Class with Jari Sheese

I told you all about being at Portia's but I never really got to rave about our instructor.  I wouldn't rave if it wasn't any good - I'd just kind of keep my mouth shut.  But, there isn't any need to be coy about it - Jari Sheese was a phenomenal teacher.  It would be a shame if she were to retire teaching but that is the word from Jari so if she's taking a break I'd find a place you can sign up for a class and do it fast.


Jari Sheese working a twisted stringer onto a button top.

A great selection of Sheese's Buttons


Did I learn a lot?  You bet.  I'm showing you a photo of Jari's buttons and they are labeled as hers - but she taught us how to do that....they're fun.  As I said in the previous post I had the opportunity to use plenty of Double Helix glass (love that stuff) but what I loved even more was the fact that Jari knows the subtle nuances of using it to it's advantage.  Just about anyone can make it work in an organic bead but it does take someone with great skill to use silvered glasses in a controlled way.  I learned to lay down the glass - reduce it - use stringer work - bring it back out of it's silvered state - lay down more stringer.  I mean, whoa, you can get a lot of looks out one type of glass by knowing when to reduce and what to add to it that will react with it - or not. 

Then - to top it all off we made ornaments.  To look at Jari's ornaments I thought to myself, "Oh hell, there is no way I'm going to be able to make one of these."  But by the time she was done guiding us through the steps and letting the pieces anneal overnight - well, there we all were.... with finished ornaments.  All different and all beautiful.  It takes skill to orchestrate ten students through that process and we all finished.

An ornament by Jari Sheese

We all finished buttons, ornaments, silver glass experiments, pendants, and Jari even showed us how to make her earring drops - and we made those too.  I came home with a ton of techniques and notes for more experiments.  There wasn't a bead in Jari's extensive collection that she couldn't recall the colors used or the order she put them on in. 

Did I have a great time?  Absolutely, and Jari's instruction was a HUGE part of that art retreat experience.  I love having a great teacher at a great studio.  There's not much to go wrong with that equation.

And what did I make in class...plenty.  But I thought I'd show you this since Mary Kay Stout sent me photos of the ornament I took home.  What do you think?