Jealousy and paranoia running rampant

Jewelry Discussion
21

G’day; Not jewellery, but the same silliness. I was 25, (out
of the Royal Navy 1 year!) and working in a research
establishment. Had a piece of machining being done in their
large, well equipped workshop. Popped into the shop at the end of
the week; I wanted to get a twist drill sharpened. Foreman
missing, so went up to a bloke on a lathe. Instantly he shut the
lathe down, grabbed a cotton sheet, threw it over the lathe,
turned and asked belligerently, ‘And what do you want?’ I
walked away. One of the others came up and said, ‘Take no
notice of Tom he’s always like that.’ Now, how can we help?'
He didn’t sharpen the drill. Took me over to his bench, grabbed
several drills, took me over to the grindstone, ground the point
off a drill, then carefully demonstrated how to go about putting
a fresh cutting point back on it, describing the proper angle for
different metals and speeds. Ground another down, handed it to
me and made me do it. Finally, stood over me whilst I sharpened
the one I had brought in, then approved it when I drilled a piece
of thin sheet steel without it riding up the drill as it broke
through… I lost count long ago of the number of times I have
passed that technique on. But it all goes to show, don’t it?
Cheers. –

        /\      John Burgess
       / /
      / /      Johnb@ts.co.nz
     / /__|\
    (_______)
22

Hello Alan & John! This is a great topic! Everybody just
pouring their hearts out! That is the reality of it isn’t it? We
are interested, we learn, we grow, we learn more, and grow even
more! We then (if we are lucky!) also grow to the conclusion that
we have knowledge and others yearn for the chance
learn from us.There are those among us who choose to keep their
knowledge in secret. What blackness, such a cold conclusion to
our potential positive effect on others and our trade. It’s a far
bigger person to take the time and improve our trade and
individuals with our knowledge and techniques. If this can be
accomplished in one lifetime, as well as mastering a trade,
BRAVO!

I will now tell a dissapointing story of my own. A teacher I knew
was teaching an engraving class, as well as other classes. After
several years he declined to teach engraving any further. The
reason given was, a former student had been taking work from his
engraving accounts. In this persons’ mind; this was stealing! He
could no longer teach the course if his students were then going
to betray him an take bread from his plate! That is hogwash!
Nothing can be stolen in this way. His accounts were already
available due to sluggish service. To pin the term "thief "on a
budding journeyman is totally off base. I’ve been on both sides
of this issue. Conduct yourself as a professional. Don’t undercut
your competition! There are plenty of ways to get work without
working cheaper. If your tempted to undercut pricing; that only
hurts all of us. If I go to a store and negotiate for their work,
or a portion of it, I’m am offering quality and service at
sometimes MORE cost than they are paying. This is not stealing!
That is competing. My point be, be fair to your trade and
yourself when finding tradework. I’ll also admit loosing accounts
to slow deliveries, etc. I have no qualm with the shops that took
what I wasn’t servicing well enough! That is my lesson learned
and growth opportunity.

Yes, they did continue with the engraving class!

It has been said “To learn something well; try teaching it”.
Help others learn so that our trade gains, rather than loosing;
in all respects.

I will continue to learn on orchid and contribute when I have
any value.

								Tim
23

if one does not try to contrbute to the profession and help to
improve even their competitors, the profession will never
benefit. The public perception of jewelers will only be
enhanced if we work together to enhance and build the profession
to a high level. All will benefit from a postive public
perception. And our art will be raised to a level higher than
before Al Gilbertson.

24

Remember Charles Bronson’s character told apprentice when he was
felling a little threatened? “Man, I taught you everything you
know. But I didn’t teach you everything that I know …”.

Bruce D. Holmgrain
Maryland’s first JA certified Master Bench Jeweler
http://www.goldwerx.com
manmountaindense@goldwerx.com

25

Allen, and others to numerous to name, I have had the privilege
of learning from many ‘masters’, but I feel that I learned the
most from the worst jeweler i ever worked with. Or maybe I
should say that I refined my knowledge by cleaning up after
him/her.

As to the elderly master who would not share his knowledge,
perhaps this was due to his not being comfortable with his
knowledge. while some have great ability they are never sure that
they know enough to teach others.

WayneM

26

Hey Alan,

I simply wanted to add my voice in appreciation of the teaching
and publishing you do. I think I’m a pretty good metalsmith but
I am self taught from books, and although I know a fair amount
about teaching academic stuff I had neither teachers nor mentors
for metals.

I will be teaching jewelry making to teenagers this summer. In
preparation for this I have watched several of your videos.
Although I didn’t learn a lot of new goldsmithing, I feel like I
learned a great deal about teaching hands on skills. Thanks so
much for your sharing and your attitude. Michael

27

TAY THYE SUN,

When Greedy people put their profits in front of their fellow
man they are as guilty of sacrilege as the person who put the
board up. That kind of me mentality has always been the downfall
of sharing. Perhaps you should take a deeper look at
your philosophy, What is more important, the future or today?
Today will be yesterday tomorrow but the future is always around
the corner. Where would We be if everyone felt that way? Would
there be any jewelers at all? I hope I have made my point! What
is more important, a few bucks or people crediting you with an
Idea that lasts millennia and the satisfaction of knowing you
have been able to contribute to the knowledge pool
Ringman John

28

Hello:

Alan, you told a story everyone can relate to in any industry.
I recently worked solely as an art director for TV network and
left recently to pursue just jewelry. Nothing gave me more
satisfaction at my last job then teaching my team of designers
new skills and turning them on to new ideas and seeing them take
the ball and run with it. It was a great education for me to
see how people take ideas and reinvent those ideas into
something else. That is the creative process. It is wonderful to
be apart of it.

I am the same way now with my little jewelry business. I love
seeing what people do with what they learn. It helps keep me on
my toes and helps me to push the envelope creatively.

Anyway, we all must remember it is ourselves that makes our work
important and unique. You have continued business with a client
not only because of your work but because of you- the person and
hey if you lose a client no big deal. Everyone likes to try and
use different vendors from time to time. Chances are- if you
are giving them great service with a great attitude, remember
their faces and names- they will come back. If you are losing a
lot of business it is because either your line of jewelry has
become a little tired or your service and attitude stink.
Evaluate your self before finding someone else to blame.

DeDe

29

Dear Ellie, Alan, et al,

The jealousy and paranoia thread has been fascinating for this 60
year old jeweller and teacher. It has made me realise how
fortunate I was as an apprentice to be trained in a workshop of
masters who were totally generous with their experience and
knowledge.

My immediate apprentice master often observed that it was only
the ignorant who claimed trade secrets. One can be highly skilled
and yet remain ignorant and defensive about sharing those skills.
It’s all part of the mystery of the human condition which Ibsen
explored in all its psychological drama. Jewellers, I have found,
are rarely as twisted as some of Ibsen’s characters.

Although a jeweller for forty three years, I’ve only come to
teaching in the past twelve. Like Alan Revere and all you other
generous teachers and sharing jewellers out there, I have come to
know first hand that sharing means growing.

Unlike Ibsen’s bitter and twisted characters, I am confident
that Alan and those like him will be just as generous and
interested in the progress of their craft in their old age as
they are now. While I accept that I may not be as adept in twenty
years time, I know that I will always share what knowledge and
experience I have.

Ibsen’s master builder met his fate due to his consuming pride
and arrogance - two vices that often go hand in hand with a
belief in trade secrets.

Keep on Sharin’

Rex from Oz

30

I, too, applaud the generous souls who teach and give of
themselves. I try to do the same. However, I think we have to
recognize that it is human nature to keep some secrets from the
competition, especially if the competition could end up taking
your job or opening up next door. The Net makes it easier for
all of us to share because we’re sharing with those far away
rather than next door.

Also, it sems that those who share the most have either moved on
to teaching as a vocation or are so proficient that they have
more business than they can handle. There is a local jewelery
supply from whom I buy waxes. I think they are relatively
unconcerned with whether I make a mold from their wax because:

  1. there are lots of people who don’t have the expertise to do
    so, so they have plenty of customers; 2) they are turning out
    new waxes all the time and moving on to new markets all the
    time, so they don’t worry about sharing.

I have noticed that there are some proprietary secrets people
have invented (or thought they invented) that they didn’t share.
(Remember the guy with the blue gold and the guy with the
special tension setting?) In such cases people may be protecting
their livelihood or their investment of much time in a
discovery. Certainly expertise is something like money . . .
many of the very wealthy eventually give it all away. . . you
can’t take it with you, money or expertise. All of us should
aim to be “wealthy” enough that we can give some away.

Regards,
Roy

31

All, I don’t mean to be Negative Nick here but reality bites.
At the risk of offending the rightous. I’m starting to get a
little queasy from all the patting on the back that is going on
in the thread on sharing. And I’am not dissing Alan. Alan is very
good at what he does and does it at a fair market price. And GIA
does what it does well. Lets be real. All schools SELL knowledge.
Private jewelry tutors or schools or whatever you may call
yourself (myself included) sell knowledge that they have gleaned
from others or payed for themselves. Sure everyone likes to share
a couple of bench tips with their competitor. It strokes your ego
and makes you feel good. But sharing bench tips on the internet
where there are no geographical boundries and if your competitors
are in there they may have a handle is a bit different than going
down the hall and teaching your competitor how to work platinum
so you can share your platinum customers together. I can’t walk
into GIA or the Revere Academy and sit in on a semester of
channel setting and not expect to be evicted within in a day or
two. I have to pay money for that knowledge. And that IS what
makes Orchid and the internet so great (this is the positive
part) even though it is not free (We all are paying some server.)
in thirty years that I have been making jewelry I have gleaned
more great than from anyone in my geographical
area.That does not however eliminate competition from buisness.
The very nature of buisness is competition.In a perfect world it
would be great to learn anything free without any
encumberances.Live like a Teletubbie but even Teletubbies have to
eat.I can hear the feathers ruffeling now. Oh well I needed a
little excitement. Only slightly paranoid in Colorado

J Morley Coyote
Ridge Studio
J Morley Goldsmiths

32

Alan, I always knew that there were jewelers and people of other
trades who don’t like to share what they know, but I didn’t
realize it was as wide spread as obviously it is… My story is
all to familiar… I was 18 years old, my father had been in the
jewelry business for about 25 years at that point as a diamond
buyer for an upscale store in my area… anyway the college thing
didn’t go over very well with me and I didn’t know where my life
was going to go, career wise. I always knew I would work with my
hands though. So mentioned to me the idea of becoming a jeweler.
Well I thought that was GREAT… I got a job at the store he
worked for with the understanding that there jeweler would teach
me… This jeweler over there was actually a good friend of my
fathers’… Well friend or no friend, that guy not only didn’t
show me anything but after 6 months of me working there and
learning on my own, he stopped talking to me all together…
After 8 more months of me sitting there not being able to talk to
anyone other than when some sales people would come, the so
called jeweler made up some ridiculous lies about me not working
and I was actually fired for defending myself of the false
claims… Anyway here it is 10 years later and that same store is
now wishing they never got rid of me, I do all of their custom
work, all of there more advanced repairs on the more expensive
pieces, generally they depend more on me than they ever did on
that so called jeweler they have… AS for that so called jeweler,
well lets just say the world is round and what went around then
is coming around now and he is stewing in his own arrogance… I
have learned a very important lesson in the way he treated me
when I was starting out, and I will never let my talent and
knowledge go unshared…

Marc Williams
MarcCo. Jewelry Mfg.

33

Allan,

It must be the grinding dust or the fumes of the flux burning
off! Early in my dental lab tech apprenticeship, I was given a
bench next to the premier gold technician in our lab which was a
lab known and respected nationwide. I, also, marveled at this
mans skill and speed. His job was to keep me busy and to teach
me the trade while doing his work. I was his gofor. My
presence did not affect his earning ability in the least.
Shortly after my assignment to be his helper I began to suspect
that he never intended to teach me the trade. I was given
assinine jobs to do but did the best that I could in hopes that
there was some rhyme or reason which he had that was unknown to
me. After 6 month’s I went to the owner and asked if all
apprentices were as stupid as I was and progressed as painfully
slow as I was progressing. He said that he didn’t know what I
meant and that he was extremely busy at the moment but would get
back to me later.

That evening as I was about to ‘punch out’, the owner told me
not to clock out called me back to his office. He asked me
what he felt that I wasn’t learning that I thought that I should
be learning and kinda quizzed me on what I knew. He soon
realized what I already knew, namely that the Master Tech was
jerking me around. They had been compadres for 25 years and the
older man was gettin’ crotchety and somewhat paranoid. Bill,
the owner, took me as his apprentice and assigned me to work
with another tech part time and with him at the bench when he
worked at the bench.

I used to stay for hours and hours after work to do cases slowly
and to try new ways to wax in order to get a better finished
product in less time than any one else, or to work on things
that would not be cost effective to have me work on during
regular hours. I was doing very well and rather quickly. Lee,
the first tech, would never speak to me, EVER. Suddenly Lee
needed an emergency operation and I was the one that was handed
his job of doing the difficult larger cases and the extremely
precision work involving the mating of fixed bridgework(cemented
in) to the removable bridgework (partial dentures) via precision
attachments which are small (2-11mm x 4-8mm x 6-12mm), usually
platinum iridium, mechanical devices sometimes with as many as 8
tiny parts that need to be disassembled and soldered or cast to
the goldwork, and then reassembled while maintaining a
parallelity of .001". Bill walked me through everything. When
Lee came back, he still didn’t speak to me but I had learned
that his lack of self confidence and self worth were the driving
factors that made him act that way. Several years after his
retirement he was back to see Bill and stopped to look at a very
complicated case I had just finished and given to Bill for final
approval and as he walked out past my bench the only words he
said to me in the 8 years since he stopped talking to me were
"Nice job".

Regards,

Skip

Skip Meister
@Skip_Meister
Orchid Jewelry Listserve Member
N.R.A. Endowment &
Certified Instructor
in all disciplines
Certified Illinois D.N.R.
Hunter Ed, Instructor
ICQ 37319071

34

I got my start in metal working in an off beat area, making
medieval armor, but I had the good fortune to meet a skilled
professional that took me on as an aprentice. We worked together
for several years and never did he fail to share knowledge with
me or instruct me in any way he could. In the end I ended up
developing a few techniques he hadn’t thought of that helped him
to increase his skills too. It was a valuable exchange to both
of us and has developed a true love of teaching in me.

After hearing all these tales of guarded secrets I have to
consider myself lucky to have always found individuals who were
very willing to share knowledge.

Michael

35

Orchid Digest Post:
Jealousy and paranoia running rampant.From: Todd Hawkinson trhltd@pclink.com

To All, I too, back in 1977 apprenticed in a trade shop where the
shop foreman was a master jeweler (master moldmaker &
mastercaster), and had been for 27 years. It was his job to
instruct the apprentice jewelers what to do for their first years
of training. When anyone would come into his territory, he would
simply turn everything off and start to talk about the weather.
After about a year I started to show him some of the stuff I was
working on by myself. He became interested in how I made some of
the things I had constructed. I SHOWED him and it began opening
up a whole world of sharing and respect for both of us. I asked
him point blank why he was so secretive about his techniques and
he gave me some insight I share with you today. First, he said his
skill was something he learned over a long period of time and
that he valued this knowledge very much. As a master he had seen
many apprentices come and go and not be patient or skilled enough
to make it in the trade. He felt that everyone he taught was like
one of his kids and to see them not use his knowledge was
heartbreakning for him as well as a waste of his time. So he
pulled back and just taught enough to see who had the potential
to really learn. A persons character was not something you find
out about in a short period of time. I came to the conclusion
that RESPECT was the first critical part of learning. When he saw
the respect I had for him, it did effect our relationship. He was
not without thought or concern regarding my desire to learn. It
was not just my desire to see how he made things that made a
difference. I think it was my attitude. Second, he was the
highest paid person in the shop, and HAD seen people come in at
lower wages and repalce the older workers. On a sad note, this
REALLY happened to him by a new owner of the firm he worked at
for so long. My dear friend Master Jeweler Bob Burke is now a dog
breeder. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but what a
shame. I think his heart was broken and he just got wore out from
the experience. He told me once that he would be happy to have
droped over dead at the bench an old man. Maybe job security is
not important until it is your own livelyhood and family you
have to consider. Third, I have had two additional masters who
have taken me under their wing. I feel blessed beyond measure for
these indivuals. What I believe worked for me is the respect I
have for skill and knowledge. For I was (and am) willing to share
what I have and respect what I saw. Fourth, go into any training
with a great respect for the master. Be patient, you have to earn
many of the secrets they will show. Time is critical, nothing
worth achieving comes easy or fast. Remember to always strive for
excellence. Sometimes a master will know when you are ready to
see what he knows. And maybe it’s just when the master is ready.
Jealousy and Paranoia are here to stay. Foreign labor will see
to that. Just ask the jewelry community in Rhode Island. But
education is the key and dedication is the tool. And alway keep
one last thought, even a master jeweler can be a horses ass and
no matter what you do, things may not go the way you want. And
maybe a self professed “Master Jeweler” is no master at all. All
my best regards, TR the Teacher

From: Virginia Lyons virginia.lyons@eng.sun.com

Dear Tay: I would like to think that my competitor can’t really
compete with me because I creating “my own style,” and he’s
creating “his own style.” When you stop and think about it,
rings, bracelets, earrings, etc. are not new. They’ve been
around for thousands of years. Yet each person uses these basic
forms and comes up with “new stuff” in the form of different
styles, use of materials, etc.

So even if you told me all your secrets, I’d still not create
copies of your work because I have my own aesthetics and
creativity to express.

Cheers Virginia

From: Virginia Lyons virginia.lyons@eng.sun.com

The greatest benefit of sharing knowledge and teaching
techniques is that you communicate your love and enthusiasm for
learning something new. I have found that other folks are more
willing to share that enthusiasm about what they know and do.
This Orchid list is a perfect example of this principle.

I make a habit of visiting the Websites of folks, who include
their URL in an Orchid message. (I’m working on getting my own
Website together.) I get lots of new ideas and enjoy seeing
different aesthethic. Do I copy your work? Not really. I do
confess to once or twice making something similar as an
educational experience to learn a new technique. But I really
have my own ideas and interests–as I’m sure most of us do.
Jewelry and metal arts is such a gigantic field that none of us
will ever be able to do everything–or even want to do
everything.

If only the world turned slower, there would be more time each
day to do more.

Cheers Virginia Lyons

From: “Kat Tanaka” kat@vincent-tanaka.com

Sigh. While I understand Steve Kretchmer’s desire to protect his
process, I can’t help but be a little sad about all the beautiful
things that aren’t being made using that technique.

I’d feel differently on the other side of the equation, I’m sure
Kat

From: Byzantia byzantia@earthlink.net

Hi J Morley, Wondered if anyone would get around to mentioning
these, and your other gently worded observations here. I think
that they are quite salient points. I’ve been avidly lurking for
the past few weeks…(broke and dislocated a couple of ribs some
time ago, and it threw me quite off schedule.), and Mr. or Ms J
Morley Coyote summed up all missing areas of this thread quite
succinctly I think. No doubt flaming arrows of retort are winging
their way to him/her as I write this. That said, I do share tips
and sources for free…buuut…I’m also teaching a six week
class on how to make some very simple wire wrap pearl necklaces,
and getting paid fairly well for the effort too.
However…since I am teaching this class in my immediate
area…a very small community…don’t think that it hasn’t
crossed my mind that I may be undercutting my own business by
doing so. Altruism becomes interestingly stunted, when its your
continued income that is at stake. The same men and women to whom
I am teaching the technique, have bought things from me in the
past… by teaching them how to make the necklaces
themselves, I know almost certainly, that they won’t be buying
these particular items from me in the future. One of the students
in fact, is a jeweler friend, who manufactures massive amounts of
goods in asia, and intends to use the new info, for that. I’m
teaching the class anyway, because I’m their neighbor, they
begged me, I don’t believe in keeping secrets, this IS
that they could get elsewhere, or figure out for
themselves, if they bothered to, I am getting paid, and I have
no backbone. I will of course teach them thoroughly, and
completely, and will truly enjoy doing so. Who knows…except for
the manufacturer, maybe what they’ll get from the class is a new
respect for the amount of money I charge for the necklaces. :slight_smile:
Anyway, well said JMC.

Lisa, (with six crazed baby chicks, ugly as hell at this
stage…adolescence…and the weather is still too cold for me),
Topanga, CA USA

From: Steve& Carol Klepinger csk@iserv.com

Dear Tay Thye Sun: Your best defence against the competition is
honesty and superior service. While you don’t necessarily want
to give away business, you have to keep faith that your customers
will be loyal as long as they feel they are being treated fairly
and with respect - the same as you would wish to be treated.
Fear is negative energy.

Best;
Steve Klepinger

From: Steve& Carol Klepinger csk@iserv.com

Dear J. Marley:

God bless the boat rockers! As one of the people who began this
thread, I appreciate your opposing view. Again, it stimulates
conversation and thus enlightens us all. While it’s true that Alan
and many others on Orchid make their living, at least in part, by
charging for their knowledge, you can’t deny that they’ve been
more than generious on Orchid. As you say, “we all have to eat.”
However, there’s more than enough work for us all and those who
are honest and more highly skilled will simply get more of it.
Not because we “screwed the other guy” out of it.

Best wishes;
Steve Klepinger

From: Steve& Carol Klepinger csk@iserv.com

Alan Thanks so much for your reply relaying your experiences. The
old Gent I was refering to was well into his 70’s at the time and
I was too wet between the ears to appreciate the opportunity
given me. I often try to think just what he would do in a
challenging situation. Oh, to jump into the “wayback machine”
just for a few days!

Best;
Steve Klepinger

From: ASleep220@aol.com

Alan; A few years ago I discovered a chaser in New Hampshire.
I’ve been a chaser for 40 years taught by a copper smith at the
Roycroft Shops. I finally found this person up over a post
office on Lake Winnapasocki(sp ?) I introduced myself and showed
hima piece with Arts and Crafts period flowers tooled in the
front. He took one look, turned around and would not even talk
to me. I was dumb founded to think that a fellow craftsman
would do that to another. As a middle school teacher for 34
years I work on the philosophy that I have no secrets about my
craft, ask and I will tell you more than you wanted to know. I
hope that known of us take any important with us
when we go. Al Sleeper

From: tay fegemlab@mbox5.singnet.com.sg

Mr Ringman John,

Thank you for sharing your open minded view. I agreed with
sharing for the betterment of the future. But I
still think competition can happen everywhere, when that happen
some would keep to themselve. That bring me to think
which level of sharing we are talking about i.e.
basic, intermediate or high level. Anyone can get information
from books or internet written on basic, intermediate and some
higher level of techniques of doing a job, etc. Just imagine if
a company has spent alot of money on building up a product or
certain design or technique, can they share it with the world.
Then who is going to pay for their overhead, etc. That is why
there is industrial espionage, spy, patent, etc.

It is good to share knowledge in a school or college or Orchid
where people of same interest could come together and share their
problem and knowledge and creating a kind of bonding. I like
your idealism thought, but reality in life is turning me partly
the other way.

Knowledge is power and if you have the best you can dominate the
world just like U.S.A. or a group of 7 nations are doing. Just a
funny thought - ‘I do not mind if someone can share with me the
about the inside of MX missile’. No profit but just
sharing knowledge.

With best regards,
Tay Thye Sun

From: “Susan Sarantos” auag@efortress.com

I have always been helpful to others who have wanted to learn.
There is plenty of work to go around. I even recommend other
jewelers in my area. If my customers see something that they wish
to own that someone else has designed I have no problem with
that. They even feel comfortable asking my advice about their
purchases. By being confident in my abilities it only makes them
more loyal. I have known jewelers who are content to be the big
fish in the little pond and are so naive that they actually
believe they have originally invented every basic design. I
prefer the wide open sea.

36

I am impressed with the sweet natured people who have offered
logical reasons why some jewelers may have refused to share
their knowledge!

Marilyn Smith

37

This is an interesting topic, and something related to it came
to my mind as I read the response. I have an artist friend, a
wonderful painter, actually, who recently submitted a work to a
juried show and was rejected. When she showed me the work, I
felt I could identify the one small thing about the work that I
felt was poorly painted. Although she expressed consternation
about her not being included in the show, she wasn’t outrightly
asking for advice, and I was reluctant to tell her what I
thought she could change about the painting to make it better.
With my students, it’s quite another thing, of course. They’re
paying for my advice and expertise. Even so, I try to be very
diplomatic. I suppose with this artist (not a student of mine)
I value the friendship and felt that she might take umbrage at
my advice not having actually asked for it. Should I have given
it? What are your thought on this? If you were the artist,
what would you have wanted? Responses to this dilemma
appreciated.

38

Only (?) slightly paranoid. This reminds me of a conversation
I had with Richard Kimbal 22 years ago in Denver. At the time I
was having some difficulty marrying reticulated gold areas with
forged shapes by fusing, not soldering. Kimbal was already a
master at these techniques. I asked him several very specific
questions, which he answered simply and directly without
hesitation. I am still greatful. My respect remains intense.
My point?

When I expressed my appreciation for his generosity, he

replied, matter of factly: “If you are willing to spend the time
and effort necessary to actually control these processes, you are
welcome to any knowledge that I have or has been shared with me.”

Many of this forum's readers will recognize Richard Kimball as

a “goldsmith’s goldsmith”, and in my opinion, a premier designer.
If you “know who you are”, technique is NOT “who” you are. It
is merely a means of expressing who you are and what you
envision. EVERYONE can learn technique, ANY technique. No
technique is beyond the ability of anyone willing to devout
themselves to it. Most are not.

But, do we have anything to SAY?   If we do, then the last

thing we’re concerned with is someone knowing “how” we said it!
We have ALREADY said it!!! Anyone who follows us is merely
copying, or, better yet, complimenting us.

Paranoia? I guess it depends upon one’s perspective. What
would we be trying to protect? Surely, not ourselves! Perhaps,
for some, just money.

39

Hi,

I’d say it all depends on your friend. It’s kinda of touchy,
nobody likes to hear, ‘You’ve got an ugly baby.’ & that’s sort of
what the turn down was saying. Is she the type of person that’s
open to suggestions?

If it were me, I’d relish someone elses opinion, after all, my
opinion about something I made really can’t be considered
objective.

Dave

40

This is more a friendship question than anything else. You
could set it up so that you each give ea. other some feedback on
your work and its presentation.

I think it’s important to remember that just because she didn’t
get into the show – that could have nothing to do with the
work. It could be the slides, or the jurors, or the moon
phases, or whatever it is that determines who gets into a show.

On the other hand, if that experience has opened her up to
change/expansion, then, sure, raise the issue tactfully, and
once you have permission to give feedback, continue to be
tactfull. Remember to state the positives too. One study said
people only remember one negative thing for each set of five
positives! So say those positives first, and then let 'er have
it.

Elaine
Chicago
US