When confronted with a bag full of delicious colours I wouldn't normally use, I get all excited.
Thats what happened last week when I went into college to teach felt making to two groups of A level students.
We opened the new consignment of wool. Oohh...delicious colours fell out.
I was in paroxyms of delight, they not so thrilled.
I looked at their lovely little faces looking up at me from around the table and it reminded me of this.
After they'd all made their first piece of felt, I showed them how to build up a design using pre-felts.
Mine was all delicate and feminine..like sugared almonds.
(The background is not meant to harmonise so well...my white balance is all to pot but I don't know how to alter it)
It didn't look much before I stitched it. But I like it now.
I repeated the exercise with the second group in the afternoon and made another.
So I still have that one to stitch.
Isn't it funny though, the difference between me and a class of students? (Apart from their lack of wobble when felt rolling) They made their own pieces of pre-felt and cut bits off them and made their main piece, and when they went, they just left the prefelts behind!
So obviously, though they gave a good impression of enjoying the lesson, they had no intention of repeating the exercise.
I think I have come to the end of the line with young students now. I shall retire from the classroom graciously.
And now I have a while lot of prefelts ready made.
29 comments:
Oh Jackie, so sad that those students did not want their felts, but how lucky for you - now you have a stash! I love the pieces you made during the class. cheers
Oh dear, a shame they don't know what they have left behind! I wish I'd been shown how to felt when I was at school, my life would have gone down a totally different route.
I love those colours, your right they are sugared almond colours very delicate.
These pieces are lovely. What a shame the students didn't appreciate their time with you.
Teaching can be so draining.
I have such mixed feelings about it.
Your work is absolutely lovely.
xx
Some day those silly students will realize they left behind a treasure!
So soul destroying for you. I wouldn't have left them behind, they're beautiful. Their loss, your gain. x
Maybe it didn't occur to your students that they could take the prefelts home - or even that they could do something with them if they did!
I wonder in these cases how much of it is herd mentality, they're at the perfect age for it. They don't want to be seen enjoying something because their peers wouldn't like it but secretly inside they just want to play away. Hopefully they will come back to it all at some stage and thoroughly enjoy themselves.
Their loss, your gain.
They are absolutely beautiful and your hand stitching is the perfect finishing touch.
You may have planted a creative seed in some of those youngsters though you might never know it, but don't despair, germination takes time.
I've only dabbled in felting so I don't understand what happened - the students left the work they'd done behind?
Love the gentle colours in your pieces. What an ungrateful lot not to have even taken away their samples. Stick to adults, they are much more appreciative.
Ooh I wish we'd done felt making when at school or college!
I know that going home with a bonus bag of pre-felts would go a long way to compensate for the disappointment caused by the students' lack of enthusiasm!
I love this piece!
Sorry to hear that you are feeling a bit down after the class.. the sad thing is it probably didn't even occur to them TO take them. I think at that age they still have school mentality, the lesson ends and they walk away. Hopefully (and I am sure with a class of artistic students this will happen to some) in their artistic/creative futures they will remember your class and the magic of felting.
And I'm glad the prefelts have a good home with you now :)
xx
Your work is amazingly beautiful, love your felt work!
Thank you all. I can't reply to some directly so hope you pop back here to see my answer.
Those students don't realize how lucky they were to learn from you. Some of them may never touch felting again but I'm betting there will be at least a couple that will remember their lesson in future years (maybe not until they're quite a bit older) and will do something with it. At least you got to take home their leftover 'bits' and use them in your own creations. (btw - that link gave me the giggles...so fun!).
Never mind Jackie,
Some of the loveliest pieces left over by students have found their way into my work. When I ask them to sort the bits into what can be used and set aside all the bits that can't, I am often surprised at the treasures they leave behind!
You will always find me sifting through the bin at some point in the day!
Cheers ELizabeth
Beautiful piece, I love the colours and would have been the same as you, on an excitement scale. I'm sure you'll have sewn the seed with some, although they don't know it at the moment, but teaching that age group is hard, you're lucky to get an enthusiastic response from even one and then it's a real treat.
Well I think your work is great and I would have loved to have been in your class.
Gillx
Ohhh Jackie, teaching can be fun but sometimes it leaves you totally drained !
I never understood (some of) my collegues when I was still at school who were doing other things, like proofreading or preparations, during craft and drawing lessons ! That lessons cóst but also gáve me the most !!!
You're lucky to have some new prefelts ;-)
(I have recently bought an embellisher .... but I wouldn't trade it totally for wet felting !!!)
Oh Maxine and I would have loved to dabble with prefelts and certainly wouldn't have left them behind!! I love your little finished piece. x Jo
I'm sure some of them will have got home and wished they had taken their prefelts. As has been said, they probably didn't realise they could have taken them. It's a case of what happens in school stays in school. Your own pieces are beautiful. xx
I followed a link on a French blog and thought MMmmm, those colours are familiar - have a peep at www.segolaineschweitzer.com/
I agree with Amanda (above)that peer pressure often stifles individuality - hopefully not permanently.........
V.E. Wales...I don't understand your comment re the French blog. I can't seem to answer you anywhere but here.
Guess they are all part of the throwaway world. I keep every little scrap of fabric nowadays, though I never know what I will do with it.
Loved your pieces.
All I can say is, I wish I could be taught to felt better by you ... there are some silly young students in the world these days!
I am just loving your work jackie, these pieces are wonderful. You have inspired me to get back to my felting again.
Sandie
These are so beautiful Jackie.....I wish I could have been one of your students.
X
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