Learning

One constant in my life is that I like to learn new things. I often forget how much I do, until I find myself in conversation with someone. My friend Carole is in town from Texas, and I mentioned some of the many jewelry classes I've taken over the last year. They add up! I've learned about etching metals, adding color to copper (with colored pencils), how to use a rolling mill, and more.

When I consider the time I spend reading blogs, magazines, books and tutorials, I'd say it adds up to about two hours a day. That's a lot of continuing education! So finally, I've scheduled some workshops where I am the teacher. Here are the descriptions:

From beginning to the end
You’ve got fantastic beads for a necklace or bracelet. Now what? Learn about knotting, crimping and clasps so your hand-made jewelry has that professional finished look.

Get wired!
Creating your own chains, clasps and wrapped beads takes a few tools, some wire, and practice. Come learn the basics, and go home with a pair of earrings and clasps for your own bracelet or necklace. Also look at an assortment of books on wire work.

Carole gets to be my guinea pig on Monday so I can test out my exercises on her. I like teaching, but tend to discount it for myself, saying to myself "oh, people could easily learn this online, why should they take it with me?" Then I remember that workshops are about more than simply learning a technique or project -- they are also about making a sacred space in your life for the activity, about reinforcing the notion that you deserve this time to devote to your creativity. It tells your unconscious that you value the inspiration it provides and that you are open to receiving more. And remember in a previous post I talked about "thinking is not doing?" Hands-on classes are just that -- schooling your hands to actually DO the technique, not just think through it.

I think there is also something therapeutic about working with your hands and eyes and heart -- humm, gonna have to think about that some more.