I am a happy camper! This week I held my first After School Workshop in my home - to my surprise, my class was full! I have been teaching polymer clay workshops to school groups and community groups for over 3 years as well as hosting birthday parties, all the while trying to run my own residential cleaning business. It's been a good journey, but my artist's muse is at it again and I feel I need to make some changes in my life that will allow me to utilise more of my creative side.
Being entrepreneurial and at the same time trying to balance your home life is no easy task, but you have to chose what it is you want most to do - for me, seven years of cleaning, and I am finding its time to let it go. So, how do I shift gears and find a way to make up for the lost income if I am to reduce my cleaning schedule? The after school workshops, I believe willl help ease me out of some of my cleaning duties and offer up the missing income I need to keep up with my bills. But more important than redirecting income flow, I am realizng that the teaching offers something more, something deeper and for that reason, I am excited and really "jazzed" to be hosting these workshops. The kid's have an incredible energy - they are so eager to make the stuff I have made and they are such willing participants - they want to be in this class - and for me, I find this heart warming. How many teachers in a classroom setting can lay claim to that? This is a far leap from scrubbing toilets and wiping up spider poo! (Yes, they do that!).
As much as the cleaning is a commendable service and it does help the people I serve, I find that the job doesn't allow for much growth, or change. Don't get me wrong, I love my cleaning clients - they have been wonderful and I will share with you about them another time - having a private cleaning business has its merit, but cleaning can be a routine and sometimes very mundane job and I am not lying when I say, I don't love it! But this, teaching and sharing of my sculpting talents and creative ideas, is a real joy and a delight.
There is an element of challenge here for the kids, but they don't seem to reisist it - they know it's not easy to sculpt 3D figurines and sometimes they are a little hesitant to explore what more to do. So often, I get an explosion of statements like, "Is this how it's done, how's this Amanda? Is this big enough? or does this look right?", there's a constant stream of questions and yes, I find my answers get a little crossed as I try to attend each one's inquiry, but you know what? It's all good: their questions let me know they are interested and engaged. What teacher could ask for more in a classroom setting? And the kids, I think they actually surprise themselves with what they produce even for their first attempts at claying. This, in age of mindless thumb pressing video gaming, zoned out TV watching and a reduced arts curriculum in ouur schools, is good. Thanfully the parents see value in the workshops I offer and have their children participate. What's great too, is that their children want to attend my workshops.
Beautiful combination this is for me and for them. I don't want to be a cleaning zombie for the rest of my life, it's time pass on the torch for that job (or start hiring out) but with this, the teaching of the clay, there will be an element of the "new" in every class, and an opportunity to fine tune my own skills and of course, teach new ones to the kids - I do this with out an Arts Degree, just pure life experience of over 25 years and a hobby that just wouldn't die.
I have to say, I feel really blessed, really blessed to have the chance to enrich the lives of my neigbhours children and at the same time know that my life is being touched as well. So thankyou, Moms and Dads in Bradford for lending me your children and allowing us to "clay" together. Looking forward to making a ton of wonderful, whimiscal little "Pooks", a term coined by my friend, Jeanene, and to sharing a ton of great learning moments that I hope will last forever. Happy Pooking everyone!
