No, I did not stay in Milwaukee all this time, I just have been too busy to write about the best Bead Show I've ever been. I started planning this trip nearly a year ago and it was worth it. I tried to understand why this was such a nice experience: 1) very well organized; 2) many classes to choose from; 3) all the vendors you can imagine (the ones that you see in the magazines); but most of all 4) ALL THE TALENT THAT SURROUNDS YOU. From artists, students, bead Lovers....
I arrived at Milwaukee on Tuesday night just barely on time to take my first class with Kim St Jean - Fabulous Fold Forming. Lesson #1: do not take a class the day you arrive. Flight delays, traffic, can take a toll on your plans. Relax and prepare for the next day. The class was a good opportunity to hammer like crazy and to form beautiful shapes to ultimately convert to interesting jewelry pieces. This is a picture of what I made in the class.
Next day I took Susan Lenart Kazmer's class Altered Surface Charms Jewelry. Great instructor and artist full of energy and passion. The class was about how to apply patinas to metal and found objects and ideas about how to put them together in jewelry. We learned to drill, rivet, damp, disk cutting, and many other tips. I played with a lot of pieces but was not able to put together some jewelry. Lesson #2: for a "technique class" it is important to come with a project in mind, something that you can follow. Believe me, time flies and all of a sudden it is time to go. Susan and me
Wednesday is a great day to arrive to the show because you can go the "Teachers Reception" at night and meet all the instructors and see their work and the class projects. Even tough your may have booked all of your classes already (like I did), it is good to see them up close and get ideas for next year.
I was interested mostly in working with metal, so most of my classes were related to working with it. My hands were hurting by Thursday....bad day because I had scheduled the Rio Grande Metal Forming Class......... Lesson #3: mix the techniques and classes so that you take a break. If you are doing beading, take a wire work class for example. Rio Grande Class was given by Ronie Mares. Excellent instructor, but the best part was to work with all the fancy tools you want to get for Christmas.
Opening Night on Thursday night was the best part of the show. It was very exciting to see the floor full of energy and people eager to buy. It was a good idea that I brought a list of things that I NEEDED.....The selection is amazing but I found that the prices were not the best. Lesson #4: bring your list and stick to it. Buy what you need to see in person (not over the Internet) and if you have money left....go ahead and go crazy!
Here are some of the projects that I made during the Rio Grande Class.On Friday it was wire working day (and shopping). I took the class Little Amazonia with Un-Roen Manarata (please don't ask me to pronounce this, English is my second language....lol). The necklace was a gorgeous piece full of Swarovski Crystals. The class was very quiet, a break from the metal madness of the previous days. See my final project which I wore the same day and a picture of Un-Roen and me.
I'm a little bit embarrassed, but I took a short class Friday night, this time with Mary Hettmansperger building Bead Pods using copper and beads. What a fun class. You even learn how to color with fire and get those amazing colors in the copper. See a sample of the pods.
Saturday was the last day of a full class. Yes, you guessed, another metal class. The class was Rivets - Cold Connections with Tracy Stanley. By this day I was already an expert (yeah right) but the tips, and the designs for this bracelet were super fun to follow. I can tell you that this has been the most admired piece of jewelry that I made during that week. I look forward to continue making pieces with Cold Joints. See my project below and a picture of Tracy and me.
No wonder there is such a hype about cold connections, soldering is not easy and a little bit hot. How do I know? I took a three hour soldering class on Sunday (before leaving for Miami) with Leslee Frumin. Very organized instructor. Amazingly most of the students were Beaders that wanted to take their jewelry making to the next level and learn how to make bead caps, and toggles, and decorative eye pins to complete their beaded pieces. Great class but the time was very short. Lesson #5: for my next trip I will leave Sunday morning for my last hours of shopping!
If you are thinking on going to B&B next year, start planning now. Yes, I'm not exaggerating. Put some money aside here and there. Ask for "a class" for your birthday gift, for Christmas, for your anniversary, for your graduation, whatever as long as you can go. You will have to pay for your must take classes in January 2010 (some of them sell out really quickly). If you change your mind later, it is only a small fee to get a refund. Air ticket could be bought a couple of months later, and if you find a roommate you can save on the hotel bill. Bring some money to buy....this is very important. Food is optional!
I will continue sharing with you some of the projects that I will be making with all this new knowledge and inspiration. See you next time.
Cheers!
