I've always been wondering whether or not I should attend workshops to learn about a certain craft I'm very much interested about. But every time I ask for the workshop fee, I always find myself taken aback by just how much it would cost me. I would always end up telling myself, 'I'll learn it even without taking any workshops', after all, what are my books, e-books as well as available online tutorials for. If I had successfully learn crochet all by myself + online helpful friends, I'd learn polymer clay crafting as well as the others too.
But one evening while browsing beads sites, I stumbled into one of the country's greatest beader turned clayist, Rocky Antonio's site Rockybeads. There I saw one-of-a-kind beaded-clay accessories. I kept looking and my eyes feasted on all her beautifully hand-crafted accessories. And because I can't stop admiring her works, I felt the need to share it with my hubby. We kept looking until we read about her 1-on-1 workshops.
My husband immediately encouraged me to attend the workshop. Just like the rest of the other workshops I've known of, I found myself quite hesitant at first because of the fee. But my husband insisted and said that he'd pay for it. And so I agreed and immediately left a message to Rocky.
And so last Saturday, October 02, I attended my first ever workshop. Yes, my first ever workshop since I started with The Joyful Crafter. And to tell you a secret, I have been so much excited about it - since Rocky and I set the date, I have been counting days 'til the workshop. I even prepared a notebook and jot down all topics I'd love to discuss and ask Rocky about.
Front page of my prepared notebook
What I want to learn...
Unfortunately, due to nervousness and being super excited about it I totally forgot to bring my notebook on the day of the workshop. And so we had to rush to Powerbooks, Eastwood Mall, to get me a notepad and a pen so I can write down everything Rocky will be teaching me. I can tell just by my previous casual conversations with her, even before the workshop, that I will be learning a lot of things.
the notebook & pen I brought with me during the workshop
Before I had my workshop with Rocky, I normally would end up burning my clay projects...
I know this was supposed to be something, I just couldn't remember
because I can't keep myself from laughing now just by looking at this...
this is my blue alien pig
but his feet got burned too...
this was supposed to be a name tag
Or if not burned, it would be under baked like this...
What I love about Rocky is that she is a very flexible teacher. She bothered to ask me ahead of time of what I would like to learn on the workshop. That gave me the idea that Rocky is the type of teacher who plans and prepares ahead of time, making sure that her students would get as much take-away from her workshop as possible, which I think is a very good thing.
The workshop with her is not the typical type of workshop where there is a course outline that needs to be strictly followed. With Rocky, you can ask her almost anything and learn about every thing there is to know about polymer clay crafting - from conditioning to molding to decorating to baking to having one of a kind creations... She even shares the tools and materials she uses for her works and where she gets/buys them! See how generous she is?
And here are some of the photos taken during my workshop with Rocky:
Rocky showing me how to work with the clay
looking closely while discussing
do you see the smile on my face?
I wanted to just watch Rocky but she insisted on me doing
and she was very supportive in squeezing out the creativity in me ☺
closer
tada! I can't believe I made them...
such a cutey locket
I learned a lot during my workshop with Rocky, from molding to decorating to antiquing, to pearlex/Beadlady sparklers application to successfully baking a project. But most of all, my major take-away from the workshop is being able to fully trust myself when it comes to crafting to be able to let loose the creativity in me and come up with fabulous works.
On my way home, Rocky also gave me the following...
lockets... because I opted not to take my break and just continue with our workshop, and...
photos so I can practice more on the photo transfer technique
Now here are my first set of works AFTER the said workshop:
no more burned projects + successful clay molding!
applying pearlex and antiquing white
I consider my workshop with Rocky a successful one because not only did I learn a LOT from it but we also gained a friend in her and in the personality of her son Liam and husband Marlon. They were so accommodating and supportive!
And as per the workshop fee? It was definitely WORTH IT! I'm glad that my husband encouraged and pushed me to take this workshop. Now I know that if she is to conduct another workshop for advance polymer clay crafting, I would surely be one of her repeat students.
I strongly recommend Rocky's workshop to anyone who aspires to learn and even develop (if they're already into polymer clay) their skills. With all the things that she has in store for you and you are to learn during the workshop, you can be assured that every penny paid is well spent.
I give this workshop a 5 out of 5 stars.
*Credits to Marlon Antonio for the workshop photos
Rocky Villegas-Antonio
No comments:
Post a Comment