Family Time

Sometimes a class will go and sometimes it won't.  Luckily this summer was one of the "will goes."

The Oil Valley Center for the Arts scheduled two classes for me this year.  In June I taught an Intro class and in August I taught an applique ring class.  Both classes were filled (plus one more in each) so they were taught in the Art Center's classroom.  

In June there was a mother and son who took the Intro Class.  They returned in August to take the ring class and this time the father and the daughter came too.  Quite often the classes become a family affair.  

The first time I had a family in class, each member got to pick an activity for the month and they all did it.  The father didn't seem too interested at the time, but he later told me that he wasn't a morning person and hadn't had his coffee yet.  All turned out well.

Then for Easter a mother gave her son and daughter a class instead of giving them candy.  She took the class too and they used stones in their pieces that she bought off QVC.

A friend of mine gave her daughter and son-in-law a class as a birthday gift.  Which is what Beth Orris did this summer for her daughters.  

This time I'm not sure what the occasion was, except that the mother and son really enjoyed their first class and wanted the family to share in the experience.  Dr. Brad Fell and family did a great job on their rings.  Having a doctor in the studio came in handy as he was able to use his expertise with tweezers to retrieve a piece from the Liver of Sulfur solution.  (Another lady and I must have tried twenty times.)  Dr. Fell got it out with one try.

Tina and her daughter both made two rings.

Julian appliqued fishbones to his ring.  It appears he has a theme going here as he did a radioactive symbol on his pendant in the Intro Class.

Brad liked the way the patina added a variety of colors to his ring and decided to leave it on, rather than polish the piece.  The colors will eventually turn dark and disappear but for awhile the ring will have a unique color to it.

The daughter carved words into her ring to compliment an existing ring she owned.  

It's fun to teach classes with families.  There is some interesting interactions going on that doesn't happen usually with people who don't know each other.  

I must be a Boy Scout

The Boy Scout's motto is always be prepared, right?  If it is I must be a Boy Scout.

Yesterday I gave a class for the Oil Valley Center for the Arts.  At first we only had two signed up.  Then, after an article in the paper there were seven signed up.  I prepared for seven.  (You know where this is going!)

When the students started filing in, we somehow had two extras.  (The husband of the woman who sets up the classes said ...... Oh sure.  Come on down we can take more!)  Now I'm not complaining.  I love meeting people and more people means more money.  (Sorry to be so monetary but my studio rent is coming up soon.)  Luckily I ordered extra clay and  took extra kits with me so all went well and I was able to accommodate everyone.

It was a great class.  As usual, great people, great ideas, lots of fun and lots of energy.  (I did sleep well last night.  This was the second class in as many days and I had one more to go today.  I'm not getting any younger.)

As usual, it's always a treat to see how everyone takes the project and makes it their own.

Going into the kiln

I even had a guy come all the way up from the State College area.  It turns out he was a former student of mine when I taught elementary art.  It was great to see him.  He made a very basic piece and turned it into something unique.  (Again I have to apologize for the photos....... I try.   Just using my phone's camera.)

Michael Beck plans on hanging things from the jump rings he put around his fold-over bail piece.  

Julian was a young man who took the class with his mother.  Instead of using the ready made textures, Julian used Styrofoam and drew up his design from the radioactive logo.  

Julie Flockerzi was very unsure of herself when she first started, but look how well her pieces turned out.  Besides the earrings, she made a couple of charms to add to her bracelet.  All this from 9 grams of clay.  (Wonder how much we can get out of a 3 gram pack?)

We did have a little problem with some of the clay.  I don't know whether it was old or something was wrong with the formula, but it was a little gritty, dried too quickly and was very difficult to recondition. In fact, I gave Michael a new package and took his clay to recondition it.  (It was still difficult to work with today,)

Tomorrow, I'll  fill you in on my "workshop" at Hotafest in Titusville.  Spoiler Alert!  (I'm still a Boy Scout.)