Last week was the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and I was there the entire week working with Thomas Mann. I assisted him with his "Learn to Saw" workshop and "Container to Wear" workshop during the week, and also helped set up and work in his booth during the show.
His booth was set up the same as it was last year, with a workbench set up in the front where we gave sawing demos, and people could actually sit down and try it for themselves.
He brought his assistant Angele along from New Orleans to help too, but she needed to get back home on Friday. I was glad to get to know her...she's a great gal, and a lot of fun to work with! The other person who helped out on the weekend was Sarah Mann (no relation), who used to work for Tom when she lived in New Orleans. She is also a terrific gal who makes beautiful jewelry. Her and I both had jewelry pieces which were selected to be in the "Eight Counties" exhibit at the John Michael Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin back in January.On Friday evening, I had a pleasant surprise when my daughter came to the show.
Tom didn't realize who she was, so Jessica and I messed with him and let him give her a sawing lesson. Although she is very artistic, she isn't into metalsmithing, so she's never used a jeweler's saw before. He worked with her, and she struggled a little with it, but finally after she broke a blade, she told him that she'll let her mom teach her to saw at home. Tom asked her, "who's your mom?"... and she pointed to me and said, "she is!" The look on Tom's face was priceless! He had absolutely no idea she was my daughter, and we all had a good laugh.
So now that the show is over, I can relax and work on organizing my studio. It's been getting pretty cluttered and out of control, and I hate even being in it when it's such a mess! 