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 designated for that art form. Schedules, fees, prerequisites for advanced classes … Continue reading →

Turquoise was thought to have been sacred pieces of the sky by Persians, Tibetans and Mayans. This stone is a combination of aluminum, copper, phosphorous, water and other local ingredients responsible for changing the color or adding matrix. The most rare and valuable stones are found right here, in the Southwest. There are about twenty mines in the Southwest United States that supply or have supplied gem quality turquoise. The most common mines are found in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. Most of these mines have been mined out with the exception of Nevada and a few in Arizona. … Continue reading →

One of the more interesting classes being offered through Sun Lakes Rock Gem and Silver class is Precious Metal Clay (PMC). No special tools are required and the results are only restricted only by the imagination of the students to transform a clay-like substance into any shape they desire. Under the tutelage of an instructor they learn to mold, texture and form the clay into jewelry and other small objects of decor. Once they are satisfied with the form, it is dried under heat to a leather-like texture. Then it is cleaned, trimmed and rough edges removed for the final … Continue reading →