Dana Cassara – Instructor and Founder

Dana Cassara began practicing the art of silversmithing at North Seattle Community College in 1992. She discovered her love for the craft after returning to school to pursue a teaching degree with a focus in social studies. She graduated from the University of Washington in 1998 with a B.A. in Comparative History of Ideas as well as Interdisciplinary Arts, because she just couldn’t stay out of the art department. She has been teaching jewelry design since 1999 and loves what she does. Her aim as an instructor is to guide individuals through the learning process offering solid technical information, personalized attention, and lots of fun. With the intention of setting students on the path towards transforming their ideas into solid form, she hopes students will take the experience they gain in this studio beyond the classroom into their everyday life where problem solving skills and a profound sense of achievement always come in handy!

What Students are saying:

"Dana is very patient with students, and maintains her sense of humor at all times. Deceptively simple skills - making jump rings, forging for example - got lots of attention. Soldering did too - one of my goals is to use the tiniest amount of solder possible and watching Dana was very helpful. The class was was fun and worth every penny!" (Claire Ramsey 10/21)

"Loved Dana's class! I really enjoyed that students were allowed to complete projects in their own way. I appreciated Dana’s suggestions on my technique particularly." (Monica P. - 2023)