Finding a Beadmaking Instructor

I think the most common question that I am asked at bead shows and glass-related gatherings is: Do you give classes? I always take this as a compliment but further realize that newly inspired glass novices seem to be at a loss when it comes to finding an instructor or a mentor to further them in their personal “glass journey”.  I am sometimes surprised by how little they seem to care about whether an instructor has years of experience,  teaches real studio safety or has a basic understanding of glass. This always saddens me.

I was fortunate in my personal journey into the art glass world.  My mentors and instructors were experienced and highly educated in glass composition, chemistry and safety. My 5 years at the Toledo Museum of Art exposed me to a vast wealth of knowledge. You were required to have a full understanding of glass composition and safety to work as an independent glass blower. At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate how much this information would be a foundation for my profession and passion in the lampworking world.

I have heard horror stories of enthusiastic beadmakers and hobbyists “working” hot glass in their kitchens or bedrooms with Hot-Head torches without air circulation or ventilation, and mixing various types (COE’s) of glass to create a bead, popping the final product into a can of vermiculite and then selling the “annealed” beads they made. It leaves me speechless. These same people actually argue with me about the wisdom of their endeavors.

Years ago, I voiced what I thought was a new idea to fellow members in the ISGB (International Society of Glass Beadmakers) to begin an education ciriculum to create a basic beadmaking instructor skill class. Initially I was pleased to see that some form of this was already underway. However, I was unable to convince anyone that ISGB should go a step further.

OK. Here’s my opinion: I think beadmaking instructors should be able to pass a standardized test to qualify for an “ISGB-approved” level of competency for a teacher or a “Board Certification” per se. I was informed that the ISGB did not consider this to be their mission. It sounded too much like a “guild” to them. Perhaps that is true and they are right. Then again, maybe they really should take another look at the issure and make this part of their mission! Personally, I know that in the art glass world, beadmaking has very little or no respect among other hot glass artists. They consider us to be unskilled, unprofessional hobbyists, lacking in a basic understanding of glass, and perpetuating poor and unsafe glass skills. For the most part, I have to agree with them.

On the positive side, there are many wonderful, talented and knowledgeable lampworking instructors. Unfortuately, finding them requires more information than some novices are able to find. Where do they go to seek out a teacher? Is there any standard to guide them to “qualified or competent” teachers? No, they just answer ads,  forum postings or marketing online by anyone who decides that they want to make extra money by “teaching”. They see a beautiful bead and immediately think that the artist should be able to teach them how to make such a bead. ….even if  there are more important things they should learn before they start making that bead. Sadly some people aren’t even interested in learning about safety or glass composition. I think “we” are to blame for that. I think “we” should be better than that.

Well, I’ve had my little rant. I feel better now. For any of you who are new to beadmaking and wish to learn more about the art form and what is required, I highly recommend purchasing:

More Than You Ever Wanted to Know about Glass Beadmaking

by James Kervin

Contemporary Lampworking: A Practical Guide to Shaping Glass in the Flame (Volume 1 and 2)

by Bhandu Scott Dunham

Glass Notes: A Reference for the Glass Artist

by Henry Halem

My best wishes to you on your own glass journey!

Social Media Site Shopping….bad idea?

Several months ago I decided to take the plunge and open a “store” on Facebook. It seemed like the sensible thing to do since many of my “friends” were sending links to their “stores” and eBay auctions. I understood the logic of self-promotion and the need to put my work in front of an audience. Even so, I felt a little uncomfortable trying to sell my beads to my old and new FB friends. Just how did they feel about this?

As you may or may not have noticed, I have closed my FB store and moved my beads back to Etsy and eBay. A recent Fast Company article reinforced my feelings about selling to friends on Facebook. I felt slightly relieved and secretly pleased with the lack of interest in my store. I didn’t join FB to sell beads….honestly. I wanted to make connections to people – not sales.

I understand that I have to promote myself in order to sell enough beads to make a living. I am really quite aware of the need for self-promotion. Yada yada yada…. However, it feels like you are constantly in “sell-mode” these days. I’ve always wondered how many people must be turned off by their “friends” posts about their latest item for sale. Maybe no one thinks about this trend of constant self-promotion. Perhaps people not only accept it but even look forward to looking at every artist’s auction and clicking on Ebay links. It’s hard to be objective about that when you are on this side of the fence.

Here is excerpt of an article from Fast Company this week:

“Someone didn’t become your friend on Facebook to give you business or to allow you to use his or her wall as a billboard. Even the term “friend” means a relationship, and you are not building one when you invite me to your Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) event in San Diego and I live in Toronto. Instead, use Facebook to engage, and to comment on people’s posts and status updates and to share links with them that they may like, not ones you have written to promote yourself but ones you have found that may help them.”

Here is a link to the article:

http://www.fastcompany.com/article/seven-deadly-social-media-sins?

partner=best_of_newsletter

Perhaps I needed to feel validated about not wanting to sell beads on FB. Perhaps I wanted a social network site to be just that and know that it was enough to get connected and have a relationship that wasn’t always about my work. Whatever the case, I feel better now.

Have a great day. See you on Facebook!

Inspiration Points…..some ideas

Here are some of the ways I jump- start the creative process…..

Take a walk. Look through my art journals. Work in the garden. Daydream. Visit a fabric store. Walk through a museum. Visit a gallery. Look through a nature book. Draw with crayons. Look at color charts. Meditate. Go to vintage shops. Antique shopping. Spend a day at the zoo. Visit a flower shop. Go to an arboretum or local nursery. Visit the park. Take a break. Read. Take an art class. Pick up a magazine. Talk to children. Go through old art projects packed away. Look at other artists’ work. Take a vacation to a new place. Visit the ocean. Go for a hike. Go to Saturday Market. Walk by the Williamette River. Spend an afternoon at Powells. Sit outside by wind chimes in the evening. Put on some old classic tunes in the studio. Watch a sunset. Walk in the rain. Go to a flea market. Go to a paint store and take some color strips. Play with clay. Collect stones on a hike. Pick up seashells. Visit an aquarium. Visit a hardware store. Sketch on a park bench. Make digital scrapbooks. Collect postcards from artists. Read artist blogs. Take a walk through downtown Portland. Collect leaves. Draw flowers. Doodle. People watch. Read graphic novels. Watch nature shows. Watch clouds. Visit the Library. Just PLAY at the torch. Invite an artist to play in the studio with me. Google images for fun.

Class Journals – sparks of inspiration

My Class Journal

The other day I was trying to find a particular drawing of a bead that I had put aside in my studio. (I sometimes sketch a bead that I create in my mind) and I ran across my box of old class journals. I’m embarrassed to admit that I have not looked at some of them in years. Every time I take a class, I write copious notes and draw lots of pictures of each and every aspect of the class. I don’t want to forget a single lesson or a moment of valuable information. As a visual artist, the images enlighten me in ways the text does not. Thankfully, my drawings aren’t too bad.

So, a trip down memory lane was definitely in order. I opened my Loren Stump class journal of 1998 and went back in time. Complicated Murrini techniques, color-blending, torch technology, “painting” with glass, layered flower petals, color overlay techniques, face canes, and my drawings of all his techniques filled the pages. It was like taking the class all over again! Page after page of eye-candy from days-gone-by. Good times.

I have so many good memories of that class. One of my classmates was Michael Barley and we became friends that week. I discovered new and exciting ways to approach torchwork. This class opened by eyes to possibiltites. At the time, there was more glassworking information than I knew what to do with! Now, I can go back through the pages and try a few things that I was unable to do during the class. I am once again grateful for my obsessive note taking in class!

Perhaps I will open some of my other class journals this week. Or, maybe I will savor only one each week for inspiration. Whenever I need them, they are there waiting to inspire and inform. Just knowing they are here makes me smile.

Never Too Old To Learn….so far

Heavy Metal Organic Oval

As long as I have been making glass art, I have been trying to understand how to sell it or at least get them it front of possible buyers. I wanted to be a self-supporting artist if possible! (Don’t we all?! LOL ) It’s been a wonderful journey.

Twenty years ago, I was a regular vendor in the local art shows.  It was a simple, satisfying and educational experience to be there and interact with the customer. I learned about people’s likes, dislikes and needs in a marketplace that was comfortable and easy to understand. Like I said, that was twenty years ago! That left me lots of time to create the glass art. That was the most important aspect of the equation…. learning my craft and creating better work.

Since then, it has been a continuous learning experience requiring me to adapt to the changing marketplace with some new twists that make it a lot more interesting and challenging.  I’m still doing a few shows but mainly so I can occasionally interact with the people who buy my work on a regular basis. I need that connection. But who has the time?

Over the last ten years, many of my sales have been taking place in the online marketplace. I have a website, an Etsy Store, 8 years of selling on EBay, a blog and now I am in the process of opening an e-commerce Facebook page.  All these venues require attention and maintenance. Just when I think I understand what I’m doing, another opportunity pops up and becomes the next “big thing” for an artist to supposedly find their niche and their customers.

OK, maybe it’s just me…. a single voice of an overwhelmed beadmaker. I may be mildly proficient with the newer technologies (I think) but also more confused. How on earth do people find what they want online anymore? How do you compete with people who have the latest, advanced “uber-technical” skills but still make a mediocre product? Have things changed that much?

Frankly, I’ve seen some fairly plain and unimaginative glass beads for sale on websites and EBay that have been beautifully presented on a breathtaking web site with lots of wonderful backgrounds and awesome descriptions. They seem to sell at better prices than the beads by well-regarded and masterful glass artists who maintain a basic, non-flashy web presence.  Sometimes it makes me a little sad. Then I realize that these new and unknown artists are blogging, networking, posting on forums, constantly visible on all the social networks, creating tutorials, writing articles, creating you-tube videos, and spending countless hours interacting online with potential customers and “fans”. I have to give them credit for all that energy and marketing savvy. They are putting a great deal of their working hours just promoting themselves. Wow…. it makes me tired just thinking about it!

Lately, I feel like the old grandparent (read curmudgeon) who wistfully reminisces about the old days! That seems particularly true when I am around my young beadmaker friends and my students. They nod their heads and listen as I talk about the good old days at the national bead shows and the ISGB Gatherings where you were surrounded by the best beadmakers in the world and that was the marketplace for bead makers, designers, collectors and customers. It was a simple market place. Lately, I now realize how out-of-touch that must seem to the new generation of bead makers. The good old days……

Well, having said all that….now I will tell myself that I can still learn some new skills in the marketplace. I can adapt and compete, Here I go again. Another learning curve….

Hmmmmm…..I wonder if I will still have enough time to actually make beads anymore? That would be nice.

The Bead Biz Balancing Act

The bead show balancing act: Are you doing enough beads shows? How many bead shows are you doing this year? Are you doing too few or too many. How many should you do? How many can you physically do each year? What shows are good and which ones are turkeys? How far do you need to travel to your shows? How much stuff should you pack for the show? How do you get all your stuff there in one piece?  Are the expensive shows really worth it? Are you making enough money at this show to make doing that show worthwhile? Yep, these are the questions that haunt the professional beadmakers every year.  It never stops. It’s and endless treadmill of show possibilities.

I’ve been making and selling beads at bead shows for more than 12 years now. Early in my career, it was like an adventure to seek out the best and most profitable shows in the closest proximity with the best attendance and the highest professional exposure. It turned out to be more simple than that.

As a rule (the professional bead artists always told me) you need to do local Bead Society shows, you should do a bead show in Tuscon each February and you must do the annual ISGB Gathering Bead Bazaar to really get your work and your name into the marketplace and find your niche. In addition, you should also add other national shows or regional shows during the rest of the year. Additionally, don’t do “art and craft shows”  - just do BEAD shows only. That’s where you needed to be. I took the advice to heart.  As the years have passed, I would probably give the same advice to new beadmakers. It’s a good, basic plan. You just keep expanding from there.

Today, I know several prominent, lampwork artists  who do 8-12 shows each year. Some do even more than that!  It never ceases to amaze me that they are able to create enough inventory and find enough energy to keep up such a hectic schedule. (Although, making a living is a strong incentive!) In addition, many of them also teach beadmaking classes around the country and internationally, have trunk shows, studio sales and consignment sales as well as selling their work online.  I have heard some awesome travel tales of transporting glass, torches and tools through the TSA inspections. (Funny and scary ones). To summarize, it’s amazing how hard it is to keep up with all the work and travel needed to be a successful professional beadmaker/entrepreneur.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this because I have been working non-stop in the studio for my annual trip to the Bead & Button Show next week. This will be my tenth year as a vendor there and I am suffering from aching muscles and fatigue from doing the production work required for the show.  The air travel, hauling suitcases full of booth displays, business necessities and product inventory are stressful components not to mention doing the actual show.  More is required each and every year.

A friend and fellow beadmaker, that I admire greatly, told me several years ago while sitting next to me at a bead society bazaar, that he thought I was in danger of losing the creative joy that beadmaking had brought into my life. He had known me since I started making beads and said he could see the changes in how I talked about my work. He warned me that I was approaching a “burn-out” fatigue from the production work I had been doing. I scoffed at him then but within 12  months….he was right on track with his prediction. I was definitely losing the “joy” and I had gained … an ever-growing “business”. It was getting harder and harder to keep up with my own expectations.

I was drawn into this profession because I loved making beads. I loved the process, the craft itself and its unlimited creative possibilities. I had found my niche. My husband always told me to do what I loved and that the money would follow. It was a beautiful concept and it was true. I guess for me, it was all about how much money did I need to make to feel successful as an artist? That’s a difficult question for me to answer. It’s not always easy to separate the art from the business.

I gave this matter a great deal of thought. It was a “Duh” moment for me. I made some new choices this year. I decided to eliminate a few shows. I tapered off eBay (the dark side) and went over to Etsy. I stopped counting the beads in the kiln each day. I started taking weekends off. I reduced the amount of time each day that I spent in the studio. I scheduled days to play at the torch instead of production time. I started taking life at the torch a little less seriously. I limited my shows to the West Coast (except for B&B). I played with new tools, new techniques and new kinds of glass. I’m taking more classes….fun classes. I’m not going to worry about making more money each year. I’m doing OK and right now, that’s enough for me. Money comes and goes. C’est la vie.

I know that it’s partly the burn-out and partly that I’ve reached the point in my life that I need to find more things that bring joy into each day. Life is short and I’m not getting any younger. It’s nice to have something in your life that you can do creatively and still make a living. It’s more than a job or a business. It’s how you feel about what you do each day.

I’m looking forward to the time I spend in my studio now. It really is a kind of balancing act isn’t it? I didn’t even realize that I was on that treadmill until my life was out of control. It took me awhile to realize how much I needed to find that balance between making a living and …. just living.

Camaraderie in Glass, My Journey

I’ve spent almost 24 years around other glass artists. I’ve worked in many settings which included variations of the studio environment to the marketplace. I’ve worked in all forms of glass art. I’ve encountered all levels of hobbyists, enthusiasts, collectors, glass workers, teachers and artists. It has been an interesting experience to see the diverse group of people who are passionate, dedicated and productive in this art form.

As a furnace glass artist in the midwest, I watched the old guard, mainly older, white men, make way for young men and women into the studio. New ideas, new methods, new tools, new techniques were on the horizon. The art glass studio movement was undergoing a radical change forward. It was exciting on many levels for me. I loved being a part of it.

It wasn’t always an easy transition for either group involved.  There was resentment for the youthful attitudes and there was more chauvinism than I had thought possible for the 1980′s. Always a surprise to a woman when she thinks that times have already changed. It reminded me of politics in the 60′s – particularly the chauvinism. I kept hearing from other artists that we shouldn’t expect too much form the “old guard” because the furnace glass blower was the last prima dona of the art glass world. Still, the young, emerging artists prevailed and were finally accepted into the fold. They changed the art form forever and it’s still growing.

I did not feel as much camaraderie in this furnace glass movement as I did a sense of fierce competition and limitless energy. It was invigorating but not as welcoming as I had hoped.  I thought it might be that I was older than most of the others in my studio. Ageism is alive and well in this area. To be fair, the field is a young person’s field. You need a great deal of strength and stamina. I was already over 40 years old…..way over the hill.

By 1994, I was attracted to the lamp working area of glass after repeated exposure to flame workers who shared a wealth of techniques and knowledge with students and other artists in their field. These experienced and knowledgeable artists brought a sense of fellowship to the glass world that I had never seen before. I saw this particularly in the bead making world.  That alone made this particular art form extremely attractive to me.

I hoped this sense of “fellowship and camaraderie” would be a lasting phenomenon. I am pleased to say that it continues to be the case. I think that is one of the reasons I decided to stay in bead making all these years. I’ve met some wonderful, sharing artists in the world of bead makers over the years.

Perhaps that is why so many people are drawn to our art form? I would like to think so. I want new artists and students to feel welcome into our profession. Let’s make sure that we do our part to keep the tradition of fellowship alive.