I need your input.
Here's the deal: as I may have mentioned, I am supposed to give a lecture as part of my participation in the International Festival of Glass in the UK.
Yikes.
I'm not much of a public speaker.
I'm not much of a deadline-meeter either, and I was supposed to deliver the title and subject of my lecture a million years ago. Now it is getting really late. Some part of my mind is still floating around in glass fantasy land, I think.
I don't know what the title and subject of my lecture are. I have a couple of ideas, but I'm not sure if they'd be anything anyone wants to listen to.
So, here's where you come in. If you were forced to sit in a room and listen to me blabber and stutter for an hour, what would you like to hear me blabbering and stuttering about? It can be anything related to me, my glass, etc. I can incorporate a slideshow if I want (I think I want).
Creative ideas welcome. If your suggestion inspires me into thinking I can actually do this, there just might be a free bead in it for you.
I'd like to hear you "blabber and stutter" about reactive glass...how did you start experimenting with reactives. What ideas do you have for "finding our own path" in reactives or whatever we choose. I think you do the most with reactives I've seen of any of the glass artists I watch...I may think of more later...
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Hi Sarah!
Warm wishes from the US in FLorida!
I would LOVE to listen to you talk about your beads your process and how you come up with the ideas and mind pictures of what you make!
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I would like to know a little about yourself - brief autobiography - then how you came to enjoy lampwork so much - what is your inspiration - show a history of your beading - from your very first bead to your latest...and future plans.
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Hi Sarah,
I would like to hear you talk about developing a style. You have several different ranges / types of beads you do but they are all very much yours. It may also be interesting especially for people new to lampworking to hear about where your inspiration comes from and the process of how you get from the inspiration to the bead. Do you keep a sketchbook as that is always something people love to see, even if it is just a couple of pages as partof a presentation.
Hope that helps, Im sure you will be great
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First, it would be helpful to hear your speaking voice...what type of accent do you sport? Anglican high-voice? Yiddish? Y'all drawl? Icelandic low-brow? sultry? spicy? fast talker? close talker? pedantic? minnie mouse?
Without knowing that part, I'll have to go out on a limb here--how about funny stuff in the Old Testament (perhaps you've heard of it?), that relate to funny miscues and mishaps at the torch. Everybody secretly loves calamity, and will listen with rapt attention (cleavage anyone?), to your mildest forms of disappointing experimentals and hyperbole.
Of course, if you have a nasal voice, and each line ends in an upward question mark--yer gonna hafta resort to the italiano hand waving and panty slinging. I somehow knew that it would boil down to that, eh?
Here's what you do--"Subliminal Reactions to Reactive Sublimations."
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More ideas in addition to covering reactives, how to experiment, where you get your inspiration and all the suggestions already given…Just the fact that you have been invited to teach a Master Class? And you’ve only been doing this since 2005??? You’ve most seriously got what it takes to give this lecture. I understand the hesitancy about public speaking…it’s not my favorite thing either. I live a lot in my mind and I enjoy small, round-table discussions. I’ve always felt like the connection between my brain and my mouth is not properly wired. I struggle to express what’s in my head. I was recently asked to speak on a subject related to work and am struggling with this. But, I feel comfortable in settings where I can engage with the audience, dialogue and cover subjects THEY find interesting. So, I think you’re on the right track with asking for feedback.
Another series of questions I’d love to know about is that you “get” the whole internet business thing and are really savvy about marketing. Your photographs are spectacular which really highlights your beads. I enjoy just looking at your website because it’s so professional and you have a rotating variety of your bead styles that is fresh and interesting. People are seeing what they get as they buy. Plus, you have a unique “Sarah Hornik” style that is distinctive. You’ve set yourself apart and done it so quickly. How did you do that? What was behind your success? In general, I’d love to sit and watch you work, ask questions about how you experiment, your creative process, how you’ve managed your business and helped it lift off.
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Hi Sarah,
My idea would be for you to speak in the 3rd person as one of your beads. Perhaps what it has been since the birthing of the first bead and how all your family of beads were created. Maybe how they have evolved through your creative process with the combinations of colors and special reactionary glass and the magic of the japanese glass. The shapes,twists and magic that has come from their creator.
I love looking at your beads you are so inspiring. I know you will do just fine. Your heart will guide you with what to say. I hope that some day I may have the pleasure of meeting you. I am one of your fans from the USA.
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Sarah, I just survived giving a talk to about 60 bigwigs from the northwest corner of the US for my work. A nice guy with acting experience advised me to put my personal feelings into it. He was right. I would want to hear how you got to where you are, why you do glass, what inspires you, how you keep a list of names for your beads, what you want to explore next, who's work inspires you, and the other art you do that informs your glass work. Make an outline, read it out loud, read it again, practice it in front of the mirror or at least out loud, lose words that are tough to say, be positive, be kind to yourself, and practice without notes. I often think in pictures and sometimes let them interrupt my train of thought but am learning not to let them. Use exaggerated gestures and project your voice - it releases that pent up anxious energy. When you speak about what you know - yourself, your work and glass in this case - it's easier than you think. It helped me to remember that the group I was speaking to was on the same "team" as me and they wanted to hear what I had to say. Envision how you want it to go in your mind's eye ahead of time. You'll be great and I'd love to hear it. Best wishes, Sue
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Ok, first off i think that being yourself is what will do the trick because the people that love you and your quirks are the people that also love your beads and your rambling spirit. You amaze me with the ability to talk to people on your blog like you have known them forever (favorable quality, i like to be thought of that way too!). If i were in attendance i would like to hear a little about where you live, how you are inspired, and definately about the ancient art of glass epicenter Murano! Your trip was so much fun to hear about. Maybe you could do an A-Z in a nutshell type of talk? Think of the most inspiring thing from your recent trip (not the funeral, ha, well maybe) and work with that. Or maybe a reformed hermit having so much fun meeting artists from around the world. IDK, but anything you come up with i will enjoy reading. You are fun and crazy like me and hopefully i will be going to italy the next trip when you go because it sounds sooooo fun! Peace!
steph
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שרה שלום,
מאחר ופנית לקהל הרחב אני מרשה לעצמי להגיב. אם את יכולה להשתמש במצגת תוכלי להעביר את סיפורך האישי תחת הכותרת "לפני ואחרי"...עידו הזכוכית. וזאת- בכל מיני פרמטרים. המוטו יכול להיות למשל יציאה מעבדות לחירות. עבדות- הצורך לעשות מה שהלקוחות מבקשים, חירות- החופש ליצור, לבחור צבעים כלבבך, לעבוד בשעות הרצויות לך וכו'. זהו הרעיון הכללי שאני בטוחה שבכשרונך הרב תדעי לפתח אם ימצא חן בעינייך.
כל טוב
תמר מרכוס
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Dear Sarah,
I came across your site yesterday and my jaw hit the floor. I love your combination of colours and the sheer exuberance of your beads. I have just started on the torch, and I am amazed at what you have achieved with a hot head.
As a beginner I would be most interested to learn from your experiences and if not asking too much, using your knowledge to advance my own progress. Perhaps you can talk about the different types of glass available that you use, their strengths and weaknesses in the designs you want to create. Maybe also how the different glasses combine, any pitfalls? I know that a lot of people will want to know about colour combinations, any handy tips? Where do you get your inspiration from? Are there things that you have tried that absolutely do not work? What about the use of tools? Steel vs Tungsten?
Talking a little about yourself and your history is also good, I know that a lot of that is on your website, but I am sure there are other nuggets of information that you can share about your history on the beadmaking path. How long have you been doing this? Did you ever think "I will never get really good at this" etc?
So:
- about yourself
- your experiences along the way
- words of wisdom about techniqes etc
- your future plans ie teaching, more talk etc.
I hope this helps, from a beginners view point at least.
Good luck.
Marlene.
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Shopmonkeys think Sarah should talk about those things Sarah thinks she can talk about for 20 minutes, cause giving a talk on something like, say, Iberian post-feudal land use policies, might run a little short. Which is kinda embarrassing.
Oooh! Sarah can talk about the haunting voices in all lampworker's heads that drive them ever forward into strange and uncharted beady territory!
No? Maybe it's just Shopmonkeys then.
loves and kisses,
shopmonkeys
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