Teaching and Teachers: Sara Lamb at Woven Thoughts

Sara Lamb, a wonderful fiber arts teacher, has written a very thoughtful post about establishing a reputation as a teacher.

After the boom in knitting interest in the early 2000s, there is now an upsurge in handspinners. Case in point: for the first time ever, I am wait-listed for the workshop atSOAR 2008. Granted, I submitted my registration on the last day, but in previous years the organizers have collected all the registration forms first, then assigned workshops after the registration deadline. Anyway, the workshop filled up within a week. That's how many new handspinners, weavers, felters, and other fiber artists there are out there.

Sara writes about how we need more teachers to meet the needs of learners. The problem is that most people choose to take classes with teachers whose reputations are already well-established. There are a lot of stars in the fiber arts community: Judith MacKenzie McCuin, Deb Menz, Sharon Costello, Nancy Bush, Maggie Casey, Rudy Amann, Carol Rhoades, Sara herself. The list goes on. Naturally, new spinners and weavers want to study with the best teachers, but limited class size and teaching schedules will mean fewer chances for these newbies to study with big-name instructors.

Is this a bad thing? No, it is an opportunity. Sara rightly points out that SOAR is creating opportunities for new teachers to demonstrate their gifts in an established forum. Abby Franquemont will be leading her first workshop there, having been a scholarship recipient last year. I got to sit next to Abby in Judith MacKenzie McCuin's workshop and I can testify to her masterly spinning skills and hilarious sense of humor. I suspect she will be a leader in the teaching community in the years to come.

Teaching and learning. Novices become apprentices, apprentices become teachers, teachers become masters. Some of us will stop off along the way (I consider myself a lifelong novice), but others will continue down the path to mastery. This is the excitement as the field of fiber arts gathers new followers.