I'm finally coming down from last weekend's high: I visited East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. First I spent a couple days teaching my Peyote Buttons class to the students in the Textiles department. What a great experience! These students were so fun to work with, playing with the design with such fresh eyes, enthusiasm, and a healthy sense of creative competition and sharing, that it was simply contagious.

It was lovely to meet professors Christine Zoller and Robin Haller. They do a wonderful job at fostering this jubilant exploration of textile arts.

Next, I gave a lecture and participated in a panel discussion during the Metal department's symposium, Material Topics. I gave my presentation, which was about the rise of contemporary beadwork, to about 200 folks. Quite frankly, I was surprised at how well-received my talk was. These metals students were coming up to me after, telling me stories about their experiences with beads. One said, "I always thought beads were a no-no, but not anymore. I can't wait to get back to the studio to use them!" Another told me a story about how her Intro to Metalsmithing professor introduced the class by saying, "This is not a bead-stringing class, this is a metalsmithing course." This student shared that her respect for the technique had dramatically increased after seeing the slides I showed of contemporary beadwork. Oh, I can't tell you how happy this made my heart feel!

 Once I got my work out of the way, I got to be a student at the symposium! The first workshop I got to sit in on was by Marlene True, a wonderful metalsmith who specializes in tin. Not only is she an extremely skilled artist and knowledgeable teacher, but a really nice person.

Next up was a workshop with Masako Onodera, a jewelry-maker who is currently fascinated by felting. She gave one of the best historical overviews of felting I've ever seen! Her work is surprising and beautiful and I loved playing with the roving in her workshop. I'm worried: I foresee a whole closet filled with felting supplies.

My final workshop was with Amy Tavern, a jewelry-maker who is currently in a residency at Penland. Her workshop was eye-opening and humbling. I found myself having to check my ego at the door in order to do her exercise (make jewelry with bare-bones materials and no tools). The surprise is that once I let go of "looking good", I was able to be super creative and play. Amy's my new hero and I love her.

 We topped the weekend off with a wild dance party, where I danced like no one was looking. I swear, I just can't stay away from a dance floor. What a fun way to end a wonderful weekend. Thank you, ECU!

And thank you, Bob Ebendorf, for getting the ball rolling. You have truly been a mentor to me, and I see that you have been that and so much more to so many people. You are a treasure!