Craftsy.com

The past two days I've been in Denver with the Craftsy.com team working on a course for Rigid Heddle Weaving - Beyond the Basics.  Tomorrow is the final day of shooting the lessons, then on Thursday I'll head back home.  This has been a real roller coaster ride.  Everyone with Craftsy.com is so nice, helpful, and professional and it is wonderful working with them.  But yesterday I was so nervous it seemed like I hardly got anything out in a coherent fashion.  They assured me I was doing fine and that I was making perfect sense, but I wasn't so sure....  

Today things felt much better and I got in the groove so it seemed almost like my normal teaching routine.  I love teaching weaving and am so happy to share what I've learned with others.  Being in front of a camera is a bit nerve wracking though.  However, it is fabulous to have my hair and makeup done by a professional!  Here I am on the set.

Being able to reach students via the internet is such a great opportunity and I'm thrilled to be doing this.  I'll keep you all posted about the class availability as I find out.

Travel 

Sunday I'm traveling again - on my way to Denver to begin the Craftsy.com experience.  When I travel to teach I must take a lot of stuff.  Samples, yarn, weaving tools, papers, and of course the right clothes.  All of this generally requires a large suitcase. Since the wheels are falling off my current large suitcase I decided to get a new one.  On my way home from the studio I go by a Ross.  And even though it's Black Friday and I would normally avoid any shopping, it didn't look crowded so I stopped in to see what they had.  As I looked at the rows of suitcases, I thought about all the times I'm at baggage claim and envy the folks who have something other than the usual black bag.  They can spot theirs right away and don't need to check the tag to make sure they have the right one.  So when I spotted a magenta bag, I knew it was meant for me!

I certainly don't think I'll have trouble recognizing my bag now.  


Oh!  Check out this article in the Ventura County Star about the exhibit at Fox in Ventura...

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/nov/21/meditations-exhibit-on-display-at-fox-fine-in/

Designing Weavers

This past weekend was the annual Show and Sale for Designing Weavers.  We had a new venue, The Sierra Madre Women's Club, which was a great place to have our event.  It's a lovely old home on a busy street with a parking area and ample additional parking on the street.  The sale is a place to shop for handwoven items as well as browse and see some fabulous woven pieces.  I'm posting a few images....

It was a great day and lots of fun!

Meanwhile, the schedule for the Adult Art Camp at Studio Channel Islands has been set for January 21 - 25, 2013.  I'll be teaching 2 classes.  In the afternoons I'll teach Weaving the Stash Vest on the Rigid Heddle loom.  And in the evenings it will be Beginning Weaving on the Four Harness Loom.  All classes are at the studio site at the art center.  I'll have looms for rent if you don't have your own and you can take either class with little or no experience in weaving.  There are lots more classes available like painting, drawing, ceramics, printmaking and more, so if you're interested you can check it out at www.studiochannelislands.org

   

Home again

Last night I got back to California.  In Ohio it was cold, but clear and bright.  Here at home it's cool, grey and raining.  But I'm glad to be home as this was not a trip for fun, but to take care of some loose ends I'd rather not deal with.  However, I did get to spend some time in a historic building and took a couple of pictures of it.  The ceiling in one area was open to  skylights above. An upper floor with balconies opened to this atrium area as well.  I'm posting two different views as I found it very beautiful.

Then I spied this gorgeous cabinet.

I wondered what was in all the drawers, if anything.  Of course I thought about all the weaving tools, sample pieces, scissors, needles, etc. that would fit perfectly in those little drawers.  If I'd been more bold, I would have checked it out, opening and closing different drawers to see inside.  But I didn't and so now I'll just have to speculate.....

This weekend is the Designing Weavers Show and Sale in Sierra Madre.  I'm looking forward to spending time with my friends, fellow weavers, and supporters.  This is a yearly event that I really enjoy - a time to show off new work, see what my colleagues have made, and enjoy time chatting with everyone that comes by.  What could be a better job than hanging out with other weavers and people that are interested in weaving?

keeping busy

This morning I'm at LAX getting ready for a quick trip to Ohio.  It's always interesting at the airport, especially this early in the morning as most everyone is still a bit asleep and kind of walking around in a daze.   The one good thing about flying this early is that there aren't the usual large crowds everywhere.  And this morning I found my sunglasses which were misplaced and missing for over a week.  Happy day!

The past week was a very busy one.  My last post was a week ago after hanging the exhibit at Fox in Ventura.  The show is beautiful and I especially like my fiber pieces hanging on the brick wall.  When I was making those pieces I knew they'd be on the brick, but didn't realize I'd like them so much better on that than on a white wall.  Interesting.  I think the texture of the brick adds something visually to the texture of the fiber.  Anyway, I'm pleased.  Here's an image of the opening with some of my work in the background.

It was a fun evening and a real pleasure to see so many of my friends, students, and fellow artists.  Thanks to everyone that came!

The next morning, Sunday, I made an early trip to Anaheim to teach at Newtons Yarn Country.  The class was on making the stash vest that was in the September/October issue of Handwoven magazine.  It's always so much fun to go around the room to see what each person brought from their stash, talk about which yarns to put together, then see how they look on the loom.  This is a two part class.  In this session we discussed size, planning the project, yarns to use and everyone got their loom warped.  During the next month, they'll weave the fabric and then in December class, we'll put the pieces together so everyone has their garment.  All the warps were just gorgeous and I can't wait to see the woven fabric next month.  Here's is one warp using lots of ribbon and ladder yarns.

Then on Monday, I spent the day packing up all the looms I'll be using during the shoot for the Craftsy class.  What a production!  The studio looked kind of like a bomb went off as there were looms, samples, yarn, and various tools all over the place.

What a mess it was.  However, thanks to the help of my wonderful studio mate Arlene, I finally got everything into 4 large boxes and my husband will get them shipped off to Colorado today.  The process for developing this Craftsy course has been quite a journey.  Only now that all the samples are finished and everything is packed and sent on its way, can I start to get excited about the actual experience of shooting the course.  The thing that is so awesome is the potential for reaching so many students.  Being able to share my love of weaving by teaching it is always satisfying, so the capability to reach out over the internet via Craftsy is so cool.  This week while I'm in Ohio I'll be able to fine tune some of the written materials that go along with the course.  

Well, the flight will be boarding soon and the airport is waking up a bit - more people bustling about - so I must turn off my computer.

Hanging

This morning I got to help hang several of my large pieces for an exhibit at Fox Fine Jewelry in Ventura.  It's always so fun to see how the big pieces look once they're hung.  It's difficult to see them completely when there's not a spot big enough to let them hang.  And they just don't look how they should when they're spread out on the floor.  Fortunately, Fox has a perfect wall for them!  Since the blog showed the last one on the loom, here's a sneak look at it on the wall at Fox.

I'm so pleased!  If anyone's available, the opening is this Saturday, November 10, 6 - 9 pm.  

Meanwhile, I continue to work on the Craftsy course.  I'm busy making samples and writing drafts for them.  Using the wonderful knitting yarns is letting me make some great samples.      

Right now I'm using some Trendsetter cotton, Bali, to make color and weave placemats.  Fun!

Contemporary Crafts Market

Today I was in Santa Monica all day showing and selling my handwoven wearables at the Contemporary Crafts Market.  I really enjoy this show and have been doing it for about 10 years.  But doing any retail show is lots of work.  On Wednesday I spent a good part of the day packing up my things and loading the van.  Yesterday was mostly devoted to driving to Santa Monica and setting up the booth.  And today, Saturday and Sunday I'll be in the booth.  Sunday after the show, it's time to pack everything up and get it back in the van so I can unload it all and put it away in the studio on Monday.  

The good part is that it's a great time to see many people I know, both collectors and students, as well as friends and colleagues.  I love getting feedback on what I've been weaving and have the opportunity to discuss upcoming classes with students that stop by.  Another fun thing at this show is people watching.  Many attendees take the opportunity to wear the fabulous things they've purchased at past shows and it's amazing to see!  Here's an image of my booth, which is half the size of what I've had in years past.  Since I've been teaching more, I haven't been able to weave as many things to sell.

The show is in Santa Monica so I can come home in the evening, which is a treat.  

I got a wonderful email today from a student at Stitches East who told me she'd been without power since Monday (she lives in New York) and had spent the week weaving on  her rigid heddle loom.  She was so happy to have something to do that gave her pleasure during the difficult week and I was very happy she shared that with me.  I hope for everyone there that things get back to normal as soon as possible.