"They do not eat tin cans," said Iacullo, who currently keeps three pygmy goats on the five acres surrounding his large log cabin in Snellville. "They're very selective about their food. They do like wood products, trees and leaves, and hay of course. But not tin cans."
Although Iacullo has won several ribbons for his goats at the state fair in Perry, Ga., he still thinks of them primarily as pets. "My wife calls the goats baa-baa puppies," he said. "They're not real critters; they're pets. Some people raise the pygmies for milking, and the angoras are raised for wool. But they're really just a hobby for me."
Like traditional pets such as cats and dogs, goats often get into mischief, according to Iacullo. "The goats do have their peculiarities," he said. "You'll be out in the yard trimming their hooves or something like that, and all of a sudden one of them will jump on your back or your neck. It gives you a little start, but they don't hurt you." He said pygmy goats are about two feet tall, while other goats are three feet or taller.
Lawn care is another task the goats take care of. "I haven't had a lawn mower in eight years," Iacullo said. "The goats mow the lawn and fertilize it at the same time, and they're great at kudzu control."
The classes Iacullo teaches usually have about six students. "It's a very concentrated class," he said, "because somebody who doesn't know anything about jewelry making can wind up with some wonderful prizes when they leave. They all say it's hard at first. But by the end of the course they can turn out some pretty nice stuff. It's really about 10 percent getting the mechanics of it, melting the metal, etc. The rest is up to their own creativity. They're only limited by their imagination. But sometimes if you push them a little bit, you can make them do a little better."
The process Iacullo teaches begins with the making of a wax model, then melting the wax and making a hollow of the pendant, ring or other piece the student has designed. Then they pour in the molten gold or silver. "This is the lost wax process, as they call it," Iacullo said. "They've been doing it since the days of the pharaohs, and very little has changed since then."
Iacullo also has taught stone cutting courses through the Georgia Mineral Society for several years. He was recently called by the Cotton Indian Gem Society in Stockbridge to give a 45-minute talk on the purchasing of gold, including "what to look for, how not to get taken, how to check if something marked 14-carat gold is really plated," he said.
Also showing an interest in the ancient art of jewelry making is Iacullo's son Walt, who is considering attending Emory next year. "He's a pretty good jewelry maker," Iacullo said of his son. "He saw me doing it and just jumped right into it. He does pretty good design work. As far as the goats go, he really doesn't know what to expect from them. But he gets along with them all right."
--Dan Treadaway