Diane Fitzgerald's Bead Diary

My intent in writing my Bead Diary is to tell you what I'm working on and give you interesting tidbits about the bead world as I come across them. Stay tuned.

July 14, 2007

Rewards

Do you ever reward yourself when you've accomplished something? It's not a bad thing to do and it doesn't have to be chocolate! It helps one build confidence and helps us recognize within ourselves that we are making progress or have completed something. Rewards can range from giving yourself an hour to read, an evening of browsing books or magazines, a visit to a museum or exhibit or lunch with a friend.

Recently, I decided to reward myself for accomplishing three difficult things: completion of a new book, "Zulu Inspired Beadwork," teaching in Japan and teaching the Master Class at the 2007 Bead & Button Show, "The Jewels of Miriam Haskell." All three of these things were long involved projects that caused lots of worry and tension. Although they were enjoyable to do and prepare for, I felt a sense of relief when they were behind me. My reward was to take a class at the Sievers School of Fiber Arts where I teach every summer. The class I selected was "Paper! Color! Baskets!" taught by Jackie Abrams. It was good to be a student for a change and I learned a lot about basketry, about teaching and about what students like and dislike. Who would believe that one would work from 9 am to 11 pm for four days straight making baskets? If you're a craft artist, you probably understand the need to create, but taking the class was more than just exposure to a new medium other than beads. While it was the intrigue of color and shape that attracted me to the class, what I learned was the value of patience with myself and further to be patient with students who are struggling with an unfamiliar technique.

I made four baskets and this is my favorite:

The lizard is from Craft Adventure (craftadventure@yahoo.com).

Coming Next: My trip to Japan