Thomas mann jewelry classes
Thomas Mann: Design Vocabulary
In this lesson, students will view the jewelry and sculptural forms of Thomas Mann. Students will consider how Mann produces his work, and how he goes about transmitting messages in his work. Through a collaborative activity, students will create a design vocabulary upon which all students can draw in order to create a sculptural form that transmits a personal message.
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Maybe I can actually invent a design system, whereby I make objects that appear to be found. Maybe I could develop, what I call a design vocabulary, that could be infinitely mutate-able…
– Thomas Mann
LESSON OVERVIEW
Grade Level: 8-12
Estimated Time: Five to seven 45 minute class periods
Background Information
Thomas Mann is an artist who works in the medium of jewelry and sculpture. The primary design vocabulary that he employs in the making of jewelry objects combines industrial aesthetics and materials with evocative romantic themes and imagery. He calls this design system Techno Romantic. Though it is not the only design mode in which he works, it is the one for which he and his work is best known.
Key Concepts
- Artists can create their own design vocabulary and then manipulate the “vocabulary” to build meaning.
- Artists transmit messages.
- Used together, multiple symbols affect the meaning of the whole.
Critical Questions
- What is a design vocabulary?
- In what ways do artists transmit messages?
- Must the message received by the viewer of an art object be the message intended by the artist?
Objectives
Students will:
- View the jewelry and sculptural work of Thomas Mann.
- Create a design vocabulary.
- Utilize this design vocabulary to create a sculptural form with a message.
- Contribute ideas to the group.
- Construct a sculptural form.
Vocabulary
Symbolism, personal adornment, cold connection
Interdisciplinary Connection
Language Arts
National Standar Thomas Mann has been making a living as a contemporary American metalsmith and jewelry designer for 48 years, but really learned jewelry making 7 years before becoming a professional in a pivotal high school jewelry semester. Subsequently he became an apprentice with two different professional silversmiths in his hometown of Allentown PA. During the summer of 1968 he opened his first shop in East Stroudsburg in the Pocono Mountains and then a year later opened Solar Wind Silversmiths in Stone Harbor NJ, but he counts the start of his professional career as of his graduation from college in 1970. Since then he has employed over 600 people, 450 of whom were trained to make jewelry in his burgeoning business. Thirty of them are now competing professionals themselves. Additionally he has been teaching his Design for Survival™ – Entrepreneurial Thinking and Tactics for Artists workshops, since its invention for a workshop at Penland School for Craft in North Carolina in 1989, and somewhere in the world every year since, in both long and short forms. He gave this workshop in Hobart, Tasmania in 2015 and again, in 2017 at Penland. Many of the participants in these workshops have then launched their own professional practices based on the experience they had with Tom. ✓A Knitting Event Like No Other—Right at Home! Join us April 3-5, 2025, for the Interweave @Home Summit—a 3-day virtual experience packed with expert-led workshops, hands-on demos, and real-time Q&A! Plus, get 30 days of video access to revisit every technique at your own pace. This exhibition is supported by the generous donors of the Annual Exhibitions Fund. Thomas Mann, an icon of the American Craft Jewelry movement, a full-time practicing professional artist for over 45 years, describes himself as an artist working in the medium of jewelry and sculpture. He works with a variety of metals, thinking of them as painters think of their palettes — Each metal having its own color and luster. Inspired by parts from machines, electronic instruments, costume jewelry, and old postcards & photos, Mann’s recurring but always changing parts give his work its storytelling quality and theatricality. He calls this design vocabulary, which combines industrial aesthetics and materials with evocative themes and romantic imagery, "Techno-Romantic". Thomas Mann developed Techno.Romantic after years of experimenting with the idea of incorporating 20th-century collage and assemblage techniques into jewelry making — Attempting to humanize technology and provide raw material and inspiration for our imaginations. Thomas Mann lives and works in Uptown New Orleans where he oversees a jewelry design and production studio and gallery.
How do you like to learn? More than half of my career has been writing about jewelry making and other crafting, including many step-by-step tutorials and crafty projects. It was the way I liked to learn, too, so I suppose it came naturally to me. As the internet grew greater and new ways of learning came into being, first video and then online classes and webinars became the way to learn. Most of what I know about metalsmithing, however, I learned in Lexi Erickson’s fabulously appointed studio with her real-life sweet self helping me every step of the way, and I truly love taking classes at Bead Fest and other jewelry events, even when it’s a technique I might already know, just because I want to learn from a particular teacher. So all of this got me to wondering how you like to learn, and that led me to the realization that no matter how you like to learn–print and digital books, video downloads and physical DVDs, online classes and webinars, and live classes–we’ve got you covered! That makes me happy. For example, take metalsmithing in general, sawing in particular. Thomas Mann is an extraordinary metal and found-object jewelry artist who teaches via live classes, books, videos, and online classes or webinars. No matter how you want to learn sawing, you can learn from an expert like Thomas–in the comfort of your home, in the park, in a coffee shop, or at a jewelry event like Bead Fest. You can also learn in this blog 😉 Here are six tips on metalsmithing and sawing in particular, from Thomas Mann, collected from all of his various educational offerings. 1. The Myth of LubricationThis one stunned me, and I’m glad t Material Exploration: Jewelry Workshop with Thomas Mann