Studio 34 is a haven for artistic souls. Teachers there are a talented breed of artists who love teaching. Not everyone can teach. Because they design their classes to have a small number of students, its a great environment for learning even if you are timid like me! Because I’m a school teacher, I have high standards of teaching. I found that here.
Those who want to explore their creative side are welcome there I have to admit I never thought of myself as having a creative bone in my entire body. Thought I’d give it a go and discovered how fun and easy it was to explore a new world of fun.
I’m a teacher and have summers off so I was able to take different classes. My favorites so far are mosaics and stained glass and flamework sculpture. Each of these use glass in different ways and the techniques are very different.
Beginners sometimes get caught up trying to create a masterpiece their first time. Instructors gently try to persuade students to go easy on themselves as they learn the techniques. This gentle encouragement is pretty important especially when the student is a perfectionist (me!).
One thing that really impressed me was when a student in the flamework sculpture class was frustrated that his first ever sculpture was not looking like he thought it should. The instructor had the best attitude which she shared with the student. Pretty much a different experience I had at another place when I was getting frustrated. The instructor took my piece and fixed it, rather than allowing me to learn how to do it myself.
My best memories for the 2022 summer were the open studio times to work on projects between classes. They have a great facility that is fully loaded with tools and materials and reference books. The ability to work on projects outside of class gave me a feeling of peacefulness. Mosaics is a zen-like activity. I have have several projects to work on during the school year.
Thank you, Studio 34 Arts Center!