Monday, May 24, 2010

Which end is on fire?!

I started out this post today rambling about how students after one class think its time to sell.
as I got into this ramble about 14 paragraphs I answered my own questions, and created a few more alas, after back spacing, and covering my monitor in white out three or four times, it hit me.
It doesn't matter, who am I to judge who is ready to sell or not? who am I to judge if the work is good enough? The only thing I really have any control in is trying to teach the student to study, and let their imagination run rampant!
I am so blessed in having found my true passion and being able to work at it, and It would be absolutely blasphemous for me to dissuade someone else from trying, after all I want the whole world to respect and desire flame work glass art!
Some of my students favorite words, "I have a whole new respect for what goes into lampwork beads." One of my favorite times during class is the last couple hours, when demos are over and the room goes absolutely quiet because everyone is on their creative zone, intently working on their pieces.
When I'm hot and tired and my back aches from sitting in the wrong position for two days, and the students, have decided breaks are for sissies, is a great great feeling.
When I am cleaning up the studio after all the students have left, and I come across a work station that all their glass rods are an inch long, I have this strange happy feeling of satisfaction, that that student, "gets it".
I do feel the responsibility to tell these few that are intent on immediately jumping into the market how competitive it is, how much studying and work is involved, and that they would definitely get more satisfaction by taking some time and refining their skills and techniques before throwing their work out to be criticized.
By all means though do what makes you happy! thats what I'm doing!
Visual aid..
Here is a set of some of my first pansies...
and here are some more recent ones :)

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