Creativity in Kids, Part II

More thoughts on the creative mind, and how we see it in action through our kids.  I will first link you to this large and information-packed article we found in Newsweek last year, about the state of children's creativity today, how it can be improved, and how it leads to success later in life.

It's interesting to think of the jewelry-making we do as 'play', but it absolutely is!  It also gets kids thinking and talking about the friends, sisters, moms, aunts, and even brothers and dads who they may have decided to give their projects to.

Based in my experience as a teacher, I'd say it takes an extra step of emotional creativity to not only choose bead colors and patterns, but to choose them based on what they know that their loved one would prefer:

"In early childhood, distinct types of free play are associated with high creativity. Preschoolers who spend more time in role-play (acting out characters) have higher measures of creativity: voicing someone else’s point of view helps develop their ability to analyze situations from different perspectives. 

When creative children have a supportive teacher—someone tolerant of unconventional answers, occasional disruptions, or detours of curiosity—they tend to excel. When they don’t, they tend to underperform and drop out of high school or don’t finish college at high rates."


Lots to think about, whether you're a parent, a teacher, or both!  Do you think creativity is less automatic for today's kids than it used to be? 


See also: Summer Fun-Test Your Creativity (Part 1 of these creativity articles) 

Make Jewelry in Beautiful San Clemente with Us This Summer!

Enroll your child in one of our summer class offerings in San Clemente!

• Jewelry Making for Beginners (young children- K-2nd): Our Jewelry Making for Beginners class encourages children to explore their creativity through an introduction to interesting colors, textures, and age-appropriate jewelry-making techniques.  This class is designed not only to entertain, but to improve hand-eye coordination, small muscle development, and pattern-making skills in a relaxed, encouraging environment! 

Learning new techniques.



Beaded Comb: a fun project for little hands!

•  Jewelry Designers (2nd grade & up-teens/tweens): Create customized, stylish jewelry ready for you and your friends to wear!  Become your own jewelry designer, where you can choose from a huge selection of hot colors, textures, and unique beads to make one-of-a kind pieces. Our classes are designed not only to be fun, but to let you in on some of the most popular jewelry making techniques, such as wire work, beading, felting, fingerknitting, and stamping and dapping.  

San Clemente Schedule and Location: 

• Jewelry Making for Beginners, 6 Sessions Every Wednesday from June 29th-August 3rd from 3:30pm-4:30pm
• Jewelry Designers, 6 Sessions Every Wednesday from June 29th-August 3rd from 4:30pm-5:30pm. 
• Adult-Child Stamping and Dapping, Saturday July 9th AND August 6th 10:30am-12:30pm, Saturday May 21 10:30am-12:30pm

All San Clemente classes will take place at 100 North Calle Seville San Clemente Ca 92672 (click for map)

The Fairy Festival!

We had a really nice time making necklaces, bracelets and free stretch rings at this past weekend's Fairy Festival, and wanted to share just a few pictures! The fairy costumes were incredibly cute and many, many girls walked away proud of their new rings.

I thought this was so funny

A fairy perusing the options on our bracelet-necklace table

Mini fairy on the right checking out what the older girls are doing! 

A very jewelry-oriented young lady hard at work on a stretch ring.

Thank you parents and kids for making this a successful event!  See us next at the Del Mar fair this coming Tuesday, June 28th and Saturday, July 2nd.

Summer Fun: Test Your Creativity!

In a two-part blog entry, we are going to step away from the ordinary a bit and talk about what drives our kids to get innovative and creative. Providing children with a classroom atmosphere that generates creativity is a crucial part of what we do.  Like I always say, one of the most satisfying part of teaching these classes is the fascinating process of watching kids MAKE THEIR OWN CHOICES.  Whether a child decides on beads, colors, designs and pattern instantaneously, or needs five solid minutes looking at the bead trays in silence, each little student's mind is full of choice-making in that hour of class.

Before we share a little bit of interesting information on the science of creativity and the state of it in today's world, try THIS TEST(Click here) and evaluate your own creativity!  This is a standardized psychological test that measures creativity in the same way that the well-known IQ tests measure intelligence and aptitude.  Try it out and stay tuned next week for some more information and thoughts on this topic!

Now Hiring in Encinitas/Solana Beach Area!

We are looking for instructors in the Solana Beach/Encinitas Area of San Diego! Please come join our team!


Read all the details in the posting below:
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/edu/2440543937.html


And please don't hesitate to email us with any questions, at brenna@jewelrybydfly.com or molly@jewelrybydfly.com. 

The Teacher's Learning Curve

We got a very thorough training recently on the projects we'll be teaching at this summer's jewelry camps, taught by the experts in San Francisco who flew down for the day!

It was rather enjoyable and humbling to experience the trial-and-error of practicing these techniques.You can sometimes start out a confused, blank slate, and then after a few rounds of practice, suddenly you've made something cute and wearable!  I've photographed some of my own pieces from that day, to show this repetitive learning process, and also show some previews of our camp projects. 

The first wool ball I rolled...

The wool felted ball project is so much fun. It involves compressing these clouds of different-colored fibers until they're really solid and mostly spherical!  Much easier said than done. My first attempt, seen above, was far from round despite my best efforts. Nor do they need to be perfect, but I was definitely going for more roundness. I was little more successful in my second round, and I plan to incorporate these both into jewelry: 

Second wool ball!

Above is my little charm made by stamping and dapping.  This technique definitely requires practice; hand-stamping letters and designs into copper or sterling silver. You can clearly see the two initials on the sides, but there WAS a letter 'F' in the middle, which all but disappeared after I rounded the flat disc with a dapping block and hammer.  Same with the pattern of leaves, they disappeared.  I like this pendant anyway, and I know how to improve next time and keep my letters clear!

One of my favorite projects in copper etching, as seen above.  We use a metal-etchant solution to carve basically any pattern, lettering or design into copper pieces, and I've practiced this one alot before our training last week.  This piece was everything you'd hope for as a result: a nice, clearly defined pattern, achieved by a few hints and tips that I certainly didn't know my first time doing this one!

So, I just wanted to illustrate the learning process that we teachers go through ourselves, before the knowledge reaches our students.  See you in camp!

Dragonfly Designs at the Fairy Festival!

Come see us this coming Wednesday, June 18th, from 10am-1:30pm for the Fairy Festival at Quail Gardens in Encinitas!

A lovely pic from the 2007 Festival from www.nelyphoto.com

For a small fee, you can make pieces of jewelry with us there, view and buy our jewelry collection, and place orders for personalized sterling silver pieces like this one:

For more info and directions to Quail Gardens, see the event website - Click here.   Email molly@jewelrybydfly.com with any questions about what we are offering, and see you there!

Cardiff Elementary Class Gallery

On our final day for the Cardiff Elementary class, I could definitely feel that end-of-the-schoolyear excitement from this special group of girls!  The weather was extra warm and sunny and everyone was creative and focused.  It was great, as a teacher, to see a group of kids get to know each other and become friends over the course of the class, and hear the questions they asked each other.  

The project we did last Friday was a long necklace that ties in a half knot and lays nicely around your neck. There are two matching oval silver-colored charms that weigh it down so it doesn't untie, and while some girls opted to use it, others asked to put a dangle on the end for some contrast. Like I always say, it was enjoyable to allow the students to make these choices on their own!  Here they are: 

A lavender and red pattern by a very focused kindergartner.

Very chic blacks, whites and grays! 

An innovative way to stack smaller circular shell beads into the holes of larger ones! 

The class' color expert using mostly wood for a lightweight, fun, free-spirited design. 

Re-visiting our collection of letter beads, the detail of a necklace made for one student's sister.

Really nice work in Cardiff, and I'm very much looking forward to returning there in the fall!

Make Jewelry this Summer with Dragonfly Designs

Join us this summer for one of our local camps! We have three convenient locations in the San Diego area hosting our programs this summer. The camps are designed to deepen and broaden the techniques taught in the afterschool classes. We take young jewelry-makers to the next level of technique with different, specialized projects each day. Everyone finishes camp with lots of new skills and creations to be proud of!

Half-Day Camp at the La Jolla Parks and Recreational Center Sessions: 
-Monday June 27 to Friday,  July 1
-Monday July 18 to Friday, July 22nd
-Monday August 15th to Friday, August 19th 
Contact to Register:
La Jolla Recreation Center
615 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 552-1658


Half Day Camp at the Rancho Santa Fe Community Center
-Monday July 11- Friday July 15th
-Monday August 15-Friday August 19th
Contact to Register:

Rancho Santa Fe Community Center
5970 La Sendita
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92091
(858) 756-2461
Click here to register online 



Single-Day Camps at Grace Lutheran School 
-Wednesday June 15th

-Tuesday August 9th
Contact to Register: 

Grace Lutheran School
643 West 13th Avenue
Escondido, CA 92025-5696
760-745-9546 


Please email Area Manager Molly Houston with any questions!  molly@jewelrybydfly.com

Meet the Staff!

Get to know the experts who make our classes and parties happen here in San Diego!  

Brenna Weatherby, San Diego Regional Manager

Brenna received her BS from UC Davis, and her Master's from San Diego State University. She re-discovered her childhood love for jewelry making while designing jewelry for her bridesmaids in 2006, and has worked as an independent contractor for the well-known beadwork company Jolee's Jewels.  In her spare time, Brenna designs jewelry for friends and family.

Heather Morgan, Instructor

Heather enjoys the creative, artistic environment that Dragonfly Designs offers. She discovered her love of making jewelry when she was a teenager, but pursued it more while planning her wedding, creating pieces for her bridesmaids.  Heather holds a B.A in English Education and Writing from Ithaca College, a Masters degree in Minority and Urban Education from the University of Maryland, College Park, and is a former high school English teacher.

 Leti Vallejo, Instructor
Leti has her BA in Performing Arts from San Diego State University.  She created Leti Creations and has been designing her own jewelry for over 5 years.  She specializes in bead work, wire wrapping, and texturing.  She loves to workout and stay active.  In her spare time she likes to connect with other local film artists and make movie magic!

Soleil Brigham - Instructor

Soleil has a degree from UCSB in Comparative World Religions and Asian Studies. She has enjoyed a passion for jewelry making for over 15 years and continues to grow in skill and creative expression.  Practicing yoga for 7 years now and having been a dancer all her life (with several performances in recent years), she's quite comfortable leading both adults and children in movement exercises. She has a joyful rapport with children and loves sharing her passion for creativity.  

Katie Cuddy,  Riverside County Area Manager

Originally from La Jolla, Katie grew up appreciating different art forms from a young age. She received her BA from Pine Manor College in MA,  where she further explored her creativity in both her major (Broadcast Communications) and her minor (Visual Art). After college she proceeded to get her Professional Makeup Artist Certification from Joe Blaso Makeup Center. Today, Katie expresses her creativity in different forms of art including makeup, scrapbooking, mixed media design and jewelry making. In the process of finding a way to combine her lifelong passion for children and art, Katie discovered Dragonfly Designs; she couldn't be more excited about this venture.

 

Molly Houston, San Diego Area Manager

Molly Houston has a BA in English from Boston College, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York City.  She is currently enrolled in the Graduate Gemology program at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), where she also earned her Graduate Jeweler degree in 2008.  She worked as a day program teacher for developmentally disabled children and adults before starting her jewelry career.  Molly is experienced in beadwork design, bench repair, and fine jewelry retail. 

 

 

 

Cardiff Elementary Class Gallery

This past Friday, I unexpectedly came across some pretty pastel alphabet beads, so we worked them into the projects for the week with some charming results. We kept it simple and made necklaces, and just laid out all of the letter beads to pick and choose from.  I wanted to see what the girls would come with completely on their own, so I didn't even suggest anything unless they asked me directly (what to make for names, gifts, personalization) - I wanted to see their independent choices! 

Sure enough, they made some lovely and meaningful pieces, and I sure was impressed with everyone's spelling skills! 

Although my camera was acting up and this came out quite exposed, its message is great and  I had to include it!  One student wanted to make a Father's Day bookmark for Dad.

The center section of one girl's purple necklace

A wood bead, shell and letter necklace, with lots of fun, festive colors, words and names.

Dragonfly Designs at the Sicilian Festival, May 22

The Sicilian Festival! 

If you and your family will be downtown on Sunday for this wonderful annual event, stop by the Kids Area (at the corner of Beech and India Streets) to make a free beaded stretch ring and meet our staff!

Stretch Rings

 Click here for directions and map!

Getting to Know Stacee Gillelen, Owner and Founder of dragonfly designs

Dragonfly designs began in the Bay Area, and in the summer of 2010, the company expanded far south to San Diego, yet another richly creative and artistic region of California.  How, we wondered, did Stacee get started in the first place, and how did she choose this area for this brave and exciting expansion? 

Q: What inspired you to establish a company like dragonfly designs?

A: My passion for beading began one day while I was 'making jewelry' with my three young daughters. I discovered how to attach a clasp, and a love affair was sparked! I started taking classes at local beading stores and couldn't stop practicing my new-found skills. Soon, I was dreaming about beads and patterns that I would make into jewelry. With beads, I found yet another artful way to express the beauty I found in nature and in my imagination. In February of 2005, I launched Dragonfly Designs.

Stacee and her three daughters

 Q: “Jewelry with a conscience”; what a wonderful notion.  Tell us more!
A: I feel immense gratitude for the abundance in my life and for the opportunities I have been given. I also feel a personal responsibility as a global citizen to give something back to the community, which is why I am choosing to donate a portion of each sale of Dragonfly Designs jewelry to an organization that works to improve the human condition (especially for women and children), promote equality, and protect the environment.

Q: Of all the areas in California to expand your company to, how did you choose San Diego?

A: I had been thinking about expanding the business, and wanted to see if I could manage dragonfly designs when the instructors weren't in driving range from the home studio here in South San Francisco. My husband is from Southern California, and grew up on the beaches of Del Mar.  His family is still in San Diego, and we spend lots of time during the summer in the area! In fact, my three girls do Del Mar Junior Lifeguards each summer.  

The Gillelen girls soaking up the sun in Del Mar, summer 2010

What I love about the San Diego area is its athletic, outdoor feel! Children play outside so much, and that fits right in with our natural, whole approach to camps and classes.  Our company values the importance of being out in nature, experiencing life, beauty, creativity, art and yoga.  Because I'm already familiar with the area, and I spend a portion of the year with family in San Diego, I knew it was the perfect location to try an expansion.  My family and I still fantasize about moving to the area one day, and it’s been a good market to broaden the reach of dragonfly designs.

I've met the most incredible instructors and am so proud to have them representing dragonfly in San Diego.  

Quick Class Gallery from Cardiff Elementary School

On Friday afternoons at Cardiff Elementary, I get to see some very talented minds and hands beading every Friday afternoon.  It is a very lively and witty group of girls, mostly K-3rd Grade.  I just wanted to show two projects of theirs today, and then keep going with their gallery every week!

A student-made stretch ring with a surprisingly wonderful color combination! 

I was delighted when my student gave it to me as a teacher's gift, and I wear it quite a bit. 

Details of the always-beautiful Woven Copper Chain Bracelet.  Students weave/sew beaded Accu-Flex back and forth through a copper chain, and we crimp it all at the end for a polished result.

This is one of our medium-to-advanced project offerings, but these girls made them beautifully. 

 Thanks for reading, and keep following for more class creations!
--Molly

Class Gallery from Willow Grove Elementary

Making your own jewelry is fun, and so is showing it off! Our spring session of students at Willow Grove Elementary has quite a bit of creative talent and I, their teacher, wanted to share some of these pieces with our readers.

These are some student favorites from our lessons doing the Beaded Bracelet with Dangle project, and the Three Strand Necklace. My personal favorite part of teaching these classes is the luxury of observing kids making creative CHOICES.  How they pick and discuss these choices is endlessly endearing and inspiring to me - you can bead for decades and could never think up the same fresh ideas coming from a 5-year old mind.

Here are some bracelets that reflect this careful choice-making process.

A very cool contrast of bright shell beads on dark blues and blacks.

An unlikely and very fun combination of shell, glass and wood beads, also lots of brights on darks. This young lady opted for these two giant shell beads instead of a dangle.

And then from our day making the Three Strand Necklace, here are the results:  Many of these were said to be Mothers Day gifts last week, to I measured them to be Mom-lengths.  The setup comes with three strands, but it's interesting to encounter the occasional student who is adamant about turning it into a two-strand necklace, saying it will be important to their design! I allow them to make two strands, and then we save the third Accu-Flex strand for a future project. 

This girl amazes me every week with her precise pattern-making.

Detail of the patten!  This was a Mother's Day gift for a very lucky mom.

Playing with different sizes and textures!  A big, bold necklace I liked alot.

I loved this student's choices of some of the largest and tiniest beads all in one. She wore this one home very proudly. 

Stay tuned for more next week from these little artists!
-Molly

Our Spring Class Offerings!

Spring is in the air, and it's time to get creative!  The San Diego staff of Dragonfly Designs are excited to offer a variety of classes in San Clemente and Santee, for both kids and adults. Each one is described below, along with program dates.  For questions and easy registration, email our Regional Manager today!

Beaded Comb: a fun project for little hands!

• Jewelry Making for Beginners (young children- K-2nd): Our Jewelry Making for Beginners class encourages children to explore their creativity through an introduction to interesting colors, textures, and age-appropriate jewelry-making techniques.  This class is designed not only to entertain, but to improve hand-eye coordination, small muscle development, and pattern-making skills in a relaxed, encouraging environment! 

 

Learning new techniques.

•  Jewelry Designers (2nd grade & up-teens/tweens): Create customized, stylish jewelry ready for you and your friends to wear!  Become your own jewelry designer, where you can choose from a huge selection of hot colors, textures, and unique beads to make one-of-a kind pieces. Our classes are designed not only to be fun, but to let you in on some of the most popular jewelry making techniques, such as wire work, beading, felting, fingerknitting, and stamping and dapping.  

 

•  Adult/Child Stamping and Dapping-Learn how to create your own personalized jewelry! We will teach you stamping and dapping techniques, plus you will enjoy a fabulous array of fun design stamps and fonts to choose from.  Expect to create your own sterling personalized necklace in this class like the one pictured! This is a very popular way to make mother's jewelry, with your children's names and birthdays.  

  

  A Mother's pendant made in Stamping and Dapping!

• Copper Etching- Create beautiful copper etched earrings & pendants during this interactive class. You will enjoy stamping out metal circular shapes, etching and designing your unique pieces. Expect to create a pair of earrings and necklace during class. Expert instruction, tools & all required materials will be provided. All levels welcome.

Etched-Copper Designs on Earrings and Pendant

• Beginning Jewelry Making Techniques-  Have you ever looked longingly at a piece of jewelry and wished you knew how it was made? This class will teach you the following jewelry making techniques: bead stringing, crimping, crimp covers, and French wire (Bullion) for a professionally finished piece.   Expect to create two beautiful pieces of jewelry in this 3 hour class using the new techniques that you've learned. All materials provided!  

Earrings made in Beginning Jewelry Making

•  Intermediate Jewelry Making Techniques-  Advance your jewelry making skills by learning how to make creative and beautiful jewelry pieces. This class will teach you the following jewelry making techniques: perfecting simple wire wraps, double wire wraps & how to create your own head pins. Expect to create 1-2 beautiful pieces of jewelry in class using the new techniques that you've learned.

Wire-wrapping skills using Intermediate Jewelry Making Techniques

We use only the highest quality findings, fresh water pearls, and Czech glass beads to create one piece of new jewelry per class.  Our highly trained and fun instructors create a relaxed, encouraging environment all children will love.

San Clemente Schedule and Location: 

• Jewelry Making for Beginners, 6 Sessions Every Wednesday from April 20th-May 25th from 3:30pm-4:30pm
• Jewelry Designers, 6 Sessions Every Wednesday from April 20-May 25th from 4:30pm-5:30pm. 
• Adult-Child Stamping and Dapping, Saturday April 23 10:30am-12:30pm, Saturday May 21 10:30am-12:30pm
• Copper Etching - Wednesday April 27 6:30pm-9pm and Thursday June 9th 6:30-9pm.  

All San Clemente classes will take place at 100 North Calle Seville San Clemente Ca 92672 (click for map)

Santee Schedule and Location: 

• Jewelry Making for Beginners, 6 sessions every Monday from April 25th-May 30th from 4pm-5pm
• Jewelry Designers, 6 Sessions every Tuesday from April 26-May 31st from 4pm-5pm. 
• Adult-Child Stamping and Dapping, Saturday April 30th from 10:30am-12:30pm
• Copper Etching - Thursday April 28 6:30pm-9pm and Thursday June 9th 6:30-9pm.  
• Yoga Movement and Jewelry Making, 6 sessions every Thursday from April 28th-June 2nd, 3pm-4pm
• Beginning Jewelry Making Techniques, Thursday May 12th, 6pm-9pm
• Intermediate Jewelry Techniques, Thursday May 19th, 6pm-9pm 

All Santee classes will take place at 10601 Magnolia Avenue, Santee, CA 92071 (click for map)

See you there! 

 

Welcome!

You have reached the place to read all about dragonfly designs-jewelry with a conscience in Southern California! The company intrepidly expanded our services from its origins in the Bay Area to San Diego in August of 2010, and here you can read all about what we are doing to connect our students of all ages with their inner jewelry designer!

Currently, in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Poway, Rancho Bernardo and more, we teach afterschool enrichment programs in jewelry making.  In San Clemente, we are teaching an upcoming jewelry class their parks and recreational center. We conduct year-round camps, soon to be in La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe, and we conduct beaded birthday parties all over North, Coastal, East County and Point Loma!  

As instructors, it's quite a special experience to see children making their own creative choices every step of the way, and on this blog we aim to share that process with you.

Hand-stamped sterling silver and freshwater pearl bracelet!

Thanks for reading, and be sure to follow the blog for weekly updates, news, and ways you can get expressive and creative through jewelry!

A hand-stamped copper charm, with a freshwater pearl dangle. You can make these in our Stamping and Dapping classes!