FORT SIMPSON - Over the past three Saturdays, rectangles of copper and squares of silver have been emerging from the recreation centre in Fort Simpson as dazzling pieces of jewelry.

Instructor Tracy Brown uses a jeweler's drill to make holes in a silver pendant. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

The community hall in the centre has been the location of the jewelry workshop hosted by the Open Sky Creative Society. During the workshop 10 participants have been learning the basics of metalworking.

The first skill you need to learn to do metalworking is how to work with metal, said Tracy Brown, the instructor.

Working with metal is different than other art forms like drawing, painting or clay. Metal won't always do what you want it to and you often have to force it more, she said.

Basic tools that participants have been learning to use include a dremel - a rotary tool used for polishing and making marks on the metal - and jeweler's drill and saws.

Participants started by turning thin, long rectangular pieces of copper into bracelets. The second project is making pendants out of small, thin squares of silver. Both copper and silver are common metals to start working with when you're learning, said Brown.

Brown volunteered to teach the course. It's the first time she has instructed a course on metalsmithing. Brown, however, has been honing her own metalworking skills for awhile. Her father is a metal fabricator.

"I basically grew up around metal and playing with metal," she said.

Starting off, Brown made jewelry from spare scraps of metal and later took a course in jewelry making while in college.

Even though this is the first time many of the workshop's participants have worked with metal, people came up with good designs and concepts, said Brown.

"Everyone here is doing an exceptional job for their first times," she said.

The workshop was the first time Lea Lamoureux has worked with metal.

"I'm pleasantly shocked with what I've been able to do," said Lamoureux, who admitted she is generally not the most creative person.

The course was informal and friendly making it a great learning environment, she said.

"It's a really nice time to meet new people," said Lamoureux.

On her bracelet, Lamoureux used a variety of techniques including sawing and chasing to make an abstract design. She also made star-shaped imprints on her copper using a stamp and a metal mallet.

Learning how to manoeuvre the saw was the most difficult part of the process, she said. For her pendants she plans to divide her silver into two rectangles, one with a leafless tree design and one with a leaf.

The workshop has gathered a lot of interest in the community, said Lynn Wharton, with the Open Sky Creative Society.

As participants have finished their jewelry and started to wear them, lots of people have been asking about the course, Wharton said. In response to demand, a second metalworking workshop is being planned for the fall.

The current workshop has run every Saturday starting on April 7. The last day will be April 28.

People who are interested in exploring their creative side can still sign up for the printmaking and lino cutting workshop that will start on May 5. The first session will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. during a coffeehouse, said Wharton.

People will be able to try out printmaking by carving a small design into an eraser.