Self taught Vs Formal training

Jewelry Discussion
61

I thought I would not be draged into this thread, but the replies
compel me to say something.

First: I am a dentist, both practicing and teaching. I make my
living this way. It is important, no, critical for me to understand
the old ways and to evaluate the new ones and implement them. I learn
in different ways: reading, watching, doing, evaluating, and
teaching. Sometimes a synthesis occurs in my dreams. Since I do this
for a living and it is a passion, I needed to have a solid
foundation: formal training.

In one of my other lives I am more concerned with the journey, not
the destination: I have learned a lot about metal work from casting
to CNC. A little knowledge is dangerous. I have chosen to surround
myself with resource people who can guide me and fill me in on the
gaps in my knowledge. I find these people at the local community
college, woodturners meetings, my wife’s artistic friends, and my
wife. I usually do not wish to reinvent the wheel, unless there is a
special twist to it.

Daniel Spirer seems to think that there is a big difference between
gem knowledge and metal/design knowledge. I disagree. In both areas
you can learn a lot from those who have gone before you and you can
distinguish yourself with your creativity. Creativity executed badly
leaves a bad impression on the customer. I do not know many people
who would be thrilled to have their precious piece destroyed by
someone doing a proceedure for the first time. If you have learned
the basics and the first time is merely and extension of your
personal learning in a new direction, then you have had formal
training. If you cannot do the basics, I do not want you working on
my piece.

Sometimes creativity outshines technique and the result is stunning
and we forgive the actual construction faults. Sometimes you just hit
the market at the right time (I have never understood large painting
of soup cans, and I have heard people say that there has been nothing
new in art since them: overheard at the opening of the Painting with
Fire Exhibit of Enamel work in Long Beach last month)!

Having fun to me means that your can push the boundries. Wisdom is
using the experience of others and giving credit where it is due.

Charles Friedman DDS
Ventura, CA
Whose wife Jennifer won 6th prize at the Orchid Dinner!
Thanks for donating the piece Cindy

62

When I first started down the jewelry making road, I too was unable
to take classes (Later on I did take a few.) At first I stumbled
around trying to replicate processes I found in various books. Some
results were gratifying, others less so.

Then I discovered that some of the jewelry tools suppliers had
jewelry making videos for sale. I must admit that it was those
videos that really got me going. From Rio Grande for instance I
purchased a “how to” video on soldering and a set of three on
jewelry repair. I also purchased a set of eight videos made by Alan
Revere which were in my experience nothing short of excellent. Each
one provided much needed step by step instruction culminating in a
finished piece of jewelry. Eight videos, eight wonderful pieces of
jewelry.

The videos were a great interim solution for me. They showed me how
to properly use tools, many of which I was unfamiliar with like oxy/
propane torches, and conveyed necessary processes in an informative,
enjoyable way. Sure some of the processes I had already taught
myself but others that I had not yet learned were I believe, acquired
faster than if I had just continued experimenting.

For me one of the most advantageous qualities of using the videos
was that I could rewind the video watching a piece of instruction
over and over until I had mastered the technique well enough to
proceed with confidence and positive results. The classes that I have
taken, although enjoyable too, just don’t have the “rewind” feature.

So Sheila you might want to purchase one or more video tapes to
assist your learning curve. They can be a good way to “learn from a
master” without actually being able to attend the Master’s School.

All the best,

Joseph Bloyd
JNB Studio

63

RP

do not denigrate what you are doing. working with young people
in a supportive environment is one of the most loving, important
things that a sentient being can provide."

The only ‘down’ side to teaching these kids is that I am paid less.
I have found that teaching kids that do not have a lot of
‘programming’ that we as adults have picked up over the years is
quite stimulating. It definitely has helped me look outside of my own
box of views and see things differently. It has also helped me to
improve my teaching as now I concentrate more on the how to
experiment safely. I remember how most of the jewellery making books
I have read, have a lot of “you can’t do this…; you have to do
this, this way…; this or that cannot be done.” The kids would ask
why and I would have to stop and really think about the answer and no
just parrot what was in such and such a book. Instead what I tell all
my students is that before you experiment one should learn what the
books say not to do and why so that when they experiment they are
doing it in a safe way.

*I am not saying the authors are wrong, just that often they must
write in a way so as to keep the idiots safe. In our litigious world,
some people do not really have the not so common ‘common sense’ and
our brave authors do not need to be held liable because the 1 in a
million person who is an idiot did not think about how to do
something safely.

If some of us did not push the limits of some of our metal working
‘rules’ people like Charles Lewton-Brain would not have created such
things as fold-forming.

It was because of Charles that I started teaching at the Alberta
College of Art (ACAD) in the first place. I have known Charles and
Dee for more than 15 years and feel privileged to be able to call
them friends, along with many other very talented artists here in
Calgary.

Regards
Karen Bahr - Karen’s Artworx
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

64

Daniel,

Unfortunately I see so many young (and often not so young too)
people today who want to have it all laid out for them on a
platter. They want someone to show them exactly how something is
done and what processes to use. What kind of fun is that??

I started out self taught, approached things the way you did, accept
ed a commission and found out how to do it. I personally believe that
it is the rare individual that has the natural problem solving skills
that can be successful at learning on their own. There is a lot of
risk taking to learning th is way. When I learned faceting, while I had
been very successful at any met al work I attempted, I just completely
sucked at following book directions and being able to get a polish
on a facet. If I asked a facetor how they polished I could get a
different opinion from every facetor I asked, and I bought different
laps, different polishes, and did every possible combination of what
I was told, and I just cut and polished the table on one garnet till
the table was as wide as the girdle. I was so determined to not fail
I di d get it together. I do not think anything has caused me as much
frustration and grief. I believe there are people who have a natural
ability and succes s is easy for them, and they do not experience many
obstacles, and then there are people like me who work hard for a
long ti me and are determined to succeed in spite of whatever
circumstances and obstacles come their way. I have not met any women
who are self taught, only men. All the women I have met who are
metalsmiths started out taking classes. If there are women on this
forum who are self taught, I would like to hear from them. When a
person takes professional cooking classes, they learn what effect
different ingredients in a recipe have and what the result will be by
using baking powder or baking soda, ect. O f course a person can just
use a recipe, but knowing what the ingredients do would allow a
person to change a reci pe and be more creative. Apply the concepts of
being self taught to ballet or learning a musical instrument. Since
jewelry making is a process, educating someone on the basi cs would
save them time and grief of having to discover how to do something
through trial and error. When people want to learn something new, of
course they want to be shown how to do it. That is why there is job
training whe n someone is employed and their employer needs a specific
job skill. Why would the expectation be differe nt for someone wanting
to learn plumbing than someone wanting to learn how to make jewelry?
What would the result be if we gave children books and told them to
learn on their own? Personally, after many years of being self
taught, taking a workshop in Taos, New Mexico with Harold O’Connor
changed my life. It opened up a new world to me and gave me
direction I d id not have. I would have never gotten where I am today
without that influence. It has taken me years to integrate what I had
learned, and much hard work to get to a point where my work means
what it means to me now, where I fe el I have the techniques and the
design ability to express myself, and my work is far more visually
that the sum of its pa rts

When at 45 years of age, having moved to Denver, I was told by
several people, if I went skiing, take classes and do not let my
friends teach me because it would be too hard to learn that wa y. I
listened, took a class, and spent a whole day practicing what I
learned over and over and over. I believe this gave me an advantage,
I do not believe I would have had more fun learning on my own, and I
do not believe I would have progressed as fast as I did at the age I
was without formal training. Where I am at my age, 59, I would argue
that anything I can learn with training, if the possibility is that I
will be able to achieve a better result in a shorter time than I
would get by teaching myself, I would spend the money. I would rather
spend my time struggling to develop skil l with a taught technique
rather than struggling on my own to learn the technique and then
have to spend the time to develop my skill. In the past, when people
learned through apprenticeship, there was a connection, an intimacy, a
tradition of the handing down of knowledge. A part of the mentor
lived within the apprentice and I have heard people speak with
reverence toward the person who taught them knowledge and wisdom.

Richard Hart

65 
 Equal pay for equal work does not exist in the jewelry industry.
Not in the US and not overseas 

Speaking as a male - I don't believe this is literally true.
Certainly there are lots of women in the business.

This is the literal truth.

In the 2005 JCK Salary Survey based on Gender, Volume, and Region:
women were paid 2,000 to 20,000 less than men for the same jobs
regardless of region or volume. With one exception and that was women
bench workers in the West where their salaries were on par with the
men.

Quoting JCK: In 2003 females earned 72 percent of the median annual
compensation taken home by males.

So, in 21 years women have gained a whopping 12 cents towards
equality. Sure there are lots of women in the jewelry business, but
that doesn’t equate to women receiving equal pay for equal work.

Ya’ life is hard, try living it on a lot less for no other reason
than your gender.

Nanz Aalund
Associate Editor / Art Jewelry magazine
21027 Crossroads Circle / Waukesha WI 53187-1612
262.796.8776 ext.228

66

Good Morning All

When I asked my question in the beginning, I had absolutely no clue
that there would be so many replies with so many different points of
view. This thread has grown into an oak tree with a huge spread of
very interesting branches. You are all very generous with your
thoughts and ideas.

I have now, I believe, a good idea of what I am going to do. I am
going to have fun. I love learning new methods for doing things and
I love experimenting on my own. If I can take classes now and then
(time and money being the issue) then I will. When I do finally
retire from factory work, I can pursue the training, but by then I
may not want to have the jewelry be a full time job. I can’t help but
wonder if I had found this wonderful creative thing in earlier years,
where I would be now. Life gets in the way of living sometimes.

I should probably explain a bit about what it is I do, since you have
all been so kind in sharing your thoughts. I started off with polymer
clay (no groans from real jewelers, please) and found that I needed a
more substantial setting than the ones I could purchase and started
making my own chain and links, and learning how to wire wrap. That
branched into making my own bezels and learning how to solder using a
torch. Now I am exploring the fiber media as an additional showcase
for my beads. One thing seems to lead to another. I would love to
try PMC and see where that goes… again… money and time are issues.
Also,

if I begin a new craft at this point my husband will have a few
comments. PMC will still be around when I get to it. After all, I am
only about 30 years late learning knotting for micro macrame.!!!

Sales at work have been good for the past two years, but my goal for
this year is to take my work into the marketplaces and two possible
galleries in town. I also need to get my work up on a web site,
though on-line sales may not be a good thing. people like to look and
feel. I have given myself five years to get going and am beginning my
third year. The “business end” of the business gets me down
occasionally and that is the thing that will eventually tell me if
this is going to be a viable supplement to my retirement income or
whether this will remain a very interesting and fullfilling hobby.

What have I learned from you folks in Orchidland ??? Whatever I
do… make it my absolute best. Be very critical of what I produce
and if I have any reservations about the quality, do it again until
it is right. Learn all I can and take advantage of learning
opportunities. Do research… there is a wealth of out
there. Look at other people’s work and love it, but develop my own
style. Practice, practice, practice. Buy the best tools I can afford.
Anything else?? Love what I do or it becomes another job.

Regardless of where I end up, I will continue to be an avid Orchid
reader. The view points and experiences of the people here are
interesting and valuable and you have my admiration and thanks.
Hmmmm…

I wonder if I should consider moving to Calgary!!!
Sheila in Ontario Canada

67

Richard,

I think that James Millers being not regarded as qualified to teach
may have something to do with the entrenched system in the U.K. I
think that here in the USA the system is somewhat more open minded
and flexible. In my own experience I was invited back to my
undergraduate school to teach immediately after completing my MFA at
Cranbrook. I had no teaching experience. That was in 1965. More
recently, 1997, I received a call from our local community college
asking if I would be interested in teaching a 2 credit jewelry
workshop course. That call was based solely on a recommendation of
one of my peers. They had no idea that I had any teaching experience.
I have been teaching two sections of that course since 1997.

You also mentioned SNAG. SNAG’s membership, I believe, is made up
mostly of jewelers and metalsmiths who are involved in the academic
world. This is a world that can be quite insular. I think that
student jewelers and metalsmiths studying in colleges and
universities could benefit greatly from some one like James Miller
on the faculty. James, if you are reading this I bet that there would
be more than one school here in the USA that would be happy to have
you.

Joel Schwalb
www.schwalbstudio.com

68

Thanks for the great response Suzanne!

I was asking because the school is about 1/2hr from me and is very
accessible. I AM interested in mostly technical aspects and learning
how to do things better. I can do a lot of things but am self taught
(books, etc) and I know I can do things differently and more
efficiently.

Right now I need resources to learn some things better mainly -

Rhino (cad)
CNC (my mill)

Having time is what is killing me so I thought if I could take a
course at a school it would be helpful.

Thanks again,

Craig
portal.creativecutgems.com

69

Hello James,

I was thinking about your local adult education office requiring
academic credentials, and how many of us on Orchid would be thrilled
to have the opportunity to learn from your years of experience. I was
wondering if you have considered teaching at some of the
jewelry-specific schools that give 3 to 5 day workshops on specific
techniques like the Revere Academy, Metalwerx or the New Approach
school, instead of a general purpose school. I thought you might be
familiar with these schools, even though they are here in the US,
because of having read about them on Orchid (if not, they all have
websites). Are there such places in the UK? They would have distinct
advantages for you in your present situation: academic credentials
don’t matter a whit, they provide a targeted audience who is familiar
with and admires your skills and, possibly, they pay better (at
least, they should - master classes as yours would be are very
expensive classes to take!).

The disadvantage is that, at the onset, it would be more work to set
up a concise curriculum and exercises and I don’t know if this is
what you had in mind. I just wanted to mention an alternative that
could be a pleasant diversion for you and a great learning experience
for your fortunate students.

Regards,
Linda Walsh

70 
Daniel Spirer seems to think that there is a big difference
between gem knowledge and metal/design knowledge. I disagree. In
both areas you can learn a lot from those who have gone before you
and you can distinguish yourself with your creativity.

I’m sorry, but there is nothing creative about gem stone knowledge.
There are simply facts or misEach stone has it’s own RI,
SG, hardness, etc. There is no “creative” way to identify a colored
stone, nor is there a “creative” way to grade a diamond (well some
people think there is but then they are scam artists). On the other
hand, there are 20 different ways you can hold your torch, multiple
types of torches you can use, dozens of different types of hammers,
burs, finishes you can achieve, ways to set stones, etc. I don’t want
to say that there is nothing to be gained by taking classes or
reading books (I am avid reader of all things both jewelry related
and not). I have paid for classes for all of my employees.
Occasionally I have even taken them. However, what I see out there
are a lot of people who want to be told exactly what to do by
someone with more experience. How would anyone ever develop new
techniques if they blindly follow the instructions of a teacher only?
And what is wrong with learning by doing? Incidentally, in the early
days of my store when I didn’t know nearly as much as I do now, I
didn’t have customers unhappy with my repair work because I never
screwed up the pieces. As I said, the fear of an unhappy customer can
do more to make sure you produce a job right than anything else. And
in the last 25 years I haven’t had but a handful of unhappy customers
(and those weren’t due to workmanship).

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140

71 
How I wish you were in my area, James.
....................................... I would love to take
courses - any courses, from you. As a craftsperson, the quality of
your creations are my personal achievement goals.

You will have to get behind me in the queue if James decides he
might run workshops in the UK!! Of course James this is definitely
not a subtle ( as a brick) hint.

Ruth, Nottingham.

72

Hello to you all:

I’ve been reading all your opinions on this subjet and I found it
really interesting, I think that, in a way, everybody’s point of view
is right and yet there seems to be a lot of disagreement, so I guess
that there is the answer: there is not a path that you could consider
the one and only path to follow… one has to invent its own and do
the best with what is given.

So Sheila, I don’t have an answer but I can share my own experience
with you and hope that you can find it helpful even though from your
last e mail I feel that you are looking at things with a very nice
attitude (I loved the part where you said that you were just going to
have fun, that is what’s all about)

I’m 23 years old, mexican and a female. When I was 19 and almost
ready to go to University to study International Relationships I
decided to take a jewelry class on silver fabrication because I
always felt curiosity about jewelry making, but had not idea on what
to expect. So I signed up to a class with a man named Billy King who
teaches where I live. After I soldered for the first time, I called
the University and told them good bye and so the adventure started!! I
took classes for four months at Billy’s and from the beginning I was
making my own designs and experimenting, I cannot imagine a better
teacher, he not only taught me the basics on jewelry fabrication but
taught me how to feel creative and specially how to use my common
sense… and so for about a year and a half I kept working at his
school but independently. At that point I only used silver and it was
all fabricated. But the money became an issue, so I had a great
opportunity to join a cooperative gallery (six painters and my self),
and magically I realized that I could actually sell my work!!!

Then I wanted to set my own studio and so I started buying the basic
stuff I needed and kept working and selling. The truth is that I’m
not becoming rich at all, but my own work has paid for all the tools
I’ve needed.

At one point I felt like I needed to go a step further, like using
gold or casting, but how? I did have some money so I decided to look
for a school where I could learn more, but the truth is that I found
it very hard, all the places I wanted to go to are in the States or
further away, and it was VERY EXPENSIVE to even consider it, so, if I
had spend the money I had to learn how to do something but then I
wouldn’t have had the money to buy the also very expensive equipment
to work, what was the point? So instead, I just bought the equipment
to cast, and a book about kawm boo, about casting, also started buying
gold bezel and gold wire and nicer stones, etc., all within the last
year and a half… so I went to visit a man who is a jeweler near by
and observed while he casted, and then I came back home and tried to
do it my self, the first time I allmost burned my self, got I nice
tan from the torch and ended up with only 5 pieces out of the 30 my
tree had!! Horrible, I could allmost picture my brand new vacuum and
kiln at E-bay! And I thought: why didn’t I go to a school? But then,
you know, I kept on trying and now I can tell you that I can cast and
it has been so much fun and so encouraging to make it possible.

So, my conclusion is that if you can start at a school to learn the
basics, from a real teacher and then keep practicing I do believe
that, in a way, metals and stones and machines and hammers and
torches will start talking to you, I kind of feel that with experience
one can really learn how to learn more things, there are great books
and videos that can teach you a lot, plus your own practicing. Now
that I feel that I have the studio that I dreamed of, I would really
love to study more, cause I also feel that I can now learn more and
really absorb from other jewelers, weather they have all the
credentials or not… between buying tools and materials or only
going to a school, I would go for the first option, but if you could
do both then definitely go to school.

I guess I can say that I’m a self-taught in many ways, and because of
that I’m paying a hi price, like, for instance, I’ve tried to get a
scholar ship kind of thing that the Mexican government gives to
support artists, and guess what? I can not even apply for it because I
didn’t learn jewelry at a “formal university”, they won’t even look
at my application or consider that maybe I am a jeweler despite where
I learned, and that maybe I’ve learned this way because I didn’t even
have an option. So if you want to be part of the system and have all
the credentials it takes then start at the system and follow their
rules. But if you want to make jewelry and are willing to do it, there
are a thousand options… and it just gets better after time.

Good luck, Maria
www.mariabracho.com
www.artistsofsanmiguel.com

73

Well, there are many creative ways to identify gemstones… there has
to be since there are so many creative ways to create synthetics,
colororize through vapor deposition or diffusion, laser drill
inclusions, etc etc… there HAS to be ways to identify these which
often takes alot of creative methods and intuition.

I have to disagree, the gemstone field is not as straightforward as
you say.

Craig

74 
In the 2005 JCK Salary Survey based on Gender, Volume, and Region:
women were paid 2,000 to 20,000 less than men for the same jobs
regardless of region or volume. With one exception and that was
women

Nanz, I’m not going to argue with you, largely because the very next
thought after the one you quoted is that it is “essentially true”. I
have two thoughts, though: First is, I don’t think that saying, “You
can’t win, just quit, it’s hopeless.” is especially useful. That
whopping 12 cents towards equality is incredibly significant,
especially considering that before WWII there were comparatively few
women working at all. Any rise is positive. Second, statistics are
only statistics. There’s a woman right here next to me (my wife) who
makes equal pay for equal work, and I know many more personally.
Statistics are only statistics. Not meaningless, but not all that
meaningful, either.

75

Hello James Miller,

I quite agree with Joel Schwalb: “I think that student jewelers and
metalsmiths studying in colleges and universities could benefit
greatly from some one like James Miller on the faculty. James, if you
are reading this I bet that there would be more than one school here
in the USA that would be happy to have you.”

You would be an incredible asset!

Judy in Kansas

Judy M. Willingham, R.S.
B.A.E. 147 Seaton Hall
Kansas State University
Manhatttan KS 66506
(785) 532-2936 FAX (785) 532-6944

76

Richard,

I personally believe that it is the rare individual that has the
natural problem solving skills that can be successful at learning
on their own.

But how can these individuals ever be identified if they aren’t
given a chance? Sure I may be exceptional (more like bullheaded about
things though) but if I didn’t TRY stuff I wouldn’t even know if I
could or couldn’t do it. Also if you don’t give them an opportunity
to try to use some problem solving skills, they’ll never get better
at it. Most of my (current and former) employees have been through
the North Bennet Street Jewelry program here in Boston. It gives them
a good, solid base, but it can’t teach them half of what they need to
know. My belief has always been that the best way for them to learn
everything is simply to have them do it. Learning by fire as it were.
If I tell them everything, what happens when I’m not there and they
need to figure out a new technique on their own? I expect them to
experiment until they work it out. Incidentally it is my belief that
anyone can learn how to make jewelry. Whether they can do it
creatively, whether they can also run a business, those are all
different issues, but the ability to use a torch and solder, forge,
etc. are something that anyone can learn (I know this as I’ve taught
a few people who had no background at all).

There is a lot of risk taking to learning th is way.

What in life doesn’t involve some risk? Some people like to do
extreme sports, some like to jump off cliffs (hopefully into water).
As jewelers we like to screw around with valuable things. So what? I
don’t do extreme sports (or many sports at all for that matter) but I
get my kicks from the risks associated with setting big emeralds or
some other fragile stone. If you know you absolutely, positively
cannot screw up on something then you won’t. You’ll figure out a way
to do it without screwing it up.

I believe there are people who have a natural ability and succes s
is easy for them,

Yes this is true. And nothing has come to me easily either. But,
again, who said everything was going to be easy in life? What kind of
fun would it be if everything you did was perfect the first time?
What would you learn from that?

When a person takes professional cooking classes, they learn what
effect different ingredients in a recipe have and what the result
will be by using baking powder or baking soda, ect. O f course a
person can just use a recipe, but knowing what the ingredients do
would allow a person to change a reci pe and be more creative.

Ah, here’s another subject I like because I DO cook. Not
professionally, but I have a reputation for throwing some mean dinner
parties. And you know what, I’m pretty much self taught in that too.
I read a bunch of cookbooks, followed the recipes for awhile until I
was comfortable, and then just did what seemed right to me. I don’t
use many recipes anymore (well, in baking I tend to use more precise
proportions but that’s about it) because the understanding of how
ingredients work in a recipe came to me after actually DOING the
cooking. Am I as good a cook as a jeweler? No, but then I never meant
it to be a profession, just something fun to do.

I also have a number of chefs/restaurateurs as friends. More than
half of them did NOT go to school for what they do. And I’ve never
seen them actually use a recipe when they’re cooking. The point here
is that through actual trial and error, I learned what I needed to
know. I learned what I needed to know to produce something that I
thought was good. As it happens, I have pretty good taste so it works
out ok. Same thing with the jewelry. Try it and see what happens. I
confess to having made a fair number of ugly and occasionally screwed
up pieces in my day. Usually they end up in the scrap bucket. But
each time I do that I learn what not to do, or how to do it better
the next time. Is this expensive? Well it costs me in time a bit, but
my materials are recyclable. And what I spend in time is more than
made up for by the experience itself.

Richard, I’m not saying my way is the only way, merely that it is a
possible way. There are many self taught jewelers who have extremely
high skill levels (I personally know many). There are also class
trained jewelers who have high skill levels. There is room for both
types in this world. One does not negate the other, and one is not
necessarily better than the other. They just represent two different
approaches to working with jewelry.

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140

77 
All the women I have met who are metalsmiths started out taking
classes. If there are women on this forum who are self taught, I
would like to hear from them.

I earned a meager living for several years doing “freelance
artwork”. I advertised in a local free paper: “Freelance artwork
$10/hour” (in the mid-1970’s). Whatever anyone called for, I’d say,
“Yeah, I can do that!” then scurry around and figure out how. Except
for the guy who wanted me to paint his body… turned out he really
just wanted to talk about having me paint his body… but I digress.

When it came to jewelry, I got a book and tried to figure it out,
but I didn’t know what “pickle” meant, and the book didn’t explain.
So I took classes at the local art center (where I have been
teaching for the last decade). But I still consider myself largely
self-taught, with the help of workshops. Nobody taught me how to do
my signature work, and I am fearless when it comes to experimenting
(which is not to say I am foolish).

So it depends on how you define self-taught.

By the way, I also taught myself to repair my own car, during that
same period, using just a book. Even souped it up a bit… and I
don’t believe I lack the feminine graces either.

Noel

78 
The classes that I have taken, although enjoyable too, just don't
have the "rewind" feature.

Ah, if only we could rewind life!

The substitute for that is-- copious notes. I actually get made fun
of in workshops because I write like crazy. It isn’t easy to revive
those long-dormant skills-- writing one thing while hearing the
next. But later, when it is time to go it alone, it sure is great to
be able to set up that notebook beside the bench. I’ve tried a tape
recorder too, but written notes are the best for me. With drawings,
of course.

Noel

79 
Ah, here's another subject I like because I DO cook. Not
professionally, but I have a reputation for throwing some mean
dinner parties. And you know what, I'm pretty much self taught in
that too.

For Daniel and all. I have first editions of both of Julia Childs’
French Cooking and a library of cookbooks, but this is the book I
reach for:

It’s not a cookbook. It has food combining, spices, and menu making.
If you look up “Leeks”, it will have a list of the ingredients that
seem a natural “fit” with leeks, the very best in boldface. This is
one great, useful book for cooking. I use it very, very often when
“designing” a dish. Check it out… I guess I should say that it
will illustrate the similarities between food and jewelry, to remain
topical…

80

My field of expertise, if I have one is lapidary work, and
especially opal. In that I’m primarily self-taught. Because I wasn’t
formally trained I did things that one ‘shouldn’t do’. My wife is a
GG and I studied her lessons along with her. Thing were perhaps more
difficult than they needed to be; but I learned things, some valuable
things, that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

I took some metal classes. There are teachers and there are those who
stand in front of the class who are not. I spent alot of time in
formal classes in another area. My path at one time was to be an
academic. I encountered few teachers.

If the question is ‘self-taught vs formal training’; both would be
the ideal. Don’t believe everything you hear; keep an open mind. Be
selective in the classes you choose. One of Alan Revere’s sayings was
"this isn’t the only way; it’s just the way I do it". I think this
applies across the board. I cut stones in ways that weren’t done at
the time’ using stones that weren’t used at the time.

Alan Revere is one of the good ones. I took a stone setting class
from Alan shortly after he arrived in the SF bay area. Some things he
said in class still come to mind in certain situations. I think
that’s a good criterion; I think the class was about 25 years ago.
The reason I bring this up is be selective. If you’re diligent and
lucky you may find a good teacher.

As the saying goes: “if I knew then…” I would try to seek out
someone like Daniel Spirer or James Miller and offer to polish
metal, to clean the machinery, whatever to learn. But only if there’s
a personal connection, if the work being done is work you admire, if
you feel confortable with that person. I don’t know if James has
experience in the public areas but his work is very special and in
that alone would be worth seeking out.

There’s so much more to learn than technique. Watch how that person
conducts himself ( and please it could be a woman; I’m a
traditionalist in things grammatical) in business situations; how he
treats employees; how he prices things, etc. After a sufficent time
you can try it on your own if you’re so enclined; but maybe that’s
not your path.

I’m fortunate in that I only make things I want to make and I can
earn my living doing this. But I paid my dues as those of us who are
able to earn our living working in this area have done. I don’t
support the ‘starving artist’ mode.

Be selective and open-minded and go with your heart.

Kevin Kelly