I've Been on a Road Trip

It's been a while since I've written a post. That's because I have been on a teaching road trip.  Firstly I went to Morrinsville and spent two days with 11 students teaching my Using drawing as a Springboard for Design course. 

We had a fantastic time and there were a lot of Ah-ha moments for both the students who bravely attended as new drawers, and for the more experienced artists who wanted new ways to explore their work

 As you can see, there was a lot of concentration in the room, and people had a ball trying out different ways of drawing and mark making.  The variety of media to try forced people to take a different approach to their drawing, often with surprising results.

After two days in Morrinsville I set off for Taranaki to teach at Stratford. Once again I had eleven students with all levels of experience and confidence. 

It's really good to have a group as large as this as the students all learn as much from each other as they do from me - and I learn from all of them as well.

 Once again there were times that the concentration in the room was palpable, and people experimented with the different media and were surprised when they enjoyed working with something that they had previously avoided.

I couldn't resist the next few shots when we were having a break.  The old church across the road is about to be refurbished so it can become a wedding venue for hire.  I can see it will be very picturesque when they have repainted and planted out the gardens

 I also got all excited about the bark on a big old tree in the grounds of the old school where we were holding the course.

 The tree had a large section of rot, so I don't know if it's going to last too much longer.

These very textural images are just fantastic inspiration for a weaver, and they have already set me brooding about a piece I'm going to be weaving later in the year.

At the base of the trunk was a collection of toadstools.

 I couldn't resist photographing these as they reminded me of Mr Finch.  He is a textile artist from the UK who makes, amongst other thing fabric toadstools using sewing and dyeing and embellishing techniques. He's worth looking up.

Since I've been back home, I've finished an exhibition piece, woven a wrap, and attended the Professional Weavers Network Seminar in Nelson.  Busy person!