JJC Students Holding Artisan Jewelry Sale Thursday

If you're starting your holiday shopping early, check out the handmade jewelry being sold by Joliet Junior College students Thursday. JJC submitted this news release on the sale:

Joliet Junior College’s metalsmithing students are a creative bunch, and they will showcase their talents during a handcrafted jewelry holiday sale on the Main Campus, 1215 Houbolt Road in Joliet, in the C-Concourse on Thursday, Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Earrings, pins, rings, bolos, bracelets, necklaces, beads, ornaments, and more will be available in gold, silver, copper, brass, niobium, glass and semi-precious stones.

Bua McLean shapes rocks into jewelry at Joliet Junior College.

Metalsmithing instructor Cathy Mustari said the students in her continuing education metalsmithing class are careful with each piece of jewelry they create; making sure it has the perfect frame, shape, size, and color before it’s finished.

View photos of Cathy Mustari’s metalsmithing class

“A lot of time is invested in creating these pieces, but they don’t mind because they love doing it,” Mustari said. “It is a creative outlet and an important self-enriching experience. Every piece is done with care and love.”

Mustari said her class isn’t full of 15 students, but instead 16 instructors, who share their jewelry-making secrets with one another. Each of Mustari’s students, who have been handcrafting jewelry for years, has their own specialty. Some like working with certain metals or stones, others have favorite tools and techniques. Claudia Goethe likes working with the seaglass she’s collected from her vacations to Puerto Rico; Bua McLean enjoys cutting stones and casting plastic; Sandy Morris-Goodspeed has the most fun mixing colors and creating glass beads.

Claudia Goethe works on green seaglass for her jewelry at Joliet Junior College.

While teaching one another, they often trade their handcrafted stones and gems and swap stories about their lives. These artists take this metalsmithing class semester after semester because to them, it is an opportunity to spend time with their best friends.

Those selling jewelry on Nov. 14 will include (but not limited to): Bev Decman of Joliet; Renate Tracy of Joliet; Katie Brock of Homer Glen; Bev Docherty of Homer Glen; Cathy Mustari of Homer Glen; Lynn Rozycki of Homer Glen; Jane Davis of Morris; Karen Jankowski of New Lenox; Claudia Goethe of Plainfield; Bua McLean of Seneca; MaryLou O’Brien of Shorewood; and Deb Reynold of Shorewood.

Every customer is guaranteed a unique, one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry.

For more information about jewelry or metalsmithing classes at JJC, or about the handcrafted jewelry holiday sale, contact Mustari at cmustari@jjc.edu or call 815-280-2223.