Hope your summer is going well. Hasn’t the weather been so changeable over the school holidays? There’s been a lot of rain, a bit of sun and lots of cloud! And after such a lovely June, it’s been somewhat disappointing…
I confess I’ve been a bit absent from emailing you and I’ve only sporadically posted on social media in the past couple of months but I have been quite busy in the background doing lots of fun things!
I am a planner and list-maker by nature, so my year has been broken down into projects and goals to work on each quarter, month and week. It keeps me focussed and I do like seeing tasks ticked off the list.
So, one quarter of the year was spent preparing for something I have long since been keen to do - teaching classes to make silver clay jewellery.
Ultimately, I’d love to expand and teach other skills, but let’s do this one thing at a time…!
After compiling plans, forms, documents, policies, payment systems, email templates, worksheets, equipment, tools and designing sample pieces, I felt I was ready to take a trial class - a pilot test class to see if everything I had prepared would work for real.
I had a few willing victims students(!), who were happy to be my pilot class.
And we had a great time coming up with designs, trialling them in polymer clay before making, tidying and firing their final pieces in silver.
It was a learning experience for all of us:
they learned the excitement of firing a piece of clay and watching its transformation into silver right in front of their eyes - it’s a thrilling moment!!
I learned what worked and what I need to adjust for future classes. Overall, my preparation had paid off very well and I need to make only minor adjustments.
And future classes there most certainly WILL be!
I had an amazing time and am so thankful to my four lovely students for spending time with me, being happy to accept it may not all go exactly to plan and writing such lovely kind words in their feedback!
So look out for classes coming in the new year!
I’ll keep you updated through the coming months.
Meanwhile, I’m planning and making stock for Christmas - Ho Ho Oh yes I am!
As well as my usual Open House events, I will be at some of the local Christmas fairs near me. I’ll let you know where and when next time.
And I must remember to tell you about Summer School next time - I HAD SO MUCH FUN!!
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