[Jewelry making - Article 00247] - Re: [Orchid] Self taught Vs Formal training

[Daniel R. Spirer]

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Richard,

>     I personally believe that it is the rare individual that has the
>     natural problem solving skills that can be successful at learning
>     on their own. 

    But how can these individuals ever be identified if they aren't
    given a chance? Sure I may be exceptional (more like bullheaded about
    things though) but if I didn't TRY stuff I wouldn't even know if I
    could or couldn't do it. Also if you don't give them an opportunity
    to try to use some problem solving skills, they'll never get better
    at it. Most of my (current and former) employees have been through
    the North Bennet Street Jewelry program here in Boston. It gives them
    a good, solid base, but it can't teach them half of what they need to
    know. My belief has always been that the best way for them to learn
    everything is simply to have them do it. Learning by fire as it were.
    If I tell them everything, what happens when I'm not there and they
    need to figure out a new technique on their own? I expect them to
    experiment until they work it out. Incidentally it is my belief that
    anyone can learn how to make jewelry. Whether they can do it
    creatively, whether they can also run a business, those are all
    different issues, but the ability to use a torch and solder, forge,
    etc. are something that anyone can learn (I know this as I've taught
    a few people who had no background at all). 

>     There is a lot of risk taking to learning th is way. 

    What in life doesn't involve some risk? Some people like to do
    extreme sports, some like to jump off cliffs (hopefully into water).
    As jewelers we like to screw around with valuable things. So what? I
    don't do extreme sports (or many sports at all for that matter) but I
    get my kicks from the risks associated with setting big emeralds or
    some other fragile stone. If you know you absolutely, positively
    cannot screw up on something then you won't. You'll figure out a way
    to do it without screwing it up. 

>     I believe there are people who have a natural ability and succes s
>     is easy for them, 

    Yes this is true. And nothing has come to me easily either. But,
    again, who said everything was going to be easy in life? What kind of
    fun would it be if everything you did was perfect the first time?
    What would you learn from that? 

>     When a person takes professional cooking classes, they learn what
>     effect different ingredients in a recipe have and what the result
>     will be by using baking powder or baking soda, ect. O f course a
>     person can just use a recipe, but knowing what the ingredients do
>     would allow a person to change a reci pe and be more creative. 

    Ah, here's another subject I like because I DO cook. Not
    professionally, but I have a reputation for throwing some mean dinner
    parties. And you know what, I'm pretty much self taught in that too.
    I read a bunch of cookbooks, followed the recipes for awhile until I
    was comfortable, and then just did what seemed right to me. I don't
    use many recipes anymore (well, in baking I tend to use more precise
    proportions but that's about it) because the understanding of how
    ingredients work in a recipe came to me after actually DOING the
    cooking. Am I as good a cook as a jeweler? No, but then I never meant
    it to be a profession, just something fun to do. 

    I also have a number of chefs/restaurateurs as friends. More than
    half of them did NOT go to school for what they do. And I've never
    seen them actually use a recipe when they're cooking. The point here
    is that through actual trial and error, I learned what I needed to
    know. I learned what I needed to know to produce something that I
    thought was good. As it happens, I have pretty good taste so it works
    out ok. Same thing with the jewelry. Try it and see what happens. I
    confess to having made a fair number of ugly and occasionally screwed
    up pieces in my day. Usually they end up in the scrap bucket. But
    each time I do that I learn what not to do, or how to do it better
    the next time. Is this expensive? Well it costs me in time a bit, but
    my materials are recyclable. And what I spend in time is more than
    made up for by the experience itself. 

    Richard, I'm not saying my way is the only way, merely that it is a
    possible way. There are many self taught jewelers who have extremely
    high skill levels (I personally know many). There are also class
    trained jewelers who have high skill levels. There is room for both
    types in this world. One does not negate the other, and one is not
    necessarily better than the other. They just represent two different
    approaches to working with jewelry. 

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
www.spirerjewelers.com

 
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