ZCS 063: Printmaker Jen Hewett on Letting Go of Ego When You Teach

Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of the Zen Courses Show! Today, we are joined by the talented Jen Hewett. Jen is a self-taught printmaker, illustrator, and a teacher. In this episode, Jen and I talk about her online course “Design, Carve, Print”, her experience being an online course teacher and some tips for artists who want to follow her footsteps. I guide people from the very beginning to printing to the fabric Jen’s journey is an interesting one. After “running her stationary business into the ground” in her twenties, she returned to corporate life--and thought she would stay there until retirement. But life had other plans. After the economy tanked, Jen took a screenprinting class that changed her life. Jen pursued her passion for art and eventually created “Design, Carve, Print,” which focuses around block printing on fabric and caters to not only artists but hobbyists as well. Design, Carve, Print is a 6-week online class with a combination of videos and blog posts, starting from introduction to block printing, materials and tools used, to the practical things like how to draw the design, carving it and printing it on fabric. Episode Quotes "I realized that I wasn't going to be everything to everyone." "I guide people from the very beginning of even just coming up with ideas." "The nice thing about an online class is it's evergreen. Once you've done it you can repurpose it forever if you want." "It's flexible enough that I do change things as I go." "It comes from letting go of ego when you teach…" "Make sure people want to learn what you want to teach." Listen to Learn 00:43 Getting to know Jen Hewett 03:30 Rapid 5 Questions 05:36 Jen's journey in becoming a printmaker, textile artist and online class creator 11:25 Design, Carve, Print - Who is it for? What problem does it solve? 13:05 Teaching in Person vs. Teaching Online 19:45 Course Overview: Launching, Structure and Activities 25:00 Is there anything you would have changed when you started teaching it online? 27:50 Why do you think that skill level doesn't matter in the course? 31:00 Jen's tips for artists who want to start teaching online 33:00 Coming up: Exciting things to look forward to from Jen, links and announcements