How Do You Get Enriched?

     Sometimes I read books or take an online class for enrichment in the arts. But lately I felt like I needed a lot more from someone who is a master at their craft.  So I signed up for Jane Dunnewold's Art Cloth Mastery Class. It lasts two and a half years and involves traveling to her studio in San Antonio, Texas five times and lots of work at home. My first session was last week. I had been busy at home with pre-assignments for the last several months.
     My week there was absolutely glorious because of the other students, the assignments we did and, of course, Jane. She is one of the most spiritual people I've ever met. And so knowledgeable.  We had two lectures every day and worked and worked and worked. My roommates and I had planned to visit a museum and gallery after class time two evenings, but were so exhausted we just went to the closest places to get dinner and came back and did our homework and crashed.

Me at my work station with exercises behind me

Can you see me glowing in the photo above? (Having so much fun.) By the way, the work piece with the bird is not a finished piece; it's just an exercise in layering designs with dye and paint. The studio was so well equipped. Everything was at our fingertips. And right next door was a house that was where we ate lunches that she prepared for us, had a living room where we sometimes sat and had discussions and put work on a design wall and had critiques, and had an amazing library of books we could read while we were there.

On the door frame to the house next to the studio

On the dining room table

wonderful curtains on the living room windows

So now I'm back home armed with ideas and truly enriched. I've begun to order supplies I'll need for my assignments and ready to get started with them so that they will be done for when I go back in October for the second session.
     While I'm waiting for the paints and dyes to arrive, I've begun some hand stitching on a small piece that will become a little purse. I'm trying to do it all by hand as a prototype so that I can have the girls at the Boys and Girls Club where I volunteer make them, too. They want to make purses and they don't have sewing machines. The only problem is the straps. Those are awfully long. I can't see the girls sewing those by hand. Maybe I can sew those at home for them on my machine.

in process

     I'm linking this to Off The Wall Friday where you can find other art quilt blogs. Please make comments on their posts so that the artists know you stopped by. Thanks for visiting.