Volume 5, Number 5
Nov 1981

Apprenticeship Workshop
II. Finding

The National Council for Apprenticeship in Art and Craft held a two-day "Pilot Apprenticeship Workshop" in New Haven, Connecticut last January, sponsored by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. Excerpts from the summary report of that workshop were printed in the August issue of this Newsletter. An excerpt on "finding," one of the four major aspects of the apprenticeship problem, follows below. Future issues will cover other aspects (keeping, nurturing, releasing) and the three types of apprenticeship in crafts today.

Workshop participants divided into four groups:

Finding, Keeping, Nurturing, Releasing. Each group concentrated on in-depth discussion within the assigned category, dealing with both problems and solutions. Group memory technique was used.

1. Locating am apprentice or master:

• advertise in craft magazines, with craft organizations, with federal agencies
• contact schools
• establish interview guidelines and application forms
• be prepared to be swamped with applicants [From the summary section:] Trust your gut reaction is the bottom lime in choosing an apprentice or master.

2. Am apprentice in the studio:

• must be one who wants to be guided by a master
• should want to be involved in varied aspects of the studio
• apprenticeship is a reality-learning experience
• the apprentice absorbs the master's knowledge

3. A master (mentor) in the studio: Who is he/she?

• is responsible for preserving "rare" crafts
• should not necessarily be someone who has "arrived"
• is one who has never stopped learning
• is someone who has something to share and teach
• has the ability to communicate
• is willing to take on responsibility for changing and affecting the apprentice's life
• is capable of guiding an apprentice through am exploration of the craft medium
• is someone of high professional and technical ability

  [Summary:]

  Soul searching self-evaluation is preliminary to being a master.

  There is much discomfort with the word "master."

  Being a master or mentor is a self designation.

4. Apprenticeship in academics:

• reality is often missing in art schools
• apprenticeship could work as in programs of experiential learning
• duration of the apprenticeship is important
• if the student gets academic credit, what does the master get?

  [Summary:]

  There are differences in the academic and studio apprenticeship situations, both in finding and development, that need recognition.

5. Other areas to consider:

• ability to give clear instructions
• ability to anticipate problems
• multiple apprentices
  • (a) playing off one another
  • (b) bum jobs easier when shared
  • (c) dilutes problems resulting from closeness in working and living
• consider contract or agreement guidelines. Note that signing a binding contract has legal problems.
• master must ask what kind of person he/she really is
• guilt in the studio
• jealousy in the studio
• sex in the studio - factors to consider:
  • (a) age
  • (b) maturity
  • (c) role expectation
  • (d) studio design
• consider having a trial period
  • (a) evaluation
  • (b) honesty

    [Summary:]

    Anticipate problems and deal with them honestly and directly.

    There is a preference for the word "agreement" rather than "contract ."

    There is a need for information and flexibility.

    Recognize that problems will cone up, i.e.,

    • (a) male/female interaction
    • (b) role stereotypes
    • (c) emotional input

  6. Matching:

  • be absolutely honest, especially with all bad
  • personality matching is important
  • assess one's own personal needs very carefully

  [Summary:]

  There is a need for guidelines for matching master and apprentice, both technically and in personality.

7. Cloning:

• in apprenticeship, cloning must be regarded as a natural phenomenon, a necessary initial stage of development
• copying the master's work could be financially devastating for the master, especially if the apprentice's prices are lower
• providing four to six months for the apprentice's own development is a possible solution. "This is my thing" - use it as a springboard.

  [Summary: J

  Recognize that problems will come up, i.e. cloning--the apprentice copies the master's work