Bead Fest Philadelphia

by Staci Louise Smith

This Friday is the first day of the last Spring Bead Fest to take place in Philly.

(don't worry, the August show will still be held here)

Bead Fest Spring is where it all began for me.  It was my first big bead show AND my first time visiting friends I met online (gasp!)

2013???  2014?  Spring meet up

It has since become something I look forward to each year, and I will sorely miss the chance to come out of winter hibernation and get to see my beady creative friends in April.

I am not vending, and there are no planned meet ups or swaps this year.  However, there are still friends I plan to see there, and I am teaching all day on Sunday as well.

If you have not been to this bead show, and you are in driving distance, you should come out.  It is such a nice show.  I know I like to stock up on my gemstone strands at the beginning of the season.

If you have online friends in the area, have them meet you for lunch.  Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio used to organize a fun bead swap and it was a great way to score some new beads and make new friends.

Not only did I meet a lot of great people that way, I made actual friends!  I love connecting with people from far and wide. 

I am not sure what year this was....maybe 2012?

Don't even get me started on the FUN parties that Melinda Orr would put together for the August Bead Fest.  That was a whole other bonding experience!

 Anyhow, I love that we all can find something we have in common and can remain friends online.  These ladies I have met at Bead Fest has not only been online friends, but they have been REAL friends to me.  Giving me rides to a show, staying over with me before my first time teaching for moral support, watching my booth for me while I teach, that is just a small example of the great friendships that have grown over something as simple as a love of beads.  I am so thankful for their friendship and support.  All because someone like Diana took time to organize a swap!  

here we were doing a mini practice class with Erin Siegel

Diana our lovely swap host

photo by Dianne Bachelor Miller

So just do it.  Yes its awkward at first, for like 5 seconds, when you meet someone from online, but then you see beads and you start to shop and talk and time just flies!!!  It is so very worth it!

I will be around shopping on Saturday, so if you want to meet up, shoot me a facebook message on my business page.

You will probably find me lurking around 

Jenny Davies-Reazor # 522 

and Marsha Neal Studio's # 520 booths!  

So make sure to stop by and say HI to them and make sure to fondle all their lovely beads.  I know I have a list of what I need to get from them!

If you need a coupon to get in, save and print this picture and save $$$ at the door!

On Sunday I will be teaching all day.  Here is a link to the classes. Online registration is closed, but you can still sign up at the show if you are interested.

https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/145551/StaciSmith

First thing in the morning, 8:30-11:30 am I will be teaching this Wild Wire Choker.

It's a really fun class that introduces you to working with larger wire in long pieces to create large focal pieces for your beads.  It is also a great class to practice those wire wrapped loops and learn to work wire while it being free form enough that there are no real mistakes!  Let go and have fun with wire!

Then, at 1-4 pm I will be teaching this Polymer Clay Carving Class.  Carving polymer clay is one of my most favorite things to do!  There are a million ways to use it.  This is an intro class, that will give you the basics, your play and creativity can take it anywhere!

So, I am frantically prepping for my classes (making kits is a laborious task, but I love it!)

 bead blanks to carve

 wire rolls for kits

 student practice blanks to carve

polymer kits sponsored by Polyform

 bronze for wild wire choker kits

wood blocks to raise carving surface for carving class

I am also trying to get some bead inventory made to sell in my classes.  

I am sure to be tired if you see me wandering around, but I will be ready to shop and talk anyway.  Look for my bright turquoise hair and flag me down!  

me- turquoise hair!!!

I would love to meet up and chat.

I do hope you will come out.  Organize a meet up.  Make a friend, shop for beads.....you won't regret it.  Even if you get really really lost (you know who you are!...lol)

 Hope to see you this weekend!

Teaching.......I think I like it

by Staci Louise Smith

So, I taught my first "real" class at Beadfest this year.  I was beyond nervous.  Now, I wasn't nervous cause I didn't know what I doing, and I wasn't nervous cause I thought I wouldn't be able to convey it in words (if you know me, you know I have no problem talking for hours on end)......I was nervous, because we were making these in 4 hours.

Painted Polymer Fossil Talisman

 The class was designed so my students would learn to organically form the polymer, learn to paint it, using my crackle technique (I have a tutorial on the painting alone you can purchase here).....and then, they learned to make the whole thing in to a necklace.  

I really hoped they would walk away with some new polymer skills they could play with and incorporate into whatever art they do, and that they would get to have some fun using wire and mixing art beads to create an asymmetrical necklace.  

All in 4 hours.

My panic came from knowing I am not naturally organized.  And what I found from my practice class I held, was that this was going to have to be timed.......with a schedule, and I would have to stick to it in order to finish.

My friend Jenny Davis-Reazor was also teaching for the first time this year, and she came out to stay with me, and help out, and be moral support on Wednesday night.  I was so thankful for that!!!!  We also found out that another friend, Linda Landig came in early for the show, and she volunteered to help me with my class!  

Here we are having dinner and drinks

 meet the teacher

 this is where they could pick their kits....they got to pick colors and beads to truely make it unique

just waiting for the students to arrive

I don't think we would have finished the project if I had not had Linda's help in the classroom.  Jenny helped out in the morning, but then she had to run to pick up a friend at the airport (have I mentioned what a whirlwind Beadfest is???)  

Anyhow, the class rolled in one at a time, which allowed me to introduce myself and get them all started picking out their colors for their kits...........and then we were off.

I was thankful that Linda is not only a teacher herself, but she works with new teachers (student teachers) so she was wonderful at giving me prompts and tips so I took time to explain things here and there that needed more.  I learned a lot!  

(she also took picture of the class for me, since I was busy.....i never realized I look so much like an opera singer when I talk....lol)

and I make funny faces.....I think Linda caught them all too!

Class rolled along and I stuck to my schedule, which had time frames, and what had to be done within them, all mapped out.  It worked wonderfully!

I think my students enjoyed their time and learned a lot as well.  They seemed happy, and everyone got to go home with a piece of jewelry they made.  I think that is important in a class.  Not just to learn a technique, but to go home and be able to wear something you made!  

Student work

  I was very proud of my students, because we had to really hustle to get it all done, and they dug right in and did it!  I think many of them were pushed out of their comfort zone and they just went with it!  We had mistakes, which were great opportunities to show that you can work them with mistakes, and sometimes fix them, and sometimes go with them.  

For me, I enjoyed seeing them each put their own spin on their pieces.  The variety of sizes, and textures and shapes was great.  Although they are all similar necklaces, when you look close, no two are alike.  

So overall I loved it.  I thoroughly enjoyed teaching.  (did you know I actually majored in secondary education for a time in college??)  I plan to teach more in the future, and may even do this same class again in the spring at Beadfest, as well as adding another.  So if you didn't get to come, you may have another chance to do so!

Thanks for the ladies who came out and created with me, and thanks to the women who supported and helped me with my class!

Teaching Classes!

by Barbara Bechtel

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to teach my largest polymer clay pendant class yet! The class was held at a small boutique in Charlotte, NC where I've been selling my jewelry for several years. I was so excited to have 6 wonderful ladies sign up to take the 3 hour class.

adding words...

In class, students learn the basics of polymer clay, but the approach is very hands on. The students get right to work pressing out their shapes and stamping images and words.

Getting dirty sanding and painting our pendants!

I'm always delighted when I have students who are more adventurous and break outside the box and go beyond what the basic instructions are. This lets me know that they are absorbing the techniques and materials and the creative gears in their brain are turning!

This student started mixing her clay together and was much more adventurous in her painting techniques.

some of the finished pieces from class.

Do you enjoy taking or teaching classes! What are your favorite things to learn or teach? I'd love to hear in the comments.

Becoming a teacher and a student.....

This week marked the beginning of my 34th year on this planet. As a gift to myself, I decided to take a class given by new friends and fellow teachers at Bali Studios. For a long time, I think at least the last year, I've felt in a constant state of flux, a feeling of transition that I haven't been able to put my finger on exactly. This class was a celebratory act in moving towards that direction, this direction I've been feeling pulled towards but couldn't quite see yet...sort of like trying to orientate one's self to a compass.

One of those steps is teaching and in terms of magnetic poles, and compasses, an aspect of that is also learning...learning in a broad sense, both teaching and learning. Learning about myself, about teaching, and of course, learning from others.

Now, I don't think it's a secret that teachers learn as much from their students as they teach them, right? It's sort of one of the basic philosophies of teaching....This part is the part that has me most curious. This two way avenue of learning....this teaching and being taught.

I haven't taken a class in years....maybe since college. I'm a very visual, hands-on learner....and I'm quite content to teach myself....so I think this class for me was a very important step in this journey to becoming a teacher....to also learn and to UN-learn. To learn from other artists, their own approach, how it differed from my own approach and to do it by another method.

final gathering photo by Deb Taylor

Our class was about creating a personal soul passport, a handmade book. In this case, it was already something I was familiar with, art journal-ing and bookmaking....There was much emphasis on creating a finished mostly blank book in a very safe, welcoming environment in which we were able to create.

I put it in my mind before I even went that I would push myself into this with my whole heart and create something very different than what I was accustomed to....

As I was learning and as I begin to teach new classes, there is this thread I feel between students and teachers....

Students are often reluctant to take a class because they either feel:

A) They WON'T be able to learn what's being taught.

or....

B) They won't be able to learn anything new.

and teachers often similarly feel the same anxieties about teaching....they won't be able to teach anything right and students may not "get" it or their students won't learn it.

So, as I sit here with my heart full of teaching and of learning, I've been asking myself, "what is this common thread?"

For me, it becomes creating this safe, loving, sharing, environment.....This place, where as a teacher, I can enable my students to feel safe and confident learning....but also a sharing environment, where we'll all be able to receive and bring our collective experiences together as a community of learners and makers.

snippets from my soul passport and beauty of a day of learning....

If you are (mostly) a teacher, what has been your greatest learning experience?

If you  are (mostly) a student, what has been the best learning environment?

If you've never done either, what types of experiences would make you feel the most comfortable?

loving the ripples

mary jane dodd

i was invited to teach at our county teen arts festival this week... almost 2000 kids come through over the course of 2 days... this photo is from my first workshop (there were 3 a day - 45 minutes each with 15 minutes in between... riiiight)... 

see how neat and orderly everything is? it's like when you have your first child... and just like having your first, they are the only group i got pictures of... 

because after that, all bets were off!  

i thought it would be sensible to limit the class sizes to 15... 

that was sensible... 

but it didn't happen! 

really, how do you turn away the kid who wants to learn but didn't get to sign up because she was being critiqued?!  except it wasn't just one child... 

i taught about 120 kids... 

at the end of the first day, i was cleaned out of the materials i had purchased for 2 days... 

i wanted to show them something they could do, they could afford and that might keep them experimenting... something they could teach their friends... 

we made wrapped beaded bracelets... i taught them a weaving technique and they were excited... (and i was excited that they were excited because i was worried that no one would sign up... i even brought a book with me just in case...)

it was an incredible experience and i want to thank sandy at the monmouth county arts council for the opportunity... i would love to do it again... 

the kids were wonderful and, as always, helped me to hone my skills and kept me learning... i thank them sincerely... 

if this sounds like something you might want to do, join your local arts council... you never know what kind of opportunities might present themselves!

and on a more serious note, i would like to mention the loss of one of our own from this blogging community - judy glende... a beautiful, caring creative who no longer suffers but will be terribly missed...)

guest post - riki schumacher

Whom teaches who?

By Riki Schumacher

When asked by one of the amazingly talented contributors to Love My Art Jewelry blog, to write a post

as a guest artist, it was kind of a struggle to think about to say. What inspires me, what story might be

interesting to you about my life as an artist?

A journey, or an opportunity, or maybe a process, were fabulous suggestions. And after this recent

weekend’s experience of teaching, it flashed on me that I could write about all those things, and hopefully

you will find it useful.

I would like to share little insight about the “journey“of going from student…to instructor, and what I

learned from it.

Here are some pictures from this weekend’s class I taught with another instructor.

I hope the pictures speak a thousand words. Teaching is amazing!

Here’s a mom and daughter team.

Already friends.

Making new friends.

How have any of these students gained by taking this workshop?

I don’t know what each one did for sure. But from these smiles, they were having a ball. I can share what

I took away. Each and every time I teach, I am reminded of how important it is to “pay it forward”. After

about 12 years of traveling, taking workshops, and soaking up every blessed word I could from endless

instructors, it is finally a wonderful time to give back to this amazing industry. Making Art Jewelry is my

passion and teaching it is incredibly rewarding.

After taking classes with lots of instructors, you start to have your favorites, and your not so favorites.

From each class you have taken, did you walk away feeling the teacher was impartial? Did you learn

what you hoped to, in numerous ways? Did you have a blast? Were you disappointed for some reason?

Or were there too many students so you never got the attention and help you needed after traveling and

laying out much money?

I have had all of these things happen to me. And now, since teaching a couple years now, I try to reflect

on how my instructors shared, and how giving they were/are. I’m trying to learn from what I think were

their mistakes, which didn’t happen often. We are in an interesting and opportune period I think, this

day and age. There are thousands of baby boomers retiring every day, and given an opportunity to seek

out what they want to do in their leisure. I understand many students are not retired, and have limited

time to access classes. But, there are a lot of women, and men, following their passion from their youth,

whether they are retired or not. That means there are more opportunities to teach. That’s why it is really

important, to me, to get it right. After retiring from my profession of 20 years, I ran to the nearest jewelry

workshop I could find! I felt like a little sponge, soaking up every word that was fed in, and wanted to

master every technique I could wrap my little brain around.

So if you are a teacher now, or considering a career in instructing to the craft world, the main thing I

would like to stress is how rewarding it is. I learn so much from each class I teach. I gain as much, or

more, than the students. I am so grateful that each student has put their trust in me for one or two days,

and I know that they expect me to deliver as advertised. Each person in a class, paid good hard-earned

money to learn what techniques I promised to share. And not only learn techniques, but be made to feel

welcome and have fun. How can you possibly live up to all the expectations of each student?

After all the classes I’ve taken, and all the instructors I have learned from, as well as my history as an

instructor, here is my two cents on a little recipe for success in teaching. A little dash of each, leads to a

fabulous gourmet class!

listen

laugh

say it

show it

be passionate

you can’t be perfect, stop trying

If you listen as much as you talk, you will answer all their questions. I often tell my grand

daughter, open your ears and shut your mouth. She doesn’t but that’s okay, she hears it!

If you are having fun, they will. You set the tone of the class.

If you are practiced and honed your craft, you can demonstrate each technique with ease, 

and explain it well.

If you believe in what you are doing, they will share the passion. Be sincere in your intentions.

And don’t act like you are perfect. You are going to make mistakes so embrace them. We all learn

from mistakes, and who needs the added pressure?

And for people taking workshops who are reading this, let your instructor know what they did right, and

where they really kicked it in. Feedback is so important, we will learn from that, hopefully!

This can be a successful recipe for on line and e-workshops workshops as well. As an instructor, you can

bring all these elements to your students on line. You just can’t reach out and touch them. But you can

share equally, and deliver the same quality of teaching as if you were there in person.

Look at yourself; look at the way you instruct.

Would you want to take your class??

Happy instructing. And have fun attending workshops. Have fun doing what ever you do.

You really never know if you’ll be here tomorrow.

Love and hugs,

Riki

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you can learn more about Riki in these places:

blog

etsy shop (where you will also find tutorials)

joys of learning/teaching

mary jane dodd

last spring, i got up the courage to ask a bead shop about 30 min from my home if i could propose classes for their schedule... and so i got to teach my first class... 

the fall schedule is getting ready and i wanted to come up with some fun classes that would not be too complex, yet would build on the basics of the etching class i taught this summer...

i wanted to use layering on a cuff, but to somehow do it a bit differently - after all, cuffs are very popular right now and they are the perfect kind of bracelet to use riveting on... resin is one of my favorite materials to work with - but ice resin (my resin of choice) takes a bit too long to work with in the time frame i will have available... 

enter staci's blog post from last week about magic glos... i picked some up... the sun broke through yesterday after a good number of days of rain - and so i was able to try it... this is definitely a resin that leaves you with a more rustic type effect, which is fine with me... and it was very well suited for my idea... 

i also tried it in some rustic bezels that i made and will offer instruction on... 

and then there will be a class on using a butane torch with sterling... making a rustic fused link bracelet along with things like ball end headpins, ear wires, clasps... just a practical class designed to expand one's ability to construct  their own components and save money... even learning how to ball end headpins is such a valuable skill in terms of design and cost... i remember being so excited to be able to do that and not have to buy headpins anymore... to never run out of them because i could always make more...

confidence grows when you learn how to do things, leaving you ripe to take on bigger challenges... it is a beautiful cycle, really.... learning how to do-it-myself has been really important to my growth... and you take it with you in to other parts of your life...

** etching is a really great technique... i first learned from stephanie lee's book 'semi-precious salvage'... but barbara lewis has a great section on it in her new book 'torch-fired enamel jewelry' ... perhaps i should do a tutorial on it...