Stuff I've been meaning to write about
Posted by Sarah at June 8, 2009 9:22 PM 
Categories: Classes,Travel,General
Tags: beads tel aviv classes israel life devardi forums
Categories: Classes,Travel,General
Tags: beads tel aviv classes israel life devardi forums
Teaching in Tel Aviv
Yesterday was the last lesson for my advanced beadmaking course here in Tel Aviv. This was my first time teaching an actual course, as opposed to one-day workshops, and I think it was a good experience. They were a great group, and this kind of class structure - 3 hours once a week, for 6 weeks - definitely has its advantages. I got to know the students pretty well, understand their individual strengths and weaknesses and try to point them in good directions. I think having a week's time between lessons was good for them as well, because it gave them time to practice the techniques at home, and come back the next week with questions and results. This kind of course would obviously not be practical when I'm traveling (haha, I wish I could stay in one cool place for six weeks just to teach a course), but I'm glad I got the chance to do it locally - and I do hope it will happen again. (A special thanks to the staff at Gilraphal for being so helpful!)
I guess the more I teach, the more I learn about teaching - and about myself as a teacher. For instance, the concept of teaching beginners' classes has never really appealed to me in the past - you know, too much responsibility involved, and I like teaching my own techniques to people who are already familiar with glass. But these days, I'm thinking I might give it a try at some point. I think I have the ability to give students a good foundation - in some cases, possibly better than what some other teachers are giving them - and I feel like it's my "duty", in some way. Who knows, it might even be fun. Definitely something to think about.
In the meantime - during this class, I put together a list of glass definitions in Hebrew. Since there seems to be a general lack of glass information in Hebrew (online and otherwise), I've decided to make this available for download. Click here for a PDF version (in Hebrew, have I mentioned?)
Many thanks to Pam Dugger for granting me permission to translate her list. You can find the original English version on Torch Bugs.
The D-Word
This is something I've been contemplating blogging about for a while. It's a long story, really, but I'll try to keep it short and to the point.
There's this new glass on the market. They call it Devardi. It is being imported to the US from India, and it is cheaper than most other brands of glass available. The glass has been reported to be of poor quality, compared to the other brands out there. This has caused a lot of the other d-word (drama!) on the lampwork forums, and if you're interested in the whole story, you can read about it there.
I have not tried this glass, and I have no intention of doing so. To be honest, I don't think anyone should be using it. Artisan glass beads are meant to be durable and long-lasting, and beads made of crumbling low-quality glass could negatively affect the entire lampwork bead market. But it's not my job to tell people what to do. I do want to explain why I'm not using it, and assure my buyers that I do make a point of using only premium glass from reputable companies in my work. So, in no particular order -
1. I have a problem with the people who are selling the glass. Their entire marketing plan (if one could call it that) has been paved with deception and ignorance, not to mention utter rudeness and ridiculous accusations being directed at respected members of the lampwork community. Once again, I won't go into it here, but you can read about it on the forums. I don't like these people. They're not getting my money, no matter what they're selling and no matter how cheap it is.
2. Out of the people who have actually tried the glass, some have reported low-quality, dirty, shocky, bubbly rods which are difficult to work with, and incompatibility issues which have caused their beads to literally crumble. However, others report that the glass is great and they have had minimal issues, or no problem at all. As I have no reason to believe that any of my fellow lampworkers are lying, this leads me to the conclusion that the glass is inconsistent, at best. Low-quality glass makes low-quality beads. I won't use it. I like my beads and I want to know that they are going to be around, in one piece, for a very long time.
3. This glass comes from India. Glass factories in India are known for their poor working conditions, child labor, and a long list of horrors. Some say this is a good reason to do business with third-world countries, because supporting them is the only way to make things better for the workers. I don't really buy this - not in this format at least. I have no reason to believe that my money would be going towards improving factory conditions and not into the wallets of the factory owners. Now, of course, the people selling the glass in the States claim that the conditions in the factory they are working with are not really that bad - but, as previously mentioned, these people are not exactly credible; and appear to be willing to say just about anything to make an extra buck. Besides, you can see for yourself - here are the images that the factory itself is proud of, apparently. Nice, eh?
4. Yes. As you can see in the video, the factory that makes the glass is also a manufacturer of cheap, mass-produced glass beads - a problem the lampwork community has had to deal with for years. Why would an artisan beadmaker want to support such a company?
Well, I don't.
Let's just leave it at that.
PTSD
Pre-Travel Stress Disorder, that is.
I love traveling. It's one of the best parts of my life. Really. I wouldn't trade it for the world. And yet, before every trip I take, I get these horrible stress attacks. There's always a million things I need to do before my trip and no chance I will be able to finish them all in time. There's always a bit of fear of the unknown. I keep having weird dreams about getting to the airport and realizing I forgot my passport, or ticket, or laptop, or something else I really need, or just generally arriving late and missing my flight. Other dreams feature people I really don't want to see, showing up in my hotel room and stuff. Ah, the wonders of the sub-conscious.
It's always like this before my trips. Once I finally get to the airport, it all fades away and things are wonderful, but in the meantime... argh.
I'm leaving for Russia in a couple of days, and I'm really excited. I've been looking forward to this trip for a while. But still, I'm stressed out. I've been reading a lot about Moscow, but I still feel like I have no idea what to expect - like this is going to be a dramatically different experience from any of my past travels. I'm nervous. I don't know the language, and in this case, I can't even pretend to read it - I've been trying to learn the Cyrillic alphabet, but it still looks like a bunch of confusing little spaceships to me. I think vegetarian food is going to be hard to find. Various other potential difficulties keep popping up in my mind. But things will be okay, I know - they always turn out to be. I can't wait to meet my Russian students and tour the city and take lots of pictures. This is going to be great.
Right?
YES.
I mean, DA.
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Ah, Sarah...thanks for the heads up on the Devardi glass.
Also, I know what you mean about travel. I always have the "I slept through the alarm or forgot my passport" dream the night before. (One time I did sleep through the alarm and almost missed the plane...arrrgh). One thing that helps is I've made an international travel checklist. It saves me a lot of worry. I use it and update as time goes on. (My original one was way too extensive.) Then I start this OCD pat-down and counting thing about the night before...check the wallet, check the passport, check the time, count the key things I need (wallet, phone, camera, notebook). If I have enough on my credit card and some cash, I feel okay. Most of the things I can buy if I need to. Sigh...
I feel for you. Have fun reading the spaceships! Sounds like a fun adventure!
P.S. - I think you'd be great at teaching basic classes.
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I have been only once in Russia, in St.Petersburg, but if Moscow is not very different from it, I think you can find vegetarian food there too. It is a big city anyway! They use lot of vegetables in Russian kitchen, and as I think you can eat dairy products, their food, like soups laced with cream and smetana are so delicious IMHO.
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I've been enjoying reading your blog, Sarah...I hope that your trip to Moscow's a fabulously inspiring trip!
Take care,
I'm really looking forward to reading all about it!
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