When Erling Heistad talks about Dartmouth's Claflin Jewelry Studio at the Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts, his blue eyes glow brightly and the corners of his mouth curl into a contented smile.
Heistad has run the Jewelry Studio, tucked away in the basement of the Hop, since he first set it up in 1966, and he speaks lovingly of the workshop which he has nurtured from its inception.
"I want to have a process that allows you to challenge yourself and do it in a non-threatening environment," Heistad said.
The Jewelry Studio offers a golden opportunity for students to expand their learning beyond the courses offered in the Organizations, Regulations and Courses book.
It is one of three student workshops. The other two are a Woodworking Shop, also found in the Hop, and a Pottery Studio, situated off-campus in Norwich, Vt.
A student can drift in with no prior experience in jewelry making and learn to create intricate or simple pieces of jewelry depending on how many hours the student is willing to devote.
Students can craft their own earrings or pendants out of silver for the price - never excessive- of the material alone.
No matter what the students wish to create, Heistad and his staff of student assistants help them realize their projects.
Some students have custom-made class or engagement rings. "We'd like to have an environment that is safe to explore beyond your limit of knowledge and test yourself," Heistad said.
Other students have personally created engagement rings for their fiancees. One such ring made in the studio had a value of over $8,000.
"You come down here and you start building strength, knowledge and techniques," Heistad said. "I'm much more concerned with how people feel when they walk out of the door."
Students usually leave the studio content with their creations.
Tasha Grotz '95 started working at the studio her Freshman Fall for Work Study.
"I personally find it an escape. I find jewelry a really good way to focus on one thing and forget all other things," Grotz said.
Grotz said anyone can make anything at the studio.
"Anyone who goes down there can make pretty much anything as long as they have the patience and the desire," she said.
One student once came in wanting to put the parts from two different engines together for his racing motorcycle, Heistad said. The studio worked with him to successfully assemble the working engine.
Several students who have gone through the studio even end up going to graduate school in fine arts and become professionals in the field.
"People come out of here with a lot more than just a casual interest. It's a way to explore, it's a way to challenge and it's a way to open other roads," Heistad said.
Paul Gross '73 went on from the studio to become, in Heistad's words, "one of the finest designers in New England."
Gross currently owns and operates Designer Gold store at Hanover Park mall and recently won an American Gem Trade Association Spectrum Award in the over $10,000 category for a necklace he designed with stonecutter Michael Dyber.
"Once I got started making jewelry, I just fell in love with it," he said.
Gross said he got his start when he happened upon the studio while wandering around the Hop two weeks into his Freshmen Fall.
"The way this works well, especially with Earling, is it gives people a chance to explore without grade pressure."
Another success story from the studio is David Cole '90, who went on to become the metals curator at the Ford Museum after graduating from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
"We have a very high record of getting our students into graduate school," Heistad said.
But the studio's resources are themselves remarkably well-equipped.
"It's better equipped than a lot of schools who have MFA programs," Gross said.
For now, the studio remains one of the hidden gems at the College waiting to be discovered by students.
