Getting It Back
Every now and then I lose the joy.
It's hard to maintain, that joy part, in the slog of work to be done. The joy comes in the vision, upon starting, and in the reality, upon completing a pile of work.
But the joy can be transitory in the middle section.
Teaching the class Spin to Weave has a rhythm now. At first it was sort of random, a shotgun approach: put stuff out there and see what happens.
Now, thanks to several classes of spinner-weavers, I have a plan: we spin the first day and I talk.
The second day we analyse the yarns we have spun and talk some more, mostly about what they are to be, how we would use them. This is the exciting day, the day when light bulbs flash and ideas flow. The group of weavers dictates the direction, of course: what they want to weave and how we would make their cloth.
But they also have to wrap their heads around my approach to cloth and cloth making for clothing. It's not the usual path. Right away they have to think differently about their cloth.
This time, someone asked a compelling question on the first day, which set in motion the answers that would normally come on the second day, and it was a light-bulb moment, exciting for all of us as we discussed in depth what cloth for clothing means.
And I saw the joy, the joy radiated, and I came home deeply satisfied and ready to dive into work again: work that was just work a few weeks ago, but became once again, the joy of weaving.
Teaching is not a one way passing-on of information and tasks. It is an exchange, a circular and circuitous flow, and one from which we all benefit.
Thank you to every person who has taken a class with me. You cannot know how much I have learned from you, and the wonderful it is to get my own joy and enthusiasm back, when I see it in you.
(also? Happy Fourth!)
It's hard to maintain, that joy part, in the slog of work to be done. The joy comes in the vision, upon starting, and in the reality, upon completing a pile of work.
But the joy can be transitory in the middle section.
Teaching the class Spin to Weave has a rhythm now. At first it was sort of random, a shotgun approach: put stuff out there and see what happens.
Now, thanks to several classes of spinner-weavers, I have a plan: we spin the first day and I talk.
The second day we analyse the yarns we have spun and talk some more, mostly about what they are to be, how we would use them. This is the exciting day, the day when light bulbs flash and ideas flow. The group of weavers dictates the direction, of course: what they want to weave and how we would make their cloth.
But they also have to wrap their heads around my approach to cloth and cloth making for clothing. It's not the usual path. Right away they have to think differently about their cloth.
This time, someone asked a compelling question on the first day, which set in motion the answers that would normally come on the second day, and it was a light-bulb moment, exciting for all of us as we discussed in depth what cloth for clothing means.
And I saw the joy, the joy radiated, and I came home deeply satisfied and ready to dive into work again: work that was just work a few weeks ago, but became once again, the joy of weaving.
Teaching is not a one way passing-on of information and tasks. It is an exchange, a circular and circuitous flow, and one from which we all benefit.
Thank you to every person who has taken a class with me. You cannot know how much I have learned from you, and the wonderful it is to get my own joy and enthusiasm back, when I see it in you.
(also? Happy Fourth!)
posted by Sara at 7:30 AM
3 Comments:
Lovely post Sara. I totally agree with you that teaching isn't a one way process. I learn so much from my students.
Also she is totally cute in her Independence Day outfit.
Sara, I will tell you there are many out there who watch your DVD or video on Craftsy and, really, in your books and magazine articles. I had a few looks of pure joy at learning something new in both spinning and weaving while watching your video, Spin to Weave. Please know how much I appreciate you sharing what you've learned over the years.
Love the biker babe!
And I know what you mean about teaching. Every student I've had has helped make me a better teacher, especially those who have asked, said or done something unanticipated or flummoxing.
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