Ready to Learn

This week I’ll be in Manhattan for a National Mango Board photo shoot with food photographer Lou Manna.  These shoots are always fun, fast-paced and challenging.  We will get seven shots in a day and a half, which is really a crazy pace.  Fortunately, Lou and his team are amazing, so I know it will work.

Thursday afternoon I’ll hop on a plane and head to Pittsburgh for my Rio PMC Certification class with Terry Kovalcik.  I’ve been trying to take this class for over a year.  They had it scheduled in Orlando last year, but the class was cancelled due to low enrollment.  I’m looking forward to this intense three-day class where I’ll complete seven projects and work in all the different forms of PMC.  I’ve heard raves about Terry as a teacher.

I have conflicting feelings about taking this certification class.  It’s frustrating that I have to fly to Pittsburgh to get this done, and all of the travel expenses make for an expensive investment in my continuing education.  It will be nice to have the certification under my belt.  It will get me a discount with most of the metal clay suppliers, which is a big plus with the current prices of silver and silver clay.  And, it will be a nice thing to have on my website and resume.  But, it doesn’t really “certify” me for anything in particular.  I decided to go ahead with the class because I can pick up a few techniques that I’ve never tried before, and I can spend three days learning from Terry.  I can fine-tune my existing skills and pick up some new tricks to add to my repertoire.

For these past two years, I have really dedicated myself to learning all I can from as many great teachers as I can.  This certification class is the next step on that journey.  Wish me luck!