she discovered the wonderful opportunities to do this at the Sun Lakes Rock Gem and Silver Club. Her first course was in mosaics and she was hooked. She followed up with classes in stained and fused glass. In her … Continue reading →

Gorgeous Glass

Discover the world of gorgeous glass at the Sun Lakes Rock Gem and Silver Club. No need for previous experience as the club offers wonderful instructions in many types of glass. Glass has been used since Ancient Greek and Roman times. Notably stained glass to depict religious scenes in churches, etc. SLRGS offers three types of glass classes. Stained glass is cold glass. It involves cutting and combining different colored glass and textures. Then using copper foiling and soldering techniques to bind the pieces together. Fused glass which is warm glass involved using a kiln. The glass is fired at … Continue reading →

March 2021 – Artist Fred Jonasz

by Linda Shanahan Appeared in the Sun Lakes “Splash”, March 2021 The motivation to take up residence in Sun Lakes, like most, was avoiding winter weather and in Fred’s case the hospitality of the Oakwood Murphy’s, relatives whom they frequently visited in AZ. Fred and his wife Gelene have been Snowbirds for 14 years; their permanent residence is Arlington, VA. Fred grew up n Queens, NY where he avoided truancy by attending all required public schools and then onto New York University where he earned a BA degree in Economics. Mandatory Military Service, better known as the “Draft” was in … Continue reading →

Classes in a Variety of Art Forms

by Linda Shanahan Appeared in the Sun Lakes “Splash”, March 2021 The Sun Lakes Rock Gem and Silver Club is more than just Rocks, Gems and Silver. We offer classes in a variety of art forms. This month we highlight four unique classes that might be of interest to you. PMC (METAL CLAY) is an alternative to working in lost wax or silversmithing. The metal clay is available in silver, copper and bronze. The metal clay product is rolled out, textured, molded into a piece and embellished before firing in a kiln. Once the binder is burned out in the … Continue reading →

February 2021 – Artist Don Hall

by Linda Shanahan Appeared in the Sun Lakes “Splash”, February 2021 Don Hall was born in California where he met and married his wife Pat. He is the father of three children. He previously resided eight years in Nevada and thirteen in Oregon. Don has spent the last 28 years in Arizona. He retired after thirty-eight years as an estimator/project manager in heavy construction. He and Pat enjoy music, photography and exploring historical sites. Over the years they have collected rocks at gem shows and rock shops; he now incorporates these findings into art and jewelry. After joining the SLRGS … Continue reading →

The Heart of the Club

by Linda Shanahan Appeared in the Sun Lakes “Splash”, February 2021 Here is what’s happening and how you can get involved. Classes are offered in a variety of skills including lapidary, lost wax, stained glass, dichroic glass, silversmithing, wire wrapping, faceting, opals, gourds and Ming trees just to mention a few. We invite you to join our club and participate in one or more of these classes. You need no background in art, just a willingness to try something new. Once you successfully complete a class you are eligible to pay a small fee and work in the open shop … Continue reading →

January 2021 – Artist Henry Huss

by Linda Shanahan Appeared in the Sun Lakes “Splash”, January 2021 A Hobby or A Labor of Love? Forty-five years ago, Henry joined an adult class in basic stained glass; nothing complicated, simply enjoying each other’s company. He went on to take other classes taught by experts in their field. One classes was wood framing where he developed the skill of making 18th century ship models from scratch. After finishing his 12th master level model (some taking him 12 months to complete) he moved on to other hobbies. Henry William Huss was born in the fall of 1933 in … Continue reading →

Sun Lakes Rock Gem & Silver Club

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