[Jewelry making - Article 00219] - Re: [Orchid] Jeweler's former lives

[Paul D. Reilly]

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    I started my career search headed towards being a veterinarian. 

    In early high school I worked with my family vet on small animals
    (dogs, cats, etc.), but owned some exotic pets (snakes, iguanas, tagu
    lizard, etc.); which, at the time, were very foreign to most vets. My
    family vet sent me to the only zoo vet in Bufallo, NY and I started
    working with him and working at the local SPCA; where I was dubbed
    the "cat-man" and was also given the job of caring for the unusual
    critters we received or confiscated (bats, oppossums, raccoons,
    hawks, honeybears, monkeys, and more). With both Dr. McBride's and
    Dr. McClelland's assistance, I got into a pre-vet/ veteranarian
    assisting program in Delhi, NY. I graduated from that program ( 2
    year AAS degree) and also took the exams to become a Registered NY
    State Medical Technologist; I got certified in haematology,
    microbiology, histology, urinology, and parasitology. I then went on
    to continue my 4 year pre-vet work at SUNY Oneonta and took an
    elective course to fufill my distribution requirements. 

    That elective coarse was fate. I had a choice of art, theater, or
    music and felt uncompelled toward either of the last two categories.
    I looked throught the art choices and saw Jewelry and Metalsmithing 1
    in the list of classes with no prerequesites. Having seen my best
    friend duing my youth cut cabs and make simple jewelry for them with
    silver wire using his dad's torch; I decided to try this class. I was
    intrigued by how fluid solids like brass and silver could be; how
    something so hard in its beginning and final forms could be made to
    act like plastic using the correct approaches. I was so enthused by
    this new found play (a great diversion from the mental rigors of
    physics, calculus, organic and physical chemistry, and the other
    "killer" coarses of a Bio/Pre-Med cuuriculum); that I took both of
    the offered higher level coarses and changed my workstudy assignment
    from the Bio. Dept. to working in the jewelry studio: setting up the
    daily labs for the classes and watching over any after hours work to
    assure safety and to shut the studio down after students were done
    for the night. I set-up independant study coarses with my instructor
    (thank-you Don Johnson) to continue learning about new areas of
    jewelry making such as electroforming, putting on an invitational
    show of SNAG artists, raising and repousse, and small run production
    work. Mr. Johnson allowed me to teach the beginning jewelry classes a
    lot of different techniques (Hi, Andy), which really bolstered my
    metalworking confidence. I eventually changed my major to Studio Art
    and graduated with a BA in Art, with a minor in chemistry. (The only
    art student taking Physial Chemistry at the time). 

    My first job after graduation was for a well established (75 years
    in business) jewelry store in my college town. I worked there as
    their bench jeweler until the ownwers' divorce and alcohol habits
    made staying a shakey proposition. I opened up my own custom and
    repair retail business and worked that through the next three years
    in Oneonta and a one year stint in New Jersey. Circumstances brought
    me to Colorado, where, after 1st working at a local store as their
    master goldsmith/ purchasing agent, I set up business selling only
    wholesale to the trade as a custom/ restoration supplier. That was
    1985 and I am still doing the same work for clients in 9 states
    today; an area (of study) I decided would give me the best
    opportunity to experience the most variety of materials, techniques,
    and work styles. 

    I am just now toying with venturing a new path of doing my own work
    again; combining all of those absosrbed skills with my new found
    passion for computer aided design to produce one-of-a-kind work for
    show and retail sales. We'll see where I go with that tought sometime
    in the future. 

Paul D. Reilly (in-finally warm and sunny-Colorado).
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