I'm still gathering photos, so I haven't written about my awesome 5 days last week at Bead Camp in Tennessee.
But I did find Jen's website, so I can include this tidbit about two really fun half day classes that I took with Jen, while I was there.
Let me start by saying, that Jennifer Geldard has always been high on my list of wonderful beadmakers. Her unique style and never ending creativity always enchants me. Do you have some favorite beadmakers who just give you a beatific grin every time you look at their work? Well, that's what Jen's beads do for me.
I've taken a 2 day class before from her in Atlanta. But I was lucky to have gotten into her two half days in Tennessee. The first day we did her ornate beads. Here's a link to show you an example. It's a multi sectioned bead with a different design in each section. Jen said it's always popular among students. And the second day, we made birds.
If you've been following my blog, you know that I love birds of all shapes and sizes. I've been making birds for a long time, but not like hers. It was pure delight to learn her style and make a bunch of them while there and trying to add my own "twist", so they weren't carbon copies. The photo shows you one style and we did a second one too. I've already given away a few of the ones I made, but I'll try to get a photo to show you. Here's a link to her very reasonably priced tutorials.
So now comes the second stage of classes. What parts of the newly learned beadmaking do I incorporate into my beadmaking, so it isn't too similar to the teacher, but still enhances what I already do? For me, that's the fun part. Sometimes my "aha" moments are not the bead, but a tool, a technique, or even part of the teacher's philosophy. This is something I'm going to need to mull over a little bit more and get back to you. But meanwhile, I'd love to hear about teachers who you have learned from, where your "aha" moments were not the bead itself, but something else. It could be an online tutorial, a class or even a demo you watched. Tell us about it. I know it will be interesting.
See you tomorrow!
Sounds like Bead Camp is a blast, Marcy! I'm looking forward to seeing your birds you've made. Your style is just as recognizable as Jennifer's, so I know your birds will have a cool Mambo twist :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Ang. It was a blast. Such nice women. I miss them already. I only knew a few of them beforehand, so it was lots of new friends.
ReplyDeleteI'll post some birds one of these days. I'm still catching up from my days away.
But I have to say, when I take a class, I try to handle it the same way I do new recipes. Keep it pretty true on the first go round, to the teacher's teaching. And after that, start going out on my own. That way, I have the visual reminder of what I learned and what's in my notes. And I don't know about everyone else, but even when I try, sometimes they don't look close enough to the teachers, because it's a technique that's pretty foreign to me.
That's the best reason to take a class though.
Marcy