TEACHING & GUINEA PIGS...

(I broke this post up into 3 parts... it's a freakin' book, sorry... if you'd like to follow along, I've posted them in reverse order so you read them from the top down, like a book, because I'm posting them all @ once)

As me & my work continue to evolve & get more exposure, I have people asking me if I teach. Teach?? I'd LOVE to teach! I've been told that I have "this way" about me... nurturing, encouraging. I like to share & I love to see others "get it"!

BUT...I don't really know if I CAN teach. You know what I mean?
Some people are amazing @ what they do..... okay, let's just say that I'M amazing @ what I do, LOL, it doesn't mean that I have what it takes to teach people how to do it, does it? I'm a little ADD (yeah, just a little!!!) & words, descriptions or directions don't necessarily flow freely & easily from my mouth at times.... so I just don't know. You know?

So..the more people who ask, the more I want to know if I can & realize that the only way to know is just to do it, right??

I wrote a post a while ago about Robin Koza & Carol Watson, who I met @ The Bead & Button Show... we made a great trade & started a fun friendship. Well, Robin posted a beautiful etched copper cuff on Facebook as well as some etched copper sheets... they were FABULOUS & I couldn't stop myself from contacting her about wanting to buy some of the sheets or make some sort of trade again. I totally could see me incorporating these etched copper pieces into my work. Somewhere along the way I said something about some "Julie torch time", (Robin had told me after B&B that she wanted to take my first class, no matter where or when it happened!) ...turns out that's what we were going to trade!! :o) Carol contacted me a short time later to say "I want to come, too!"

Panic!!! I'm not set up to teach one person, let alone two, in my studio...plus it's a disaster... what to do? I'm thinking..."is there anywhere in between me (Minnesota) & them (Indiana) where we can meet & torch?" Seems while I was worrying about this, Robin & Carol were talking & came up w/ a fabulous plan!! Robin asked me if I was interested in having them flying me out to them? They had a local teaching studio where they could rent torch time & we could all torch together. FABULOUS! FABULOUS! FABULOUS!!! Definitely cheaper for them to fly me out, I could stay in Robin's guest suite (made for a Queen!) & we could spend the weekend learning from eachother. Needless to say, I didn't hesitate saying YES!!

So we made a list of what they want to learn from me. I'm checking out their websites & see that they've taken classes from MULTIPLE fabulous glass artists, way beyond anything I've ever done AND they both teach a variety of classes!! I'm thinking "what in the world could I possibly teach them that they don't already know? Am I really going to bring anything to the table?" They reassured me that I would be. :o)

On their list:

• Big Disc Beads
• Shaping tips & techniques
• Hints on working w/ silver glass
• My thoughts on Color Theory
• Making glass acorns & electroforming them
• Showing them how to put together an expanded electroforming setup
• Kaleidoscopes
• Copper display tree

My message back to them:
"I'm so glad that you're both excited about this... I am, too!! I'm just hoping that you aren't expecting more than I can bring to the table! :o) I'm not this brilliant lampworker, you know I've never taught before... I don't even know if I can or SHOULD teach, LOL... I probably have really bad habits that I shouldn't be passing on to others, :o) ...I don't know if I do or not, but you never know! I probably could teach you alot about covering up mistakes, LOL... I'm really good at that! :o)

I also use an electric mandrel spinner...it's my crutch... I don't know if I can turn a mandrel by hand anymore. :o) Actually, I know that I can, LOL...you just work much hotter w/ a spinner, so I'd have to adjust [when working manually]. Do either of you have an electric mandrel spinner... or are either of you interested in learning how to use one? I know Carol likes to make utensil handles... this is why I bought my spinner in the first place... it cuts down my base bead making time, probably by more than half... and it makes pretty much perfectly balanced (centered) beads w/out much effort. I've turned more than a few long distance friends onto them... but then I'm not there to help them figure it out, so I know it's been frustrating for at least one or two of them. That is one of the ideas I have for a class I'd like to teach...the ins & outs of a mandrel spinner... & then making large beads for functional pieces (using the spinner). I talked to Scott Bouwens (Bearfoot Art Glass) at B&B about setting me up w/ a classroom set of spinners & rolling marvers... we still need to work it out, I certainly won't be ready to buy them by December, though. So... if either of you have ever wanted one of these, now's the time so I can give you all of my tips & tricks. (Scott has a 6-8 week lead time on these right now. No, they're not cheap... but boy, mine paid for itself almost instantly. Make sure you pick up the small sized brass rolling marver, too... really essential to have w/ the spinner.

Gosh... your list of what you want to learn... I'm laughing, because I've been able to get really good at these things BECAUSE of the mandrel spinner. LOL. Shaping: mandrel spinner... large discs: mandrel spinner. :o) I only started making those large discs recently & they're pretty much a breeze w/ the spinner.... I'm sure I can do them w/out... but why? LOL.

Color theory, eh? That would mean I actually have to have deep thoughts on the subject, doesn't it? You forget, I'm ADD. :o) I know somewhat what I like... I play, if it works it works & I use it... over & over & over again, LOL, if it doesn't I move on. We can talk it through, though... discussion & feedback is a good thing.

Silver glass.... I have a bunch of silver glass that I can't get to do squat... I find ones that like me & I work w/ them. :o) This is a work in progress for me, hit & miss at times... I might be able to teach you guys some things, but I can't guarantee that you don't already know everything I do!

Did I change your mind? :o) I think as long as we all go into this as a great learning experience for all, we'll be good.

This is good for me, too... I like the idea of just a few "students" at first...how do you guys feel about being my guinea pigs? :o)"

So....that's what we did!! I'll tell you all about THAT in my next post... this is already a book. :o)

GUINEA PIGS, PART 3 (yes, part 3)...

(start reading GUINEA PIGS from 2 posts up... I posted these in reverse so they read from the top down, like the book that they are!)

I mentioned in the first Guinea Pigs post (of 3, LOL) that the weekend w/ the girls (Robin & Carol) was a weekend of learning from eachother.

Day 2, Saturday, brought more creating! On the agenda... electroforming prep & metal etching!

We prepped our work (glass acorns!) for electroforming... masking, etching, epoxying in a copper loop & painting w/ conductive paint, which needs to dry for a day.

Robin teaches copper etching classes at a few local stores & at her home. Her basement is jam packed full of work stations & awesome equipment. Her rubber stamp stash is enormous... her husband, Rob, built her a wall full of shallow ledges to display her stamps so you can easily view & select what you want to work with. We spent the rest of the day stamping away, preparing copper sheets, bracelet blanks & washers to be etched. Oh man, I loved this! At first I figured I was there to learn how it's done... absolutely no need to be the perfectionist that I am... but as I got more into it, the more I wanted to continue. Also, I didn't have all of the supplies needed to continue on at home (yet!) & Robin said that we had nothing else planned for the day, so I continued on. Carol stamped for a little while (she's quick!) & then headed home to take care of her dog. (Carol, hiding from camera or concentrating on stamping... can't decide which.)
Robin sat there & just watched me work. She'd wander off & then come back to watch some more, LOL. I would stamp & stamp & scrub it off & stamp again. I tried this & tried that... I'd stamp a section & then scrub away a portion of it & stamp something different in that space. Layering & layering... it was just amazing to me. I asked Robin why she wasn't stamping & she said that she just wanted to watch me work....to watch my creative brain in action & that she was learning some stuff from me that she would be able to take back to her classes. She watched what stamps I went for & said that it would help her pinpoint what she should take to her classes (she certainly couldn't take her entire stash!!). I thought that was really cool. I was learning so much from her & she was learning from me in the process. (my finished etchings, pre patina)

I brought these copper oak leaves w/ me... I'm trying to come up w/ some sort of element to hang my acorns from... whether for a pendant (or clasp!) or even for ornaments... I just loved how these turned out. Shared a few w/ the girls so they could do some, too... who doesn't love oak leaves??

That's what's really cool about working w/ other artists....even if you're teaching someone something that you know inside & out, their artist's brain will come at it @ a completely different angle that works for them... that makes sense to them, once they've gotten the gist of the process. When they were watching me work w/ the EMS @ the studio the day before, they would notice things & ask questions that I hadn't even thought about & the whole process of it all was so helpful to me as I form the base foundation of teaching.

Robin showed me the ins & outs of metal etching... the safety & disposal issues of working w/ acid, etc. I learned so much... she's a fantastic teacher. We stayed up until 1am while our pieces etched... hanging out, eating a fantastic meal that Robin made while I was still down stamping away, LOL, watched the final Monk episode & just spent time getting to know eachother better. We missed having Carol there in the evenings, I said she should've come for the slumber party, but she has a dog @ home that needs care, so she couldn't. :o( She says I have to come stay w/ her next time!

Day 3, Sunday, I showed them how to put together an extended electroforming setup like what I use at home so you can electroform more than a few pieces at a time.
Robin sells electroforming kits & supplies, so we had everything on hand. How handy is that??? :o) We talked about how it works & more importantly WHY! Robin said it was completely different than anything she had ever learned. I'm not an electroforming pro, not even close, but I know what works for me & why & was able to share that info w/ them.

We put our pieces in to begin electroforming & then we spent the afternoon dunking etched copper in liver of sulfur & also doing some torch patinaing, bringing our copper pieces to life!

We also put together copper display branches/trees like I blogged about last summer. Barb gave us a variety of copper wire in various gauges (thank you!) & we struggled our way through putting some together. I've only ever made two of them & they were different from eachother, so I didn't have defined steps in how I did it, so it was kind of a fly by the seat of our pants type of thing. LOL. Carol took her tree into a completely different direction than my original & it was great!!

Robin makes her copper branch...

Before our evening was over, the girls helped me rivet a few of my disc beads to a copper cuff and a leather cuff. This was one of the big reasons I wanted to learn how to do the metal etching... I need to add some bracelets to my jewelry & envisioned combining my disc beads w/ copper or sterling and leather. They're fantastic. Too bad I don't wear cuffs. :o)

On my final day there the girls took me to my go-to glass supplier, ABR Imagery, who is located about an hour south of them. Great to see the facility & meet more of the guys who take care such good care of me.

What a fantastic long weekend!! I had so much fun. It was awesome spending time w/ Robin & Carol, getting to know them & learning from eachother. I can't wait to do it again! :o) Robin is the ultimate hostess, I really enjoyed my time in her home. She spoiled me rotten, that's for sure. Thank you for taking such good care of me, Robin....

& thank you both for being willing to be my guinea pigs. :o)

Till next time....

ELECTROFORMING...

Electroforming is basically copper plating, only thicker... building up layers of copper where, if it needed to, the copper could actually stand up on its own. You can get some really cool textures w/ electroforming...
(click on image for detailed view)

I've been electroforming ALOT these past several months... mainly acorns & birdhouses. It's kind of tough, though, because you can really only have maybe 3 pieces in the "bath" at one time... you have to adjust the electric current accordingly (current x2 for 2 pieces, x3 for 3 pieces & so on) & I can only fit so many in my small Pyrex beaker that came w/ my kit at one time. They take probably 8-12 hours each, too. So lately, I've had a long line-up of acorns ready & waiting for their turn.

A few months ago I started trying to figure out how I could possibly expand the setup so I could do more pieces, knowing that if I got a larger container & had more pieces in there at one time, I would have to do some serious adjusting to the current to try to figure out what would work out best w/ however many pieces I was doing. Then I thought that maybe I would just have to have more than one set-up w/ another few rectifiers (power source), which would be a nice chunk of change. Don't think so. My next thought was that maybe I could put some sort of splitter on the lead wires so I could split the current between 2 beakers... then it occurred to me that the thick copper wire that each of the pieces were suspended from could just be expanded over multiple containers & the current would be the same for each container, not split between them... so I wouldn't have to multiply the current times every single piece that was being suspended from that wire, just times each piece that were suspended in each container.

I know... I lost you, didn't I?? :o)

Anyway... it made sense to me, so I tried it, adding a second round glass container & it worked! I was able to do 3 pieces in each one at one time, no problem!! That was awesome!! But, I didn't like the round containers... they felt small & restrictive. I read a bit & found out that I could use acid resistant plastic containers & was pointed to a restaurant supply place. I found some plastic steam pans that would be just perfect... (Cambro Camwear® Food Pan, 1/6 Size, 6" Deep, Clear #CAM66CW135)

Here you go... I set this up this weekend & had 12 acorns going at once... it was great! That went too well :o)... now I need to get more acorns & birdhouses ready to go...