FW: [MR] Apprentices/Students

[Erin Anderson]

Greetings,

I would like to share another thought on this discussion.  I am a new
apprentice and wrestled with many of the questions you are being asked to
consider.  I found that in my search for a mentor, I wasn't necessarily
looking for someone who mastered my interests, but rather someone who could
help me focus and grow within my art.  My mentor is a Companion of the
Laurel for lace and I research and teach about Middle and Near Eastern
culture.  Though it may seem incongruous at first, she has mastered many of
the subtleties of documentation and reconstruction of primary source
material as well as presentation and an exquisite eye for detail.  These are
among the things that I am hoping to learn and cultivate as my own
strengths.  In my search for a teacher, I found a mentor and became an
apprentice.  It is the relationship that is important, not the belt.  Ours
just happened to take a different route and extended into fealty as well as
friendship.

So in your travels, ask many questions and listen well.  You may be
surprised at who you find.  It may be a teacher, it may be a mentor but
don't worry about being an "apprentice."  There are so many talented
individuals in Atlantia, you are bound to find a relationship that is
beneficial and nurturing.

Lady Briana MacConmara
Apprentice to Maestra Francesca la Curiosa