Yesterday, I went on the hardest interview of my life. Ironic, considering I already had the job.

This semester I’m gonna be teaching a fashion design bootcamp to a group of 6th-8th graders at one of the local schools. While I’ve taught art to kids before, it was always as a “visiting artist” and the primary teacher was there to keep the kids in line. This time it was all on me, and let me tell you, if I was feeling the need to tap into my grit, this’ll be it. This Muchness journey I’m on…. taking me to all kinds of unexpected places…..

Let me first say, I am SO EXCITED to to do this. I LOVE teaching. (who knew?) When I was working as an art director in the fashion industry I always had to hire recent graduates and teach them and there was nothing better than watching that spark of understanding come to their eyes and the pride that came from looking at something you created that you didn’t know how to create just a little while ago.

I can see that most of the kids in the class are so eager to soak up the info I have to share… and the ones who talked a lot and distracted everyone else, I plan to win them over as well. 😀

So, for some reason I was MORE nervous about this class than I was about some of the talks I’ve given to rooms full of adults. I couldn’t figure out why, until I got there, but here’s the thing- when you talk in front of a room full of adults, they WANT To hear what you have to say. They WANT to absorb it, or they wouldn’t be there. So they sit in their seats and silently wish you luck and welcome you.

These kids, they were gonna make me earn it. They asked me to recite my resume. They wanted a detailed description of what we were going to cover in the class, what products I make, where they are sold. I’m pretty sure they’re gonna check my credentials— I wonder which have googled me and are reading this right. now.

I kinda loved it. Hold my feet to the fire, try to sneak out for too many bathroom breaks….. that’s OK…. keep me on my toes, that’ll be just fine.

At the end of class I briefly pulled out a bit of my portfolio that I brought to show them “just in case” I ran out of stuff to talk about and the craziest thing happened…. rather than run for the door when the bell rang, they were huddled around looking at the pictures with more interest than I’d seen during the the entire class. That gave me an idea….

Next week I can’t be there. I’ll be traveling for my nieces Bat Mitzvah. (Don’t think this is an opportunity to rob my glitter palace…. someone will be home!!!)

I was planning to record a lesson via video and have them do it while I’m gone, but I decided instead to make the video about ME! One of the kids in the class told me I “talk like a YouTuber” – whatever that means—- I kinda feel like it could be a compliment. (Like, I’m animated, yo!)

So I just spent some time in my basement taking pictures of my fashion portfolio from College…. and I even found some drawings from my very first portfolio which I started in 6th grade after going to a Bob Mackie fashion show.

Here are some of my 6th or 7th grade fashion sketches:

I’ll share the video I create for their class once it’s complete… then you’ll get to see all kindsa Pre-Muchness Muchness that lived in the mind of the self-proclaimed Muchness Queen.

It’s funny to look back with some adult perspective on what you did as a kid and think “damn…. if that was my kind I’d be like “girl, you are talented.” and not feel braggy about it. Makes me wanna reach as high as I want my kids to reach someday.

Incidentally, after leaving the classroom, I walked through the lunchroom where there messages were stenciled onto the wall:

Very Muchness Indeed.