It is interesting to note that two of the class descriptions emphasize the simplicity of making bobbin lace.
<<"Lace making is two easy stitches, combined in different ways, to create beautiful and inspiring pieces. Come learn how simple and fun the basics can be and discover the joy in creativity, and the bliss in making a timeless treasure!">> <<With a few twists and crosses of specially wound bobbins you can create beautiful lace that you can proudly hand down through the ages. Learn the basics of this deceptively easy thread craft in just a few minutes.>> I completely understand the necessity for quelling the fear that most people feel when they contemplate learning bobbin lace, since overcoming this rather formidable obstacle is necessary if you are going to have a class at all. Personally, I have talked a lot of people into trying it with such soothing words. I have also been in classes where people arrive absolutely convinced that once they learn the equivalent of a knit and a purl, or a single and double crochet, they will be off on their way to making table cloths such as those that adorned their grandmothers' homes. When reality hits home, it can be rather ugly. I am thinking of two people in particular. But after the initial realization that it was not yards of lace, but rather inches that they would be making, they did stay on. A question I have come to contemplate, though, is whether making bobbin lace sound simple actually attracts the right people into the class. Are you more likely to get people who are thinking it will be like a class at a craft store, where at the end, they take home a splashy big flower arrangement, rather than a tiny inch of border, or possibly, a small fish? On the other hand, if you told someone that it would take a year, or possibly years to become anything like proficient, would anyone take the class at all? Is it better to tease them in, and hope that they will get hooked? For some people, the complexity would be a turn on, and they might like it better, long term. For instance, a blurb might read "If you like puzzles, you'll love bobbin lace. Have other textile techniques ceased to thrill? Is needlepoint boring? Like Sudoko in thread, bobbin lace is a challenge. Working with four threads simultaneously, you will find out why the laces of the previous centuries exceeded any other textile in beauty and complexity. Bring your thinking cap!" Thoughts, anyone, about whether it is better to make it sound simple, and get a class of people who are looking for simplicity, or make it sound challenging? After all, in some walks of life, people are attracted to things that only "the few, the brave" can do, like elite schools and specialized military units. In some ways, I guess it depends on whether you are addressing your blurb to an audience of low self confidence, or one of high self confidence. Alice is teaching at an Art Museum. Maybe there are people there, who fall into the category of many I have met, who sign up for a class with the comment, "I'm a fast learner". Of course, many of us, self included, are in an age group such that, by the time we can pursue bobbin lace, we are saying, "I used to be a fast learner." :-( Devon **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1220439616x1201372437/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fwww.freecreditreport.com%2Fpm%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fsc%3D668072%26hmpgID %3D62%26bcd%3DfebemailfooterNO62) - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
