Certification courses allow you to talk your skills to the next level and allow you to begin sharing your love and knowledge about metal clay with others. Cindy takes certifying others very seriously and enjoys helping others grow and develop. Cindy offers Level 1 as well as Senior level certification courses at Creative Place.

 

Level 1 Instructor

Level 1 is the first tier of certification. To achieve this title, students attend a 3 day workshop where they will create 7 very specific projects that cover many techniques essential to creating with metal clay. The curriculum includes making flat band and coil band rings, setting stones, embedding settings, using cork clay, decorating with syringe clay, extruding and braiding clay, applying silver to porcelain, painting leaves with paste, and creating a true mirror finish by hand. After successfully completing this course and each project, candidates will earn their Level 1 Certificate that entitles them to teach entry level classes as well as earning a 30% discount on all future silver clay purchases. Many people take this level of certification who have no intention of teaching, they do it to learn the array of techniques for their own art, personal growth,  or taking advantage of the compressed time period in which the skills are learned, or even just for the discount!

 

Senior Instructor

The next tier of certification is Senior. In order to be eligible, students must have completed Level 1 or Crossover certification at least 6 months prior to attempt this level. To earn this prestigious title, students attend a 4 day course where they will create 6 projects covering more advanced techniques including: creating a fitted lid, using paper clay, firing glass with silver, applying gold using Keum-boo, carving clay, bezel setting cabochons, and advanced stone setting techniques. After successfully completing all of the projects in the course, applicants will create 3 new pieces of original design that must conform to several very specific requirements. These three pieces are sent to Art Clay headquarters for a juried review. If the pieces pass, the applicant will be awarded the title of Senior Instructor. With this, Senior instructors can teach any level of class including Level 1 and Senior certifications as well as earning a 37% discount on all future silver clay purchases.

 

Master Instructor

The highest level of certification is Master Instructor. Master instructorship is attained by invitation only. In order to be considered for invitation, applicants must be practicing instructors for at least three years at the Senior level, be certifying and teaching others as well as being published and actively working to promote metal clay use at large. There are a limited number of Master Instructors at any one time. Currently there are only 10 Master instructors in North America, Cindy Pankopf is one of the few honored with this title.

Creative Place does put certification classes on the schedule periodically, in addition to booking classes as needed by request. Contact Cindy to discuss your needs. Located in the near the heart of Orange County, California there are several hotels nearby making it easy if you need to travel in from out of town. Creative Place is only a few minutes from Disneyland.

Click here to see current class schedule!