Jewelry Making Workshop with Asian Elements

Explore the beauty and meaning of Asian artistic traditions through a hands-on jewelry-making workshop. Drawing inspiration from diverse cultures across Asia, this session introduces participants to key design elements such as symbolic motifs, color systems, and traditional materials—from jade and metalwork to textile-based embellishments.

Alongside this cultural exploration, participants will be introduced to the fundamentals of contemporary metalsmithing. Jewelry-making is a precise and intricate craft, and this workshop offers a beginner-friendly entry point into essential techniques such as sawing, filing, and basic texturing. Rather than focusing purely on technical mastery, the session is designed to balance cultural context with hands-on making, making it ideal for beginners and jewelry enthusiasts alike.

The workshop will also include a brief introduction to traditional Chinese jewelry, offering insight into its historical forms, meanings, and aesthetic language. Building on this foundation, participants will be guided through a simplified contemporary jewelry-making process, with step-by-step instruction to design and create their own wearable piece.

All tools and basic materials (including copper and brass) will be provided. Participants who wish to work with silver or other metals may either bring their own materials or purchase them for an additional fee. Due to the nature of the workshop, advanced processes such as soldering, casting, or complex stone setting (e.g., micro-setting or prong setting) will not be included.

Please note that this workshop involves the use of various hand tools. Participants must be at least 12 years old; minors are required to attend with a guardian.

By the end of the session, each participant will complete one finished piece—such as a ring, pendant, bracelet, or necklace—while gaining a deeper appreciation for both traditional and contemporary jewelry practices. This workshop encourages creativity, cultural curiosity, and personal storytelling through wearable art.

Xiao Qin is a multidisciplinary artist and designer based between Chicago and Beijing. Her practice is rooted in material storytelling and cross-cultural dialogue, navigating the intersections of tradition and innovation shaped by her lived experiences in China and the United States.

Working across ceramics, jewelry, and mixed-media installations, Xiao Qin explores themes of memory, heritage, and transformation. Whether designing a teapot that tells a story or crafting jewelry that bridges past and present, she approaches making as a dynamic exchange—between material and maker, tradition and experimentation, memory and transformation. For her, the studio becomes a site of reflection and dialogue, where inherited techniques meet contemporary inquiry.

Each piece emerges through an attentive and intentional process, carrying layers of personal narrative and cultural resonance. Through her work, Xiao Qin invites viewers to slow down and consider how objects hold history, embody care, and continue evolving in meaning across generations and geographies.