Teaching jewelry making classes

I love teaching jewelry classes. It's a great chance for me to meet new people and "get back to basics." I mostly teach classes that don't use a torch (yes, there is a lot of fun stuff you can do without a torch). One of the things I like about teaching is that students look at things with a fresh set of eyes (or "virgin" eyes for the newbies). I will get questions about why you do something a particular way, or why can't you do something a particular way. It actually makes me wonder, "well, why can't we do it this way??" Their perspective is great and I enjoy the listen and learning opportunity.

My class was almost done the other night before I remembered to take pictures. I teach at Gifts of Avalon, which is a bead and metalsmithing shop here in Gainesville. I've known Trude and Rhonda (the shop owners) a long time and they have a great place for anyone crafty! Their staff is helpful and even if you have never done any beading or metal work before, you'll have a new piece of jewelry to wear in no time.





One of the nice things about teaching at Gifts of Avalon is that their student teaching area has ample space. We're not bumping elbows and it's actually a separate part of the store, so we can hammer metal and not disturb the rest of the people in the store. They also have a lot of the jewelry making equipment so I can teach people on the equipment they can buy there in the store to take home and use. I also make myself available to students by email for followup questions and such. (I know I'm guilty of trying to read notes later and thinking, "Now what did she say again???")

Meet Suzanne. She has been one of my jewelry customers for a long time (she's wearing a pair of my earrings -- *smile*) She made a very nice pair that evening that she finished at home with some beads. (I can't wait to see how they turned out.) She also helped me to realize that my house would be cleaner if I didn't spend so much time making jewelry. (big laugh!) Eh, a few dust bunnies never killed anyone.

If you're interested hearing about upcoming classes I'm teaching, you can sign up for my mailing list (right column of this blog) and select the "class and teaching schedule" list.