Really big name instructors are quite expensive--usually travel,
lodging/meals, and $350 or more per 6-hour teaching day. You really
have to have your ducks in a row and know your potential student base to
be able to successfully host one.
But there are many good instructors in every area--just ask around,
especially at fiber stores and guilds. Most guilds have one or two
members who are, or could easily become, good instructors. Look for
someone with experience in the field you're interested in, who is
articulate, the one newer people go to for help when they run into
difficulties, and who seems reasonably well organized.
Often, a new local festival/retreat can attract people who'd like to
become teachers and are willing to teach in exchange for lodging, or if
they're local, even for free, just for the experience. Later, when
you're financially solvent, you can pay them.
The best part, from my perspective, is working with great fiberists from
all over the state, some well-known, some just starting out, all of them
enthusiastic about various aspects of fiber :)
One caveat--be aware that student evaluations rarely tell the truth if
it's bad :) Workshop chairs need to be able to listen in on classes for
a bit, to get a sense of the success of a teacher. It can help to
provide evaluation forms that the students turn in at the office rather
than to the teacher. You won't get many back, but at least you're more
likely to hear if a teacher is a real dud after all. I've heard of
beginning spinning teachers who were so negative that students who could
spin before the class came out feeling they couldn't spin at all--NOT
someone you'd want to hire back again!
Holly
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