Why attend workshops....      Editorial by Fiona Abel-Smith

I thought I would use this editorial to touch on the subject of Polymer Clay Workshops. I think my own journey in this respect may correspond with many of your experiences too. When I was first introduced to Polymer Clay by Ange Smith about 10 years ago, I was very keen to do my own thing, find my own voice and learn and experiment using only books and online videos. I never looked at workshops as I thought they were expensive, seemed to cover a finished piece that didn’t ‘call’ to me, and wondered what I could possibly gain from them that I couldn’t figure out for myself. I know, I can hear you all shouting at me, but ignorance can be bliss! However, Ange kept attending fabulous workshops, and the pieces she brought back were stunning, and I could appreciate that the skills she was being shown allowed her to experiment and grow within her own work.

Eventually I bit the bullet having seen an event in France where three tutors were doing workshops and one of them was definitely of interest to me, and yes, Ange was going to that one, so offered to take me with her. That one event changed my whole opinion of workshops! Ironically the one I was most keen to do, as it was the nearest to my own style of working, I learnt marginally the least from. But the one I thought I would hate the most, as it was completely alien to my style and the sort of work I produced, taught me the most.

What I learned was that these tutors have so much knowledge from all the years they have worked with clay that they were unknowingly giving tips out when they spoke. These were ground breaking tips as far as I was concerned, but to them, were just part of their daily routines working with Polymer, and weren’t even part of the official workshop subject. I learnt that new techniques could be adapted to whatever I wanted to do with them, and that having a professional in the room with you, telling you how to pull a piece back when it was going astray, was worth its weight in gold. I learnt that sitting at a table/doing a workshop with loads of other enthusiasts meant you were sharing tips and techniques with all of them too. In fact I learnt so much that my head came back spinning, and I have attended every workshop I can afford since.

So, if you too have shied away from attending a workshop because you thought it was too expensive just to learn how to make the advertised project, or if you have never seen a workshop photo or description that has ‘called’ to you, take it from me, if you can afford it, go for it. You will learn so much. The Polymer Clay community is excessively giving in the way it shares its knowledge and experience, and workshop tutors are the basis of this.

And in case you are wondering, yes, workshop tutors also themselves, attend other tutor’s workshops. We all learn from each other, and every tutor has spent years experimenting and developing their own way of working with clay, so let them have made all the prior mistakes so you don’t have to, and see what they can teach you. The skills, techniques and general tips you will be given should increase your own skills dramatically. I thank all the tutors who have taught me so much, and I never now pre-judge a workshop based solely on the project / photo, I look at the tutor, look at their body of work, and think wow, they can teach me so much, and they invariably do.

Lastly, don’t forget we have our own six wonderful tutors doing workshops for us at our 20th Anniversary Celebration weekend in Kidderminster in September. Details of the weekend and full details of the tutors and their workshops are on our website here:  bpcg.org.uk/bpcg20 . These tutors are giving us a special discounted rate, so you may never get a chance to do a workshop with them at these prices again!

I hope this editorial has struck a chord with at least some of you, and look forward to seeing you on a workshop soon.

Happy claying!

Fiona

Send us your articles, show us your work and share your story with us. Email us at britishpcguild@gmail.com or post on our Facebook page or in our community group.

New Regional Groups and Branches

We have two new groups since the last Polynews, Basingstoke run by Heather Robertson, and Leeds run by Ana Townsend - welcome to both groups. The Guild now has 18 groups around the UK. If you want to join either of these, or any of the other groups, just click on the pin on the map on our branches webpage and it will take you to the Branch’s/group’s page.

The Guild also had its usual stand at the Stitching, Sewing & Hobbycrafts Show at the NEC a couple of weeks ago and we picked up 27 new contacts from people interested in joining a Polymer Clay group near them. Their details have been sent to the Group leaders, so hopefully they will be attending a meeting near them soon.

To finish this round up, let me tell you which groups have meetings scheduled for the next few weeks, and / or give you the contact details for those still arranging their next dates. They are:

Embsay (Skipton) –  1st August, 5th September, further details from Andrea Moorhouse, via the BPCG website

Wales –  12th August, near Welshpool, further details from Penny Vingoe, via the BPCG website

Kidderminster –   further details from Lisa Walker, via the BPCG website

Oxfordshire -  20th August, 1st October, 26th November, Weston-on-the-Green village hall, near Bicester

Coventry - details of future meetings from Nikki Killinger

East Midlands - 6th August, Long Eaton Art Room

APCG -  17th September, 5th November - Wortham village hall, near Diss, Norfolk

Midlands – 9th September in Longdon, near Lichfield, further details from Ange Smith, via the BPCG

website

Leeds - 19th August, 13th September, at Heckmondwike, further details from Ana Townsend

South Midlands - 13th August, 10th September, 21st October and 11th November 2017 at Hanslope village hall, near Milton Keynes

West Midlands - 30th September, Making Masks, at Stourbridge

Bristol –  contact Cara Jane Hayman via the BPCG website for more details

Scotland - 15th July, venue in Edinburgh - future dates to be confirmed

Do support your local groups and branches if you can, as the people who organise these do so on a purely voluntary basis, in order to provide a local venue for Polymer Clay enthusiasts, but are of course completely reliant on your support in order to survive.

Fiona Abel-Smith

Group Liaison Officer BPCG

"An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail" ~ Edwin Land