Learning to Teach or Teaching to Learn??

((I attempted to load this picture three times, but Blogger insisted on loading it vertically- ARGH!!!! ))

When ever I teach a class, I always come away with so many insights ideas and wonderful tips! I always feel that I learn just as much from my students as they learn from me! My first efforts with teaching Beaded Zipper Cuffs was no exception. The class was held at The Artistic Arifacts Annex in Alexandria, Virgina and I had 5 "Students". I put the word in quotes as several had aquite a bit of beading experience already. Judy, the proprietress of Artistic Artifacts joined in and she has alot fo experience with fabrics and beading. My Friend Karen Scudder was there and she has taken several beading classes. My new friend Kat, an amazing fiber artist, beader, and Public School Art Teacher also came. ( Watch for an upcoming post about Kat and her incredible art works and talents!) I made some new friends in Jackie and Barbara!

We had a wonderful time even though there were times when I had a hard time keeping to my lesson plan as we were laughing and sharing so much- the two and a half hour time slot just flew by!!

Everyone left having accomplished the set out goals, with a good idea of what was to be accomplished as homework before our next class meeting. Karen Scudder shared a neat little threading tip with all of us. She had picked this up at a previous class. We were discussing threading of needles and how best to accomplish this with a higher level of success. She said that we needed to approach it differently. Instead of threading the needle, we needed to NEEDLE THE THREAD! So insteaad of trying to move the thread thru the eye of the needle switch the needle to your dominant hand and move the needle eye ONTO the thread. Amazing how this works , but IT REALLY DOES!! Try it!!

Towards the back you can see Karen stitching away and in the foreground is Barbara working on the placement of her zippers. for this class we did all of our stitching on Ultra Suede.

Here you see a picture of Kat working very intently on her piece, with Barb beside her. Judy was off making some sales as the shop was open for business while the class was underway. (These shots give you a great idea of the marvelous classroom space available, so be sure to check out the website for a schedule of ongoing classes!!!
Here are a few shots of the new bracelet that I started during the class.

This piece will be mostly Turquoise blue and lime green with dashes of orange, purple and white.

This will be a two inch wide cuff when finished and will be available for SALE.

Our last class meeting, in roughly two weeks, will cover the finishing of the bracelet. This includes placement on the metal cuff, lining and final bead edging. I will have more pictures when the piece is finished!!!