With the Embellishments and Bead & Button shows looming on the horizon, and with my latest bead workshop still fresh in my mind, I thought that it might be interesting to do some teacher reviews rather than a book review, to give you an idea what to expect if you take classes.
In general, don’t expect your class handouts to be complete enough that you could learn the techniques without taking the class. You will come across an occasional class that has perfect instructions, but in general the class handouts are more of a general reminder of what you learned in the class. They usually have the details for creating that particular project – number and type of beads, numbers for how many beads for a row, and so forth. They may also have some basic diagrams for the technique or project, but the majority of the teaching will be straight to you from the teacher in class.
Be aware that some classes are very project specific, while others are more geared toward learning a technique. The class description will sometimes give you information to know which way the class leans, but not always. If you have a question about a particular class, ask! With the fairly high prices charged at these shows, you shouldn’t sign up for a class without finding out for sure that you want to take it!
The following reviews are based on my own experiences with these teachers in the Florida workshops that I have attended. These were full day classes, so the teaching may be different if you are taking a half-day or shorter class. In general, the projects are also different, which can also affect the teaching. But with those caveats, here are my impressions.
In my class with Nancy 4 years ago, we created a self-supported basket using brick stitch and a somewhat free form pattern. This was not one of my favorite classes, simply because I can’t stand freeform. However, Nancy was a good teacher, able to get across the principles and techniques being taught. If you enjoy freeform work, I think you would enjoy her classes. All of her classes focus on embellishment rather than self-supporting bead techniques. I seem to recall that Nancy came to beading through quilting, so this focus is understandable.
All of Diane’s classes are already sold out, but if you ever have a chance to take a class with her, I’d highly recommend it. I took her Ginko Leaf necklace class, which uses brick stitch, and learned a ton of stuff, including color blending techniques and how to vary tension in my piece. (I’m tension-challenged. If I don’t think about it, my tension is incredibly tight.) Everyone I’ve ever met who’s taken a class with Diane only had good things to say about her. She’s been beading for a very long time, and has lots of tips and tricks to share with her students.
The class I took from NanC was a spiral rope class, and she taught a large number of ways to embellish the main rope. This was a great class, and NanC is an excellent instructor. In addition to teaching the techniques, she also taught us how to do color shading for spiral rope, which I love to do. Her teaching style is very relaxed, and during the quiet times while we were all busily beading, she read to us from a book about being an artist. NanC really encourages her students to find their own inner artist, something I’ve tried to emulate when I teach a class.
One of my classes at this year’s workshop was with Stephanie. I can’t really say much about her teaching skills, because this was a beginner’s class, and I didn’t really need her help with anything. I can tell you that her instructions are excellent. She does color handouts with actual pictures of the project in the various stages. This is one teacher that I would say you would be able to learn the technique/project simply by following the instructions. The other students in the class seemed to think she was a pretty good teacher.
My class with Dona was very fun. It was a class for making beaded faces – beading around a cabachon-style ceramic face. The techniques I learned in this class were a bit more free-form than the cabochon class I taught at the Society, using lots of multiple sizes and shapes of beads and adding little embellishments once the face was framed. She shared several embellishment techniques with us, so that we could have a good selection to choose from.
Marla’s class was a good class for a first time ever beader. It was a quick project, and allowed the students to create their own bracelet with simple bead embroidery techniques. I would recommend her class for a beginner, but not for anyone who has a couple beadweaving techniques under her belt, unless she really liked the class project. Given the cost of taking her class at Bead & Button, I would have to recommend passing on this class because I don’t think you would get your money’s worth.
I can’t say enough good things about Stephanie. This was another of my classes this year, and Stephanie also gave the slide presentation at the workshop dinner. She’s my age, which is a bit unusual to see in a teacher, but it was a pleasant change. Stephanie just bubbles with enthusiasm, and you can see that she loves what she does. In addition to teaching her own unique macramé bracelet project, Stephanie makes and sells her lampwork beads. I can guarantee that if you take a class with her, you’ll have lots of fun. Her class focuses on using larger beads, however, so don’t expect to learn and beadweaving techniques in the class. (I’ll probably be wearing my bracelet from her class on Saturday, so you can all see what it looks like.)
Bethany taught a freeform bracelet class at the workshop 3 years ago. Again, this was not a favorite of mine because I don’t enjoy freeform, but Bethanie is a pretty good teacher. The only thing that really really really bugged me was that she insisted that everyone wax their thread. I hate waxing my thread, but she insisted that we had to, and even went around the room waxing threads for anyone who didn’t have wax handy. I don’t mind a teacher recommending that we do something, but I don’t really like a teacher that insists that her way is the only way. The rest of the class went well, however, and those who enjoy freeform seemed to like the class.
In general, remember that every teacher has his or her own distinct personality that they bring to the class, and in addition the project will have an effect on how much you enjoy the class. In the 7 years that I’ve been attending workshops, there always seems to be one project each year that just doesn’t “click” with me and ends up languishing on my bead shelves. But the techniques and tricks that I’ve learned in those classes have generally made up for the “dead” project.
Just because you never finish a project doesn’t mean that you didn’t learn something from that class. It may be as simple as finding out that you don’t enjoy that technique and would never use it again, or as complex as taking the project in your own direction resulting in a completely different piece. All of the knowledge that we learn in classes gets stored, and may just be the one added spark needed to inspire a future project.
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