Students of the Craft

Jewelry Teacher Brings Students to Gulfport Art Walk

By Abby Baker

Photo by JAMES BRIGGS

Since emerging from the ashes of an art-show-less 2020, Gulfport’s First Friday Art Walk is back and giving art programs like the jewelry design at Pinellas Technical College a chance to show their stuff on Beach Boulevard.

At the latest Art Walk, Friday, September 3, jewelry teacher and “jewels old timer” Charles P. Bahringer set up a booth with his students to craft “on the street” and sell their pieces.

“As part of the GMC’s focus on emerging artists during events and through the Rise & Shine grant, [the GMC] invited and secured the participation of a fine jeweler from Clearwater,” Gulfport Merchants Chamber board member James Briggs said.

Bahringer is no stranger to the art of jewelry, and has designed and developed products for companies such as Tiff any & Co and Calvin Klein over the span of his decades-long career.

He’s been teaching his craft at Pinellas Technical College for three years, and this will be his first booth teaching and selling creations with students at Gulfport’s Art Walk.

“Moving forward, promoting student and emerging artists is going to be a regular occurrence at art walks, so we’d love to get that news out there for those who may be interested,” Briggs said.

If you missed Bahringer at his spot on 31st Avenue South and Beach Boulevard, see more of his work at charlespbahringer.com. See the class’s progress on Instagram @ptc.jewelry.