suzanne - i gave a lot of thought to all those very questions about 8
or so years ago when, at age 58, i decided to become a jewelry
designer/fabricator. unable to find any instruction even in this
mecca of creativity next to ringling school, self instruction was
the only way to go. that’s when divergent ‘how tos’ of different
‘masters’ reared their ugly heads “… since not all educations are
the same, …” amen! and everyone of those who differed wrote one of
the many books i tried to use in teaching myself, which was another
lesson: ‘be pragmatic not dogmatic’ when it comes to processes &
procedures.
designs were, & are, aided by developing an innate sense of
proportion; that’s why some have more problems than others
designing. oxy-acetyl soldering was the worst patch in self teaching
but after i disconnected the smoke detector while working there
wasn’t so much distraction & i learned to ‘never, ever even think
about trying to change the course of a rolling ball of molten silver
solder hell-bent for the table edge’. learning lapidary was easier
with a backlog of Lapidary Journals - also it was more fun to cut
stones for my designs rather than design around what someone else
had cut.
as to your other queries, here goes what is opinion:
Does a formal education help you make more sales,...
not with an eng lit but the minor in child behavior has come in
handy at times with customers; the training in mechanical design
(aerospace & defense materiel & equipment) did factor into it an
ancillary way.
... or otherwise better prepare you for business success?
the education gained by being mayor & councilmember in a small town
helped more than eng lit did; successfully seeking votes & selling
one’s product are somewhat akin.
what do you think is the best approach: a degree program, ...
if the syllabus includes related but not mandatory subjects to keep
both sides of the brain awake.
... a steady diet of short workshops, ...
where the student is given short term goals that foster success &
encouragement instead of ‘this is how you have to do it, practice
later’.
... attending a craft school offering a wide variety of
subjects,
good instructors, some new & some older, are key here to keep the
processes updated instead of ‘this is the only way to do it’ taught
by didactic ‘mechanics’.
... an intensive course at a school dedicated to your craft, ...
see all of the above.
... a formal apprenticeship, ...
most won’t agree but it seems logical that a student who has a
strong grasp of the basics could apprentice out to learn what was
not available in the classroom. unfortunately, it sounds as though a
lot of apprentices wind up learning only what the ‘master’ knows how
to do, & everything is done his/her way or not at all & often as the
one doing the master’s ‘scut work’ that they may never have to do
again, they learn more frustration than creation.
a mixture of all of the above, none at all?
depends entirely on the person seeking to learn. in my case i missed
a lot of the basic classroom instruction but by not having any
dogmatic instructors passing on some quirks i avoided a lot of
mistakes perpetuated through the process to inevitable failure or
frustration. at my age i don’t have time to iron out all my own
mistakes let alone someone else’s. i plan to write a book on it:
‘the hazards to husbands, home, hair and hands of auto-instruction
in lapidary and jewelry design and fabrication’
good luck with the article -
ive