Vaune Mason is a Wellington based jeweller and object maker. Her work is eclectic and embraces a love of process, materials and colour.  Her most recent work is really delving into using natural, local materials, and drawing meaning and substance from those materials. As a maker she is well known for her detailed carved pieces, as well as her consideration for the wearer, often including a surprise detail on the backs and undersides of pieces.

Vaune has been teaching jewellery making for 20  years at her workshop: Workspace Studios Ltd and across the motu.

Vaune exhibits her work at galleries and boutiques around the country as well as at her own gallery Mason & Collins.

Find her on instagram: @vaunemason    @masonandcollins   @workspacestudios

online at : masonandcollins.co.nz      workspacestudios.co.nz

Course Outline

Jeweller Vaune Mason returns to the Wanaka Autumn Art School in 2026 with a focus on slow-crafting and mindful creativity.

The bead has been a part of human history for over 100,000 years. In our modern life, beads are cheaply and readily available, made en-masse by machine, and considered almost disposable.

This workshop will explore how meaningful a bead can be to us - as an object of adornment, a focus for mindfulness, or a vehicle for learning technique and expanding creativity.

We will explore materials and techniques that focus on hand-craft and natural materials or found materials, celebrating colour, form, scale and texture.

Students will learn to create natural dye baths to colour fibres like silk, wool and bamboo. They will learn braiding techniques for their dyed fibres that will eventually hold the hand-crafted beads they make over the week.

We will explore bead-making techniques for traditional materials like bone, stone, shell or wood - as well as avante-garde beads or adornments created from fabrics and fibre, paper and glue!

Decorative elements can be added using combinations of carving, inscribing and stitching; inks, dyes and waxes can be used to colour and polish the materials. Stitching can be applied to soft or hard materials, and beads can be connected using traditional threading or by adding into woven or knotted pieces for wearable art.

Course Requirements:

It will be important for you to bring with you:

·  A sketch book of a size that you enjoy working in.

·  Any nice paint brushes / inks / paints / pencils / pencil sharpeners that you want to use

·  Magnifying (1.5+ or similar) glasses like those from the chemist, for close work.

·  An apron

·  Closed toe shoes for working in the studio

If you have the following please bring these with you:

·  A dremel or similar if you own one, and bring an extension lead as the workshop power points often need a small extension cord to reach. This will be invaluable for working with materials like wood, stone and bone.

·  Safety glasses that fit over your regular glasses and that you can see through

·  Small pieces of silk, cotton or linen fabrics

·  Paper or card that you like the look of

·  Sewing or embroidery items such as tapestry needles (thick with a large eye) and threads that you love.

·  Found objects that you imagine being jewellery: preferably natural, wood, stone or bone – but can be beach glass or found thick plastics.

Vaune will be bringing a large supply of fibre for dying and braiding, embroidery threads and needles, wood, stone, bone and shell as well as unique plastics, inks and paints to share.

Basic materials and all tools will be provided including dust masks and gloves for health and safety.