Rebel Gold: Keum-boo (Gold and Silver) on Steel with Bette Barnett: Nov. 8 & 9

Keum Boo on steel delivers a dramatic punch unlike the more subtle effect of Keum Boo on silver. While silver offers a soft, subtle shimmer, steel brings drama and creates a bold contrast that makes the gold glow with an almost electric intensity. The effect is edgy, modern, and unapologetically powerful. In this two-day workshop you will discover the magic of Keum Boo on steel.

You’ll also learn to use the Keum Boo technique to bond fine silver foil, a budget-friendly alternative to the escalating cost of gold. Keum Boo works brilliantly on steel, offering exciting new creative possibilities. In fact, steel has major advantages: it doesn’t require depletion gilding and there is no risk of melting the metal while burnishing the foil.

• Prepare steel for Keum Boo bonding (including newly discovered technique to improve bonding)
• Roll and prepare your own fine gold or silver foil
• Cut and handle delicate foil designs with precision
• Bond gold and silver foil to steel using a torch and tabletop kiln
• Choose and use the right burnishers, brushes, and tools
• Repair breaks and tears in foil
• Apply patinas to create rich colors, including deep inky black
• Seal your finished piece for lasting protection
• Incorporate Keum Boo into your jewelry designs
  

As a special feature of this workshop, the instructor will share a new technique that she
developed for bonding gold and silver leaf flakes. Whether you're new to Keum Boo or
experienced with it on silver, this workshop will open an entirely new chapter in your practice.

Although the focus of the workshop is on learning techniques, you’ll have ample time complete at least one finished piece of jewelry — and gain the skills to keep exploring.

Skill level requirement: Students should be comfortable using a torch and should possess basic metal working skills, such as sawing, filing, drilling and forming. Students should be knowledgeable about safe practices in a jewelry studio.

Materials fee: $15 payable to Silver Peak Studio for studio supplies and Student Kit is $85 paid to instructor during class and includes:

• One mild steel sheet—20-gauge, 12” x “12
• 24k gold foil 2” x 2” sheet—highest quality foil
• Japanese silver foil 4” square sheet
• Shared supplies: prorated cost included in kit fee:
  o Shofu silicon fine abrasive wheels
  o Patinas—gun bluing and Japanese Brown
  o Metal wax for sealing jewelry
  o Daubers for applying patinas
• Optional—available for purchase during workshop: 100mg 24k gold and silver leaf
  flakes.
  

Details:

• November 8 & 9 from 9:30-5:30 each day. You must be able to attend both days as no makeups will be given.
• 16 contact hours, held in the Silver Peak Jewelry Arts studio classroom located at 100.5 E. Cleveland St. Lafayette, CO 80026.
• # students: 4 minimum, 6 maximum

The last day to cancel for a refund or credit ($25 transfer fee applies) is September 8, 2025. Because this is a Master Series workshop, there are no exceptions to this rule.

By registering for this workshop, you agree to our cancellation policy, dress code, and studio rules.

About the instructor, Bette Barnett

Bette is an authority on steel jewelry and actively explores new techniques in this area. She began her jewelry career in 2010 and started studying the steel/gold fusing process in 2013.  Bette has continued to focus on steel as a productive metal for jewelry. She has developed or refined many innovative techniques for creating steel jewelry, including Keum Boo on steel, fusing alternative metals to steel, fusing powdered metals to steel, working with non-traditional forms such as perforated steel sheet and woven mesh and, most recently, painting with powdered metals.

Bette has published articles in Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist and MJSA Journal. Her book Creating Steel Jewelry, published by Artisan Ideas in September 2024, is a comprehensive how-to guide for all metalsmiths, including jewelers, bladesmiths and blacksmiths who want to venture into new areas.