Tuesday, August 4, 2009
About a Month ago, a compatriot and friend of mine, Adero asked me If I wanted to teach a Ceramics Hand-Building Class at the local Ceramics supply shop/school. My interest was strong but I questioned my ability; I had no real experience. I explained to her my concern, and my background, and also expressed my interest. She somehow had faith that I would do a fine job.
So, anyway, We e-mailed each other over the coming month, and arranged a time for me to come in and do a demonstration. She told me what to prepare and I gathered my best examples and brainstormed some
demo options. In the past I have had the tendency to under plan presentations/demonstrations, But I remembered something that My good friend Asa told me. " always prepare more material than you think you will need". so I did. I had plenty of images and physical examples. It worked great.
What really helped me out was knowing that there were people in the class that had an interest in building figures and animals. The topic doesn't necessarily matter, but the fact that Adero let me know that my strengths and interests could be applied, and that I had a focused audience made everything so much easier.
The one thing that I need to avoid is getting off topic. There were a few conversations that I was getting into during the demonstration where Adero had to step in and re-focus the group.
Afterwords, Adero suggested that when I get questions from the group, that I need to determine if they will help the group as a whole or if it is a question that I can answer one-on-one after the demo.
It is these things that I feel like I learned in elementary school, like staying on topic, that have been blurred by the hippy-dippy, free flowing college classes that I have had. I need to be remimded. I look foward to learning from this experience of sharing knowledge. It is extreemly exciting.
Ben Lambert
