Just the other day, I posted a slide show showing some traditionally shaped but unique beads. I had a lot of fun taking those photos, and I wanted to post them partly for my future students!
Yes! That’s right! I’ll soon be teaching “Introduction to Glass Beadmaking” at the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design. The former teacher of this course has literally “passed me the torch”!
One of the things I’m really looking forward to is the fact that the Centre has a torch available for each student in the class. What an outfit! I’ll be checking the set-up next week, and if there is another fabulous aspect to it, I’ll be sure to post some more info.
Just as a little back-story: I got my start in all my areas of craft (except wire-working) at the NSCCD. As I was finishing my Bachelor of Arts, I started taking night classes in Glass Beadmaking, which was affectionately called “Guerilla Glass Beadmaking” by my teacher. We worked on propane torches, with strips of stained glass, and used simple vermiculite in a cookie tin to slow the cooling of the glass.
Needless to say, the craft has generally become more advanced since those days. Now we will be using Oxygen-Propane “Minor Bench Burners”, and a kiln to actually anneal the beads immediately.
I expect that my new students will thoroughly enjoy the results of their learning, and I can say for certain that I will love teaching them.
I love to teach.
I think it’s mostly because I love to see the satisfaction of my students faces when they succeed at doing something that they didn’t know they could do!
Artisan Janelle Tyler's Thoughts, Creations and Activities 