Caps Off in Certaldo, Italy
Updated: 15 hours ago
I love working within the limits of a bottle cap. There’s only so much metal to work with, and I like deciding where to cut to keep an interesting graphic. To preserve the original color, I join the pieces without heat. I might choose a rivet or design a finding, depending on how I want the pieces to fit and the connection to look.
In October, I took some of those ideas to Certaldo, Italy, where Jennifer Wells hosted my two-day Caps Off workshop at her studio and gallery, Linea Art Studio. I arrived a day early to assemble material kits, prepare my demonstrations, and settle into the hilltop village. Each morning I walked to Il Castello for a cappuccino and croissant before heading to the studio. I wish I could start every studio day that way!
Two projects to get to know the material
I designed two earring projects to give everyone a chance to get familiar with the material before designing a piece of their own. We started with a pair of dangles made from two bottle caps, six sterling silver rivets, and sterling silver wire. Along the way, we covered how to remove that pesky plastic liner and how to flatten, cut, form, and rivet the metal.
The second project was a pair of hoops, which gave everyone more time to work with the material.
Making a piece of their own
After making both pairs, everyone used what they’d learned to design a piece of their own. Thomas made a pair of cone earrings with red dapped pieces set into the ends. Anne cut the centers out of several caps, then layered the rims and cut-out centers to make a necklace in red, yellow, and blue. Ellen used parts of a tin can to make a tutu brooch, a riff on her sculptural work. I spend a lot of time looking at bottle caps and tin cans in my own studio, and one of my favorite things about teaching with repurposed materials is seeing what catches someone else’s eye and where they take it.
After our first day in the studio, we walked a few steps to Il Castello for dinner. We shared a bottle (or two) of Cesani Vernaccia di San Gimignano. I ordered the special. I know, meatballs don’t sound very adventurous, but they were the best I’ve ever had, and I ate them before I got a photo! We finished with panna cotta.
Two days went quickly. With a small group, we had time to work closely and see what was happening at each bench. At the end of the second day, people from the community came into the studio to see what everyone had made and share a glass of wine.
Many thanks to Jennifer for inviting me to teach and making us feel at home in her studio, and to Ellen, Anne, and Thomas for their curiosity and good company in and out of class.
Left to right: Thomas Miskovic, Jennifer Wells, me, Anne Quattrini, and Ellen Carno.
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