Workshop: Making Charms + Ornaments with Zahra Almajidi [MOD2026]

"Casting The Net" is an intimate hands-on workshop invites participants to explore an accessible and playful approach to working with metal.
About this Event

Presented in conjunction with Zahra Almajidi’s Detroit Month of Design 2026 exhibition, Casting The Net, this intimate hands-on workshop invites participants to explore an accessible and playful approach to working with metal.

Using thin brass foil, participants will learn techniques for embossing, forming, and drawing to create their own charms and decorative ornaments. Finished pieces can be transformed into wearable jewelry using simple chains and jump rings or displayed as small works of art. Zahra will also introduce participants to drawing directly on metal using gesso and colored pencils.

Designed for beginners and experienced makers alike, the workshop requires no previous metalworking or jewelry-making experience. All materials are provided, and participants will leave with several finished pieces.

Participants are encouraged to bring reference images of patterns, shapes, symbols, or objects to use as inspiration.

Participants will be instructed how to make embossed brass foil charms and ornaments that can be worn as jewelry or displayed on the wall.

This is a simple, accessible way to create decorative objects out of metal foil, and participants will be able to walk away with several pieces. They will also have the opportunity to learn how to draw on metal using gesso and colored pencils.

*Participants are asked to bring reference images of patterns, shapes, and objects as inspiration for their charms and/or ornaments.

MATERIALS: Brass foil sheets, simple chain, jump rings, pliers, stylus for forming/drawing on foil, felt sheets, scissors, gesso, brushes, colored pencils.

Limited capacity of 10 people MAXIMUM.

No previous metal working/jewelry making skills required.

ABOUT ZAHRA ALMAJIDI

Zahra Almajidi is a visual artist and metalsmith raised and based in Detroit, MI.

Utilizing both traditional metal-smithing techniques and CAD/CAM processes, her work explores the ways in which objects and adornment allow displaced people to continue to uphold and practice their craft traditions while living in the diaspora.

She is a 2025 Emerging Artist Fellowship recipient, powered by Gilbert Family Foundation.