This blog post was first published for the London Jewellery School blog. I have made a few slight changes here.
I met my first serious boyfriend at university when I did my
undergraduate degree. Among other things he called me a ‘paper chaser’, someone
who loves the validation of a certificate. We split up years ago when I had one
degree. I do now have five so maybe he had a point.
As a tutor at the London
Jewellery School
While it’s true that I do like a certificate, it’s mostly
because it is proof of attainment of a certain level of skill. More important
to me than the piece of paper is to develop and push myself to a higher level
and learn from the experts.
Last week I travelled to the Craftworx jewellery studio in Yorkshire
to attend a jewellery masterclass. The teacher was Lisa Barth, an inspirational
metal clay artist and wireworker. She had travelled from her home in the US to teach in England
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| Wire wrapped boulder opal pendant that I made during the masterclass Photo by Gary Ullah of craftywebsites.com |
This was another unusual choice for me as it is not my current
style of jewellery. Lisa was also teaching a metal clay class and a photography
class but for some reason I was drawn to the wire. I suspect because the work
that she does is beautiful.
I have another masterclass booked at CSACJ in Cornwall with US metal clay artist
Terry Kovalcik later on in the year. And I have some more I’m saving for in
2015. My development is worth the investment. Time spent under the tutelage of
experts accelerates my growth and deepens my understanding.
You may have heard that to become an expert in something takes
ten years or 10,000 hours of practice. To really develop, psychologists have
found that your practice must be purposeful and stretching. If you spend 10,000
hours shaping ear wires you are indeed going to be an expert in making ear
wires but you will not be an expert jeweller. So, take my advice and look at
how you can develop and stretch and do more. And I don’t want to hear, ‘Do you
know how old I’ll be when I’ve done 10,000 hours?’ Yes I do. You will be
exactly the same age as if you don’t.
So, what is your very next step up? Where do you aim to be?
What can you do to help bridge the gap between where you are and where you want
to be? Find someone to mentor you, attend an advanced class, set some goals but
start moving in the right direction, even if it’s slowly.
And you can trust me on this. I have two psychology degrees.
Some books I recommend
If you love metal clay you should own Lisa Barth’s ‘Designing from the stone’ book
on stone setting in silver clay
Her book ‘Timeless wire wrapping’ is due for
publication this year and I have it on pre-order. You should too
For more information on becoming an expert check out
Bounce: the myth of talent and the power of practice
by Matthew Syed. I found this so inspirational because it helps us see that we
can all get to where we want to be if we put in the hours
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