Quickie Question: Oddest Craft Lesson?
By Twistie
Sometimes we give and receive lessons in the oddest ways. I think I was about sixteen when I heard one of my brothers giving his friend a lesson in waltzing… over the phone. That’s not something one would normally expect to be able to pick up without some sort of visual or active demonstration, but it did work. I know. I danced with the friend and he did just fine. Not that I’m the best waltzer in the world, but I’d done the dance more than my partner had!
And so it is with craft works. Sometimes you meet up with someone, start talking, and discover you know how to do a craft that person wants to learn. Suddenly, despite the fact that neither of you has the necessary tools or the correct surface or any of the materials… you just start the lesson anyway.
In trying to explain bobbin lace to the uninitiated, I’ve drawn diagrams (which do point out my desperate need for a good basic drawing class!), manipulated straws at restaurant tables, and even once showed some basic technique by taking a bit of my own hair (still on my head) and using that to show the movements of the threads. It was one of the few times in my life I’ve been so grateful to have uncurlable hair. It showed the movements pretty clearly.
So how about you? Have you ever demonstrated or taught technique in a really unconventional way? In a really strange place?
Tell me all about it!
March 3rd, 2012 at 11:25 am
I did a spinning demo in the County Courthouse once. I was asked to bring my wheel and sit in the rotunda and spin for an afternoon, I guess for the entertainment of harried people rushing in to renew their license plates or pay their taxes.