Poll and Glass Painting

[neadods]

Today's class was on glass painting. It was a well-taught and generally interesting one (turns out I *really* like glass painting) with only one drawback... it was in the morning. Of a workday. My teeth were a little gritted when I told the roomful of retired teachers that I'd had to take leave to be there and REALLY would have preferred a night class.

That said, we tried five methods of applying paint to glass (paintbrush, sponge, stencil, marker, tube) and did two projects. After the vase and the pitcher have cured for a couple of days, I heat-set the paint, which is supposed to make it dishwasher and microwave safe.

The only problem with these "make it" classes is that I end up with novice projects I don't know what to do with. Perhaps I should take more cooking classes so I can eat the evidence. Speaking of which, the upcoming semester is a Candyland of options, and since people always like to click polls, here you go:


[Poll #1761532]

Comments

[wendymr.livejournal.com]

I'm laughing at the fact that I have not recommended for you a single course you've chosen for yourself!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Given my druthers, I'd take everything listed. It's just that whole time & money thing...

[raqs.livejournal.com]

I just marked what *I* wanted to take. Damn, where do you get these wonderful classes?

i live in a wasteland.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

This set is Anne Arundel Community College, noncredit classes. Is there any kind of CC in feasible commuting distance to you? PGCC had an interesting list too, but they're way further from work than AACC is.

[tchwrtr.livejournal.com]

Yup. AACC rocks.

Lemme know what you decide on--I might join you for a few of these.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Will do. Have had to winnow it down from $780 worth of classes to $250 worth of classes and still need to cut that number a bit, so the final results aren't in yet. The truffles, plumbing, micro greens, cookbook, yoga for sleep and -- bugger, I've forgotten it and my notes aren't with me -- anyway, the short list is down to 6 and I'm trying to get it shorter.

Also, they have a $95 trip up to the NY chocolate show in November. Which I'm considering, although I'm not sure if it wouldn't be cheaper to take the Bolt Bus up and a la carte my visit.

[tchwrtr.livejournal.com]

I'm curious what you hope to learn from the cookbook class. You are a writer and collector of cookbooks--I'm guessing you already *know* what goes into creating a cookbook.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

That is a good point. I dunno... learn something I don't know I don't know? They do talk about discussing marketing it, but if I do a print version I'd probably do it for charity and if I do an ebook, that's a whole different thing. (Actually, the temptation to make an ebook cookbook out of modernized historical recipes is quite tempting.)

The classes listed above were still a little steep for me - I've got it down to the cookbook (which you've now got me reconsidering, because yeah, you're right and it's not a cheap class), micro-gardening (Oct 25) and truffles (December 9).

If I dump cookbook, the question will be whether I'll replace it with candymaking (tempting) or plumbing (something I figure I Ought To Know.)

Also? To figure out the schedule and the prices, I cut the little descriptions out of the book and played with them like cards. I was vastly amused that low-fat cooking was on the backside of truffle making.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Of course, dropping cookbook would also free up the $$ to take one of the yoga classes...

[tchwrtr.livejournal.com]

There ya go.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

What are the classes you're looking at?

[fyrdrakken]

Huh. Not only do we have a good CC where I live, but there's another one downtown I took a few classes at a few years back. I should check and see if there are any cool classes on offer.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

It's hit or miss... This semester is a hit.

[redpanda13.livejournal.com]

Yoga for Back Care sounds to me like an investment. And I'd vote for Whole Grain Breads and Chocolate Truffles in hopes that you'd have leftovers and want to share....

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I find that doing stretches a couple times a day is doing worlds of good for my back. The question is - yoga for back or yoga for sleep? I can't afford both.

My mother asked for truffles for Christmas... while I have done them on the fly, I figure a class would teach me a few things I haven't picked up on my own.

[swallowedbysky.livejournal.com]

It's possible that I just marked cooking classes that I want to take. As for pottery and stained glass, they're things I love and wish I had the time, space, and resources to do now.

My first experience with a wheel was at the age of nine, and I stuck with it all through high school. I made more money selling what I made than I did working part-time in high school, and my mom still uses a number of the bowls and mugs that she got as birthday and Chirstmas gifts every year. Try the wheel. It's one the most deliciously tactile experiences I know of, it's absurdly relaxing, and even novice-level results are useful and, depending on your glazing method, visually impressive.

As for stained glass, my mother took a class when I was a kid and I, erm, borrowed her supplies. It's one of those things I always wished that I'd devoted more time to mastering. It's not nearly as relaxing as pottery, instead, it satisfies the part of the brain that loves to *plan.* It's a bit like quilting, in that respect. (And now I want to get back into quilting. Dammit.)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Try the wheel. It's one the most deliciously tactile experiences I know of

I tried and failed at the wheel years ago, in a class where the teacher made a big deal out of throwing japanese teacups and then ordered us to make a drinking vessel.

I made a beer stein in slabs.

Having looked at the list of possibilities, I've had to drop the wheel class from consideration at this venue because it conflicts with classes I want to take more. However, the local arts place also often has clay classes - I need to see if they've got a basic wheel one.

I loved quilting. I'm still doing it sideways - most of what I knit is really adapted quilt patterns. (With the exception of the currently abandoned and languishing Watson scarf.)

[redpanda13.livejournal.com]

I'd take the pottery wheel class in a shot if it came with Patrick Swayze, but alas....

[cedara]

Yoga is always a good idea, and it's nice to know you can help yourself in regards to plumbing.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

That's what I figured.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

My theory is that you're never going to be sorry to understand the basics of plumbing, and you might even save yourself a ton of cash at some point. I went with yoga for sleep because I figure if you've slept well, that boosts everything else in your day.

For cooking classes, I pretty much picked what I would want to take. But if you happen to go with chocolate truffles and candymaking, remember that I'm always open to being your guinea pig...

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Everyone keeps saying that about the truffles!

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

I just picked what I thought were the top 3 in each section. But seriously, if I had to choose only 1 course from all of both lists, it would be the fused-glass jewelry. You can do the most amazing things with that technique, including dichroic, which I adore.

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

I make fused glass jewellery and it's great fun, so that's my top recommendation. (In fact I love it so much that I bought a £550 kiln for my house a couple of years back.)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

It is terribly tempting! There's a place even nearer to my house that has classes on that too.