Learning While Teaching

-


It seems amazing to me that it's over a month since I had the privilege of delivering a trunk show and giving a workshop at the Camarillo Quilt Association! It feels so recent because I'm still riding high on the experience. 

The first day was their regular members' meeting where I was guest speaker and presented my work to a very attentive audience. 

The following day was my 6 hour workshop.

I could tell from the start that this was going to be an dynamic, positive class. The creative energy increased with every person that entered the room that morning. They arrived ready to work and excited to experiment, . . every teacher's dream! 

The focus of our class was hand work. Students came with a prepared mini quilt; batting sandwiched between a solid colored top and the backing of their choice. This would become a sampler of stitches, a practice piece where they could experiment with the blanket stitch, seed stitch, rice grain (or dot) stitch and more. 

My goal in giving this workshop was to inspire people to work by hand or at least to incorporate an element of handwork in their quilts. I hoped students would walk away with new ideas and that they would be as enthusiastic about the possibilities for their work as I am. 

What I didn't anticipate was how much I would get out of the experience.

 
My presentation sampler for the workshop
(Note the threads wrapped around a safety pin in unfinished areas,
- a good way to keep things tidier while you work on another section.) 

One of the things I've always loved about teaching is that you can go into class prepared with what you have to share but there's no way to know what your students will give back. It's exhilarating when the classroom becomes a two way experience; when students, consciously or not, offer up gems to inspire the teacher.  

So thank you to that student who shared a better way to make a knot! To that student who took what she learned from one stitch and applied it to the next one on my list in a way that I hadn't thought of before, bravo! I'm excited for the student who exclaimed "I think I've found my new favorite stitch!" and for the ones who had never hand stitched before, because new horizons await. It was a joy to see you lift each other up, to see you help and encourage one another.

For the respect, patience, and support the entire class showed me, I'm humbled and grateful to you all. I appreciate your feedback because I want to improve, and I did come away with lessons learned which I know will make the next class even better. It was especially cool to exchange ideas with you and explore new possibilities. You inspired me.  

Thank you, thank you, for a wonderful experience, Camarillo Quilt Association. 

  





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

The Huntington- Galleries (3 of 3)

-
Image
If you're not into gardens, or there's just so much sun you can tolerate, there are plenty of indoor galleries to visit at our destination spot. After all we're talking about The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. ( https://huntington.org/ ) The gallery exhibits cover a wide range of art movements, styles, and periods. (In fact this would be a great place to study millinery designs for women's hats. LOL)  This vast collection is not exclusively one of painting.  Many art forms and disciplines are represented. And it's really interesting to have divergent styles to compare and contrast in one visit. We happily stumbled on the American Art Galleries. Walking into this room felt like coming home, with it's nod to American quilts and textiles.   This yarn sewn rug attributed to Hannah Rosina Maynard Phillips stood out to me. Loved the rich colors and the intricate floral design.  Contrast Hannah's piece with this one by artist Cai Guo-Qiang a
Read more
-
Ability to be Creative Ability , ( noun )- aptitude, intelligence, innate qualities, powers, potency, talent, capability, competence, proficiency, knowledge, technique, craft, skill, dexterity, artistry, facility, mastery, experience,understanding, faculty This is a partial listing of the synonyms for the word "ability" in Webster's New World Thesaurus . It seems to me that these words can be divided into two categories. The first category would be nouns which people generally think of as qualities that come naturally to the individual-  "innate qualities" . I propose that everyone has intelligence, capability, dexterity, even artistry, though some might say people possess them in varying degrees, and in different combinations. But isn't that called "individuality"? Now consider the second group of words. These are nouns that can be acquired: knowledge, experience, technique, skills, mastery . These are things you have with practice !
Read more

The Huntington- Textures & Colors (2 of 3)

-
Image
  There is so much to visually take in when you're surrounded by the natural beauty at The Huntington! Whether you soak in the vibrant colors and incredible textures of the many floral species, . . .  Or you pull back to absorb the magnificent collective textures created in the various themed gardens like the bamboo forest: or the cactus garden: There are also subtle color palettes created in garden displays that include a variety of plants: And then there are the man made textures that are thoughtfully scattered throughout the gardens: Plenty of inspiration for, say, quilt textures, and color choices; even shapes and design elements to borrow for future projects.
Read more