New Kid In School

Have you ever been the new kid in the class after all of the other students have

known each other for a long time. It can be a very lonely experience. I

experienced this five times

during my own elementary school years, but this is small potatoes compared to what some kids go through today. Many foster kids have experienced starting a new school every month, though as educators become more aware of this, the trend is changing to meet the needs of the kids-I hope.  I will never forget my eighth grade class. For one thing, we still meet about once a year. This class was in a parochial elementary school building, and the classroom housed about 45 children of all sizes. What a group we were, and how I felt for our poor teachers. I remember being the new girl arriving on the first day, unknown to all of the other students who had been together since the early grades. The girls were quite short and I had gained my 5'7" already, tall for the time. They made me feel welcome, unlike some of my other "new kid" experiences.

So what does this have to do with anything? Well blogging is a lot like being the new kid in school. And establishing yourself in a new area of art is a lot like being the new kid. It's hard to get people to notice you, to reach out and welcome you. We are all so busy. So imagine my surprise when I got a return email from a wonderful woman who got back to me with some answers to questions. I was asking questions about Nuno Felting, and had put some feelers out on a couple of blogs. I am new to blogging so I really didn't know what I was doing. I had also asked about available classes. I found out that Chrissie was the woman who was answering my questions, first helping  

me with something as simple as my blog address. Next she gave me advice on the kind of silk to get for Nuno felting, and some little tips about getting onto flickr.com to become better known. She was absolutely full of encouragement. I know that she knew that she was talking to a rookie, but she was taking the time, and it was great. The next thing that Chrissie did was to suggest some good felting books and articles. This was all happening over a couple of days, back and forth. The next thing was even more amazing to me. She found a person who lives near me who teaches felting- Patricia Sparks. Patricia Sparks who has been working in the arts since 1970, written books, taught classes, won awards, I could go on and on, but go to her site(http://www.finefiberpress.com/) and read her resume.  

And who is Chrissie. Why Chrissie is Chrissie Day, artist, author, teacher, etc., and she was writing to me from the U.K. (I live in Oregon.) She is author of Wire Jewelry: Crocheted, Knitted, Twisted and Beaded, Socks (Cozy), Felt Style, Hot-Water Bottle Covers (Cozy), and Quick Crochet: 35 Fast, Fun Projects to Make a Weekend. I went on Amazon and got the last copy of Felt Style that they had. Chrissie has taught classes, she has been all over the world, has been at her art, and been excellent at her arts for years. Why did she take the time to email me? I don't know, and I don't care, I'm just so happy that she did. Thank you, Chrissie for taking time for the new kid.