A winner and some recognition....

MaryAnn Carroll

As I sat down and got my hands covered in mud once again last night, I was thinking about what to write for today's post. We just got back from a short trip to Rockport, MA so my mind is a little out of the loop. I, as usual, had a million things running through my discombobulated head!! I could talk about something personal..... I have LOTS of topics....   I could talk about more on copper tubes. I could give my husband Bill a big kudos for his page and a half write up in our local newspaper about his wood-fired pottery and more so about what he did with some local clay from a mudslide in 1993 (You can read a little about it here).  or.... as my fingers began to cramp and the hours passed by, I thought about my friends at Beads of Clay. I have been a member there for over two years and they are a great group with LOTS going on all the time.

So, I got up this am, pulled out the camera and took a picture of what is drying from last night. This is just stage one of the process. I still have to smooth them, clean the holes, bisque fire, glaze each one individually and then glaze fire. This particular group will be going in the wood-fire kiln, which Bill fires up about four or so times a year. I am hoping to be able to make some more while I watch my two young granddaughters today. That should be interesting!

So.... here you have it.... Stage 1 - at least five hours just to get this far!

Beads of Clay, a group organized to promote the beauty of ceramic beads, also has a Professional Artists Team where you can find easy access to the numerous artists and their current happenings.

I've chosen a few to show here as a teaser..... You can find more by heading over to their blog and checking it out for yourself. You won't be disappointed!

Ktotten

MarlasMud

MarshaNealStudio

NKPBeads

YolandasClay

For more artists, click HERE.

And.... as for the winner. I will be posting that on the side bar tonight, so if you haven't had a chance to enter the double giveaway, you will have about 10 hours from now to do so. Stop back later on to see if you have won!

As always, thanks for supporting those who create handmade with handmade,

MaryAnn

So you want to take a class.

I love taking classes. It really gets my creative juices flowing and I get tons of ideas. I have had great teachers for 95% of the time but the first glass bead making class I did was awful. 
The teacher was not prepared, did not know his subject matter, and the safety was poorly lacking. 
So what makes a good class and a good teacher?
 There are so many venues to take classes now. Bead and Button and Bead Fest are the big ones, but many times their are local classes near by that are full of information and lots of ideas.

As a teacher myself I like it when the instructor gives me a list of project or steps that we will be covering in class. It kind of gives me a mental check list. I also take notes and that project list gives me mental reminders of what we covered in class. 

Organize, organize and also organize. I don't like to enter into a messy space. It jumbles my head. If I see the tools for the projects laid out along with the supplies I am a happy camper. It can get messy later (and with me as a student it will!) just start me out with a clean slate.

Also I like to know if my teacher has a lot of experience and knowledge with the medium we are working with. Remember how I talked about my first bead class? The students ended up reading out of a book to find out how to do things because the teacher didn't know how. Not cool. Make sure before you take a class to read the teachers bio.

If you didn't enjoy your experience you should let the organizers, or teacher know. Handing out a class evaluation helps to let them know how you feel without having to hurt the teachers feelings. 
As a teacher I love constructive advice. It only helps me as a teacher to grow and learn.


What are some of the things you look for in a class? Do you know of other venues that have great classes you want to tell us about? 



Next week I will be leaving for the annual International Society of Glass Beadmakers convention in Bellevue WA, so I will be posting about my experience with lots of pictures. Stay tuned!