Designing and Making in Contemporary Jewellery and Small Sculpture with Aubin Stewart
Join our 9 week evening workshop block to explore contemporary jewellery and small scale sculpture. Work with materials such as copper, aluminium, acrylic plastic and wood while learning techniques including piercing, texturing, roll printing, cold joining and soldering. Develop your ideas, respond to a creative brief and craft your own playful, small scale pieces.
This 9-week evening workshop series is designed for beginners to discover the creative possibilities of contemporary jewellery and small-scale sculpture through hands-on designing and making. You’ll work with recycled materials such as copper, aluminium, acrylic plastic off cuts and wood, developing your ideas via sketches, prototypes, and small-scale samples, while exploring form, texture and material.
Throughout the workshops, you’ll be guided through fundamental small-scale making techniques - including sawing, piercing, drilling, soldering, texturing, roll printing, and cold joining with rivets and prongs. Playful experimentation is encouraged as you refine your designs and respond to a creative brief.
You’ll also delve into surface decoration and print making methods to personalise your work while hands on fabrication practice builds your confidence in contemporary small scale making processes.
Through research, ideation, and practical experimentation, you’ll cultivate the skills to design, manufacture and finish your own original piece(s).
By the end of the series, you’ll have produced a unique piece of jewellery or a small sculpture, having explored ideation, prototyping and sustainable small-scale making in a supportive and inspiring environment.
Learning Methods
Workshops will be delivered on campus from 18:30 – 21:00 every Monday for 9 weeks.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own materials to upcycle and personalise their work. This can be discussed at the start of the block. Core materials will be provided, along with a small selection of offcuts for those who wish to use them.
Activity Summary
- Minimum of 8 students, maximum of 10 in the group
- 22.5 hours of teaching in total over 9 evenings, 18:30 – 21:00
Timetable
- Week 1: 19 January - first workshop
- Week 2: 26 January
- Week 3: 2 February
- 9 February - no workshop due to public holiday
- Week 4: 16 February
- Week 5: 23 February
- Week 6: 2 March
- Week 7: 9 March
- Week 8: 16 March
- Week 9: 23 March - last workshop
Independent Study
The use of sketchbooks is recommended for recording ideas, experimenting with designs, and tracking progress.
Assessment
This worshop is not formally assessed.
Workshop facilitator
Aberdeen-based jeweller Aubin Stewart explores the creative and conceptual potential of re-purposed materials through colour-rich, contemporary design. Working predominantly with salvaged wood offcuts, plastic, and found objects paired with precious elements such as silver and pearls, the designer challenges traditional hierarchies of value, provoking new conversations about material worth, perception, and transformation. Guided by the intuition of the material, the designer lets each piece evolve through contrast and composition, resulting in vibrant, characterful works that balance delicate detail with bold form. Colour acts as both aesthetic driver and emotional connector throughout her practice. Her work has featured in exhibitions both regionally and internationally. Alongside her studio practice, Aubin Stewart teaches jewellery on the Product, Jewellery and Ceramics course at Gray’s School of Art and leads creative workshops across Scotland, promoting accessibility, inclusivity, and storytelling through materials.
Edit
Aubin's work is currently exhibited and can be purchased from Edit in the Bon Accord Centre in Aberdeen.
Edit is an independent lifestyle store celebrating designers, artists and makers from North East Scotland, delivered by Sally Reaper and Claire Bruce from the Look Again team, Gray’s School of Art and Deemouth Artist Studios in Partnership with Bon Accord.
Entry Requirements
There are no formal entry requirements for this workshop.
The workshop is suitable for beginners.
Required Age
All students are required to be at least 18 years of age at the commencement of the workshop.
For Academic Year 2025/2026
Course fee: £290 per person
The fee is to be paid as part of sign up process and prior to the first session.
After completing the registration form, you will be directed to the payment page. Your place on the course is not confirmed until payment has been received. If you have any difficulties locating the payment link or if you have registered for this course but have not completed the payment form, please contact us for a direct link to pay which will bypass registration.
Additional Costs
Essential core materials are provided.
The following course-related costs are not included in the course fees:
Workshop Cancellation & Changes
If minimum participant numbers for this 9-week workshop are not met, the workshop will be cancelled and participants will receive a full refund.
If you’ve signed up and paid for this workshop but need to cancel, please email us at engage@rgu.ac.uk at least 7 days before the first evening session begins.
If the named practitioner is unable to deliver the scheduled workshop, the session may be cancelled or delivered by an alternative facilitator.
Disclaimer
Fees are regularly reviewed and published for each series of workshops. Tuition fees are fixed for the duration of a workshop/course at the rate confirmed during the application process.
Any questions?
Get in touch with the Engage Team and we'll do our best to help.