Instructors

Honey Jeanne Laber

Honey Jeanne Laber, MFA, University of Georgia; studied: Penland School, Parsons, Japan, China; exhibitions include American Craft Museum, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum, Neuberger Museum, the Mint Museum of Art.

Mahmoud Muhawish

In the early 1980s Mahmoud Muhawish while working for Sheikh Nasser al Sabah, a member of Kuwait’s ruling family, Mahmoud was introduced to master goldsmith Claire Bersani who was working on a collection of exceptional jewels. Under her tutelage, Mahmoud began his exposure to and formal training in classical jewelry techniques in Art Museum School at Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah, Kuwait.

In 1985, Mahmoud moved to New York City to further his education in ancient jewelry techniques by studying with Bob Kulicke, the founder of Jewelry Arts Institute and by taking modern techniqu ...

Mahmoud Muhawish

In the early 1980s Mahmoud Muhawish while working for Sheikh Nasser al Sabah, a member of Kuwait’s ruling family, Mahmoud was introduced to master goldsmith Claire Bersani who was working on a collection of exceptional jewels. Under her tutelage, Mahmoud began his exposure to and formal training in classical jewelry techniques in Art Museum School at Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah, Kuwait.

In 1985, Mahmoud moved to New York City to further his education in ancient jewelry techniques by studying with Bob Kulicke, the founder of Jewelry Arts Institute and by taking modern technique classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology. After this period of intensive study Mahmoud was hired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to work in their Objects Reproduction department. Many of the pieces he reproduced remain on sale in the museum gift shop to this day.

Mahmoud has become a world class restorer of ancient jewelry and antiquities in various metals. Objects that he has restored are on view at various galleries and museums around the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Mahmoud is a respected jeweler whose original designs are influenced by his rich cultural traditions and endowed with natural and organic elements. He is a modern artist goldsmith, absorbing, assimilating, and interpreting from the ancient world to the new in his personal vision. He is devoted to sharing his knowledge and encouraging creativity in historical and modern techniques.