I got back Saturday from a lovely workshop outside of Columbus, Ohio. It was an open theme, but most of the women know I specialize in people and animal portraits, so the majority chose projects that featured faces of family.
We got started on Thursday afternoon. I always start my workshops with a show and tell of my own rugs, which includes a little bit of my history and some details about individual rugs that I've hooked. There's a lesson in each one, some about borders, backgrounds, line, balance, perspective, and more elements that rug hookers need to know about. I enjoy talking about my work and I hope that the show and tell is an inspiration to students, and I know it always opens up a dialogue between the students and myself.
Most of the women brought portrait rugs to work on, and it was fun to get them started and watch the designs grow and develop over the three days. I'm always amazed and thrilled to see projects emerge and see the women realize that they CAN do a portrait and not only that, they like it! It's very rewarding as a teacher to see that new confidence come in.
And the women who chose other subjects also had a good time, and I enjoyed seeing their pieces take shape. I like open workshops because no one should feel pressure to do something they aren't interested in, but can share the friendship and cameraderie of their group.
The meals were excellent, all carried in by members of the guild, and the accomodations by the host Janet Watson were wonderful. I had such a great time, it was hard to say good-bye!
