Well I'm down to 682 posts to read :)
And I did make hollow beads in the class so maybe it is on topic :)
I loved my PMC level I Class. It was taught by Mary Ann & Ken Devos (we used their book in class) and they were wonderful! Mary Ann is incredibly creative - most of her demos she would just decide on the fly what the look of the piece would be. I would highly recommend the Devos as teachers to anyone interested in PMC.
I'm now a certified PMC I person. We had to make 8 official projects to be certified, but we also had time to make others. It was great to have 4 1/2 days to work instead of the usual 3 days for a certification class. I now plan to take the Level II class in either September or October.
There were 13 people in our class and everyone was very supportive of each other and all were talented too! Y'all would be proud of me- I had to pass on some RCB wisdom- each time someone would compliment someone else's work almost always the creator would say negative things- it's not really good, you're just saying that, etc. (even the male student). So I told them that the PROPER response was "Thank-you - I've worked very hard ....." or just "Thank-you". And so many were of the "perfectionist" type (I used to be as well). Most were trying PMC for the 1st time- and would be all grumpy (momentarily) if the end product didn't match their "ideal" in their head. I think we got through to some of them:) Mary Ann and Ken were also very supportive - and as they said, with PMC you can keep working on it until it's the way you want it!
Several of the people in the class also had experience in jewelry designing, beadmaking, facetting, wirework, silversmithing, etc so it was nice to get a little education on all of these areas. I also picked up a lot of advice and info about selling work, displays, etc.
I also got invited to a private lesson (4 hours) on wire wrapping that some of the other students arranged. I knew nothing about wire wrapping and the instructor (Lisa Roberts) was very patient with me! I learned how to make a necklace that is very easy to make and looks pretty cool.
And of course I got to shop- bought PMC stuff, CZs, some rocks (it was a workshop sponsored by the Southeast Federation of Mineralogical Societies), a raku vase (bought at the auction) and a bunch of dichroic cabs (they were selling for 3.00 each!!!!)
The class was held at Wildacres Retreat near Little Switzerland NC. It is in a gorgeous setting - lots of views, trees, etc. However there are lots and lots of steps and hills- and there were people who had some problems with that. For most of us it was just a lot of good exercise :)
And in case you are interested - here is the link to the pics of the pieces I did. I love the color effects you can get with the liver of sulfur. Some of the pieces still need some polishing etc. I'll be experimenting more with PMC and will post pics as I work.
And I made two memory wire chokers while I was there - I'll post those later (have to find them)