One of the important benefits of belonging to an Eastern Federation club is the opportunity to attend the two federation-sponsored Workshops at Wildacres. Imagine being able to spend a week totally immersed in the joys of our hobby - no interruptions from television, news, traffic, or worries.  The setting is an idyllic mountain top retreat where you are well fed and cared for and you can take classes in many aspects of the hobby - lapidary, jewelry making, mineralogy, etc.  There is such a place and it's called Wildacres.  What is Wildacres? Wildacres Retreat is a conference center offering its facilities to nonprofit groups that conduct educational or cultural programs and seminars. It is a true retreat, undisturbed by through traffic or noises of the city. Wildacres was dedicated in 1946, by I.D. and Madolyn Blumenthal, of Charlotte, NC, to the improvement of human relations and interfaith dialogue. Since 1972, Wildacres has operated as a public foundation. Wildacres is situated on 1600 acres at an elevation of 3,300 feet atop a mountain called Pompey's Knob, near the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is halfway between Asheville and Blowing Rock in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. The primary support of Wildacres comes from its own resources and The Blumenthal Foundation. Wildacres receives gifts from individuals, businesses and foundations interested in the philosophy and programs that are held there. The EFMLS sponsors two annual mineral, lapidary and jewelry-making workshops at Wildacres each year. Each session lasts for one week during which classes are given in areas such as Mineral Identification, Cabochon Making, Faceting, Soapstone Carving, Chain Making, Wire-wrapping and Wirecraft Jewelry, Precious Metal Clay, Lost Wax Casting, Intarsia, Micromounting, Geology and Pewter Fabrication. We also offer a course in Certified Judging and Exhibiting for those interested in improving their display cases or becoming judges. We are so pleased to be able to have two wonderful sessions planned again this year.  We hope that you and your fellow club members will join us at one of these wonderful sessions held at Wildacres, a special place in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Spring Dates:  April 18 - 24, 2008 Fall Dates:  September 8 - 14, 2008 What are the Requirements and Costs? Workshop attendance is open to any active member of a Club or Society that is a member of the Eastern Federation. Individuals from the other Federations may attend on a space-available basis. All registration forms (except staff) MUST have 4 class choices listed, in the order of preference.  Enrollees will be placed in the classes, as registration forms are received and once a class is full, the next chosen class with openings, will be assigned. Fees for the 2008 sessions of Wildacres are $330 per person. This fee includes room, board and classroom instruction. Most classes will also charge a nominal fee to cover materials and supplies. The week at Wildacres is divided into two parts or "semesters". Students take one class lasting either the full week (4-days) or two different classes lasting 2-days each. The day between "semesters" is a day set aside to allow participants to explore the region, participate in an old-fashioned tailgate session and relax. Each Wildacres Workshop also features an expert in residence who gives daily talks about a variety of topics in his field of interest.  The speaker for the April session will be Alfredo Petrov  a mineralogist who was born in England, raised in Bolivia and lived in Japan.  The speaker for the September session will be announced at a later date. These experts live on campus, often attend classes and interact with Workshop participants throughout the session. If you would like to obtain a short CD about the EFMLS Wildacres Workshops, send an e-mail to:   cscrystals2@verizon.net> giving the name and postal address to which the program is to be sent and the name of your club.  The program is free for the asking and an ideal way of sharing Wildacres with your club members. For a printable copy of the Wildacres registration form, click here. Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the above file. To download a color brochure on the EFMLS Workshops at Wildacres (two pages) click below: Page 1 - Page 2 The above requires Acrobat Reader, you may download the current version free of charge at: (click on acrobat button above) Wildacres 2008 Spring Dates: April 18 - 24 Speaker in Residence will be Alfredo Petrov CLASS INSTRUCTOR DESCRIPTION Faceting Steve Weinberger Students will learn to cut and polish a 57 facet standard round brilliant gemstone.  In addition,  they will learn how to identify well-cut stones, select rough material and see whether or not you they enjoy this fascinating aspect of the hobby.  4-day class. No prior experience needed. Cabochons John Milligan Students will learn to cut and polish cabochons. This course will prepare students for Cabochons / Intarsia. 2-day class offered 1st semester.  No experience necessary. Cabochons/Instarsia John Milligan Intarsia is the gemstone version of marquetry.   Students will learn how to take stones of different colors and patterns, glue them together and then cut and polish them to form a cabochon intarsia. 4-day class.  No previous experience needed. Exhibiting & Judging B. Jay Bowman Take an in depth look at the AFMS Uniform Rules and how they apply to exhibits that you may wish to prepare.   4-day class.  No prior experience needed. Chain Making - Intro John Fetvedt Students will learn chain making from raw wire to finished jewelry including selecting the wire gauge, jump ring size, making jump rings, weaving the chain and polishing the completed piece.  2-day class offered 1st semester.  No prior experience needed. Chain Making - Adv. John Fetvedt Students will move beyond the basics into the realm of complex chains, learning how to form, cut, solder, fuse, deform rings to make "units" which are then linked together to make creative chain jewelry.  2-day class offered 2nd semester.  Pre-requisite:  Basic chain making skills. Geology - I Rob Robinson An introduction to geologic processes, structure of the earth, geologic time and tectonics.  2-day class offered 1st semester.  No prior experience needed. Geology - II Rob Robinson Discussion and study of how rocks tell geologic history related to formation, climate deformation, and sequence and timing of events as well as an examination of geologic environments hosting minerals and gems.  Weather permitting, there will be a field trip to examine local geology and rock types.  2-day class offered 2nd semester.  Some knowledge of basic geology preferred. Fused Glass - Basic Becky Edmundson Fused glass is the art of cutting and layering pieces of glass and then firing them in a kiln. Dichroic-coated glass gives a 3-D look. Students will learn the basics of cutting and firing the glass and will complete at least 2 pieces of jewelry. Please bring safety glasses. If you own them, please bring a glass cutter and breaking pliers. 2-day class offered 1st semester.  No prior experience needed. Fused Glass - Advanced Becky Edmundson Students will learn to use a wet saw to cut shapes, a grinder to smooth the glass and a jeweler's bit to cut a channel in the piece before it is fire polished in a kiln. You should expect to complete a minimum of 2 finished pieces. Please bring safety glasses. If you own them, please bring a glass cutter and breaking pliers. 2-day class offered 2nd semester.  No prior experience needed. Gem Trees - Basic Suzy Milligan Using gold-filled wire and tiny stone chips, students will learn how to create attractive life-like miniature trees.  2-day class offered 1st semester offered 1st semester.  No prior experience needed. Gem Trees - Intermediate Suzy Milligan A continuation of Gem Trees - Basic with an emphasis on advanced techniques.  2-day class offered 2nd semester. Basic gem tree skills recommended. Photography of Small Mineral Specimens Bruce Gaber Students will learn how to set up, light and photograph small mineral specimens to show off their beauty. 2-day class offered 1st semester.  No prior experience needed. Photography of Gems & Jewelry Bruce Gaber Students will learn how to set up, light and photograph gemstones and jewelry to show off their beauty. 2-day class offered 2nd semester.  No prior experience needed. Silver Casting Fred Sias In this class you will learn how to create a wax model for a piece of jewelry, then how to turn it into a wonderful, wearable, object by casting it in silver.  4-day class.  No prior experience needed. Soapstone Carving - Basic Inga Wells Learn how to create small carvings from a soft material. Minimal tools are used to achieve lovely results in this soft material. 2-day class offered 1st semester.  No prior experience needed. Soapstone Carving - Advanced Inga Wells Students will learn to carve more intricate objects from a soft material.  2-day class offered 2nd semester.  No prior experience needed. Fall Dates: September 8th-14th Speaker in Residence will be Denise Nelson CLASS INSTRUCTOR DESCRIPTION Faceting Reivan Zeleznik Students will learn to cut and polish a 57 facet standard round brilliant gemstone.  In addition,  they will learn how to identify well-cut stones, select rough material and see whether or not you enjoy this fascinating aspect of the hobby.  4-day class. No prior experience needed. Silver Fabrication - Intermediate Richard Meszler Students will use their basic skills and learn new ones to create more involved projects.   2-day class offered 1st semester.  Students should have basic silversmithing experience and be able to solder. Silver Fabrication - Advanced Richard Meszler More advanced silver making projects will be developed.  2-day class offered 2nd semester.  Students must have knowledge of more advanced silver working techniques. Chain Making - Intro John Fetvedt Students will learn chain making from raw wire to finished jewelry including selecting the wire gauge, jump ring size, making jump rings, weaving the chain and polishing the completed piece.  2-day class offered 1st semester.  No prior experience needed. Chain Making - Advanced John Fetvedt Students will move beyond the basics into the realm of complex chains, learning how to form, cut, solder, fuse, deform rings to make "units" which are then linked together to make creative chain jewelry.  2-day class offered 2nd semester.  Pre-requisite:  Basic chain making skills. Bead Craft - Intro Mia Schulman Learn how to form knots between beads (essential for pearls and attractive for other beads) and how to finish necklaces using a variety of clasps. We will also work with wire and beads to form "flower" pendants. Time permitting, the "netting" stitch will be taught which is useful in making chokers, necklaces and decorating Christmas balls. Wear what you finish for your trip home. 2 day class offered 1st semester. No prior experience needed. Bead Weaving Mia Schulman We'll create a pin (or pendant) using the Peyote stitch which can be used to fabricate amulet bags, necklaces, bracelets and even pictures. Equally important, you will be able to "read" and even design your own pattern. If time permits we will learn the Square stitch which is very useful for bracelets or work on a spiral rope necklace. 2 day class offered 2nd semester. No prior experience needed. Gem ID B. Jay Bowman Learn to identify precious and semi-precious gemstones using the same equipment that gemologists use. 4-day class.  No experience needed. Precious Metal Clay - Basic Dawn Fernald-Spruill Precious Metal Clay (PMC) is silver embedded in a clay-like material that is burned off to produce sterling silver jewelry. This class features the basics of PMC, setting stones, texturing, mixing other materials with PMC or adding dichroic glass. 2-day class offered 1st semester.  No prior experience needed. Precious Metal Clay - Intermediate Dawn Fernald-Spruill Students will learn and practice more advanced PMC techniques including enameling and creating three dimensional pieces. 2-day class offered 2nd semester.  Students must have some experience in working with PMC. Soapstone Carving - Intro Inga Wells Learn how to create small carvings from a soft material. Minimal tools are used to achieve lovely results in this soft material. 2-day class offered 1st semester.  No prior experience needed. Soapstone Carving - Advanced Inga Wells Students will learn to carve more intricate objects from a soft material.  2-day class offered 2nd semester.  No prior experience needed. Wildacres "Wild" Virginia Meador Students will explore the beauty of  Wildacres including it's flora and some of it's hidden secrets. 2-day class offered 2nd semester.  No prior experience needed Geology Wayne Sukow A brief discussion of local and global geology, general concepts and rock forming processes as well as an examination of the Wildacres mineral collections.  In addition, weather permitting, students will visit the NC Mineral Museum and the Museum at Grandfather Mountain. 2-day class offered 1st semester. No experience needed. Sharing Time Sharing Time is a series of mini-presentations or demonstrations of various lapidary skills, videos or slide presentations that are hobby-related, etc.  These programs are generally less than 45 minutes each. Should you have any skill or other program you might like to share while you're at Wildacres, please contact Carolyn Weinberger, our Sharing Time Coordinator, by e-mail at cscrystals2@verizon.net More About Wildacres Among the many groups using the facilities are music and art master classes, religious and interfaith groups, mineral and lapidary societies, medical, social science, natural sciences, academic, environmental and senior citizens groups. All groups must be nonprofit and have planned educational programs. Each group plans its own program and furnishes its director and staff. Wildacres supplements the programs with the aid of its staff and equipment and some recreational equipment, including scenic nature trails, horseshoes, ping-pong, volleyball, basketball and a canteen. Wildacres is not a holiday resort and does not cater to the traveling public. Only group reservations are accepted with a maximum of 120 people. Small groups can be accommodated at the same time. Due to health regulations, no pets are allowed. There are two lodges, a dining hall building, a library and auditorium, a mineral and lapidary workshop and a pottery studio. All buildings are heated. Meals are served family style. All sleeping rooms have private baths and have either two twin beds or one double and one twin bed. There is a spacious lobby and several large and small meeting rooms. When weather permits, the patio can also be used for assemblies. Wildacres has a lending and reference library and gem and mineral displays. All facilities at Wildacres are designed in an attempt to "blend the graces of modern life with the beauty of the wilderness." Points of interest in the area include the North Carolina Mineral Museum, Mineral and Gem Mines, Blue Ridge Parkway Scenic Overlooks, Crabtree and Linville Falls on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Grandfather Mountain, two 18 hole golf courses and tennis nearby, and Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Rockies. Wildacres is about 3 miles from the Little Switzerland post office. Nearest towns are Spruce Pine and Marion, NC. Access is available from the Blue Ridge Parkway at Gooch Gap, located between mileposts 336 and 337. Distance from Charlotte is about 112 miles. More Wildacres Pictures, double-click here. For a better understanding of our host, Wildacres Retreat, click here. For questions or further information, please contact Wayne Sukow, EFMLS Wildacres Director at  d8olite@fastmail.fm>.