December 31, 2006

 

Hi! I was catching up on a friend and fellow flameworker’s blog today.  I do not know if you have heard of JC Herrell?  JC is one of the new-kids-on-the-block for 2006 in the glass bead world.  I met JC a while back and became an instant fan.  I actually saw a lot of my younger self in JC. 

I wonder…would each of us experience the feeling of inadequacy when dropped into a room of more accomplished peeps?  My answer is a resounding “yep”. 

I have to admit my first three years attending the ISGB Gathering started about the same as JC’s AGI week.  The year the Gathering was held in
Lowell was a big rollercoaster for me.  It was the second Gathering that I attended so I was no longer the new-kid-on-the-block and naïve.  I recall telephoning my hubby every day and he talked me through a few “emotional” breakdowns. 

On the second night, I missed the only group of people that I knew leaving for dinner and I tried to find them downtown…but never did.  I went back to the hotel and fought back the tears.  I remember getting on the elevator and slowly trying to gain control and wishing the entire time that the elevator would whisk me to my floor and to the safety of my own room.  Of course,  it had to stop…. and poor unsuspecting Schermo entered the elevator.  There I was an inch away from hyperventilating, and Anne started chatting away about remembering me from last year and tried hard to draw me into a conversation but…unfortunately, all I could do was nod my head and be more embarrassed. 

Thankfully my floor approached and I scurried off the elevator and down to my room. 

The floodgates opened…and after a bit I called hubby.  Just hearing his voice calmed me down and magically changed the day for me.  He pushed me to go down to the hotel bar and grab a bite to eat there.  I was so hesitant to do so but I did.  

I grabbed a diet coke and ordered some food.  As I was sitting there barely hanging on and ready to pull out my safety-net, a book to read, the woman next to me began a conversation.  I do not think Cynthia realized how she effected my day.  Cynthia’s friends, Coren Conti  (a silversmith and flameworker from Arizona) and Brett Pierce (a scientific and art glassblower from NY), included me in their evening activities as well as various events during the rest of the Gathering. 

These snapshot moments affect me when I participate in events like the Gathering.  The first few days if I see someone by themselves…you know the ones…uncomfortable, unsure of what to do…I always try to go over and introduce myself and pull them into the thick of things so that they do not feel like an outsider looking in. 

 

Well…I could go on and on with more examples from my history…heck…I will probably have more examples in my future…but let me stop here….and wish you a day filled with happiness.