What to expect from one of my workshops (on location and online)

1. Sign up for my workshop with an open mind.

A workshop is a place to try new techniques and ideas. If you approach the workshop by doing what you’ve always done, the way you’ve always done it, you defeat the purpose of the new experience, saturated in creativity.

2. Keep a journal.

I think it is a good idea to keep a journal whenever you are taking a workshop to jot down notes. This will help you relive your workshop experience later on, when you need inspiration or a reminder of what you learned

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3. Have a camera on hand and take photos.

Record your work in progress and if you are on location, your fellow students and their work and any demos your instructor may do. Sometimes it’s the little things that you miss that make a difference, and photographs don’t miss much. Take photos of things you come upon in life to use for future workshops and ideas

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4. Ask questions.

There’s no such thing as a silly question at a workshop. No questions. . . no answers.

5. Avoid the cookie cutter syndrome.

Don't try and do everything exactly like I do it. Choose your own colors and images. Make it personal and use what I show you as a jumping off point.

An instructor should meet you ”where you are” in terms of your art knowledge. This is not to say a beginner or someone looking for guidance in buying supplies or trying a new technique should not take instructor’s suggestions—but you’ve all seen classes of ‘cookie cutter’ students where you can pick out the instructor by looking at the work the class has done, and that’s what you want to avoid.I don't like working from a pattern. I will not be giving you an image and you have to produce that image.

6. Network—and be a sponge.

Rarely will you have the opportunity to be in a creatively charged atmosphere where you can eat, sleep and breathe art. Take the time to learn from AND get to know your fellow students. . . some of the most enduring friendships begin in a workshop. If you are taking an online class, make your fellow students friends on Face Book, Flicker, Twitter, Stumble Upon, etc. This way you can exchange ideas after the class in over.

7. Experiment with all types of  art supplies.

I use certain fabric paints, but they work for me. Try different paints, threads, beads, etc. Go with the "What If? question.

8. Give yourself time to catch on.

If you’ve never attended a fiber art workshop before or you are new to fiber art, it may be a little overwhelming. Cut yourself some slack when things don’t go perfectly right from the start.

9. Don’t necessarily expect finished you piece at the end of the workshop.

If your goal is to come away with finished pieces, then you’re going to miss out on a lot of other stuff. It’s always tempting, of course, but you’ll learn much more if you focus on accomplishing individual techniques instead.

I want you to have a wonderful learning experience from my workshops, don't  get frustrated when you don't finish something by the end of the week. This goes for my on location workshops and online workshops. I want you to open yourself up to new experiences and go with the flow. There are other workshops out there that teach this method of "here is the project and you will have one at the end of the class" and that is great. I want to go a step above that and help you tap into your creative mind.

10. Don't take a workshop with me and expect for me to pour my all my art knowledge to you.

It has taken me over 20 years to get where I am and there is no way I can put all of that knowledge and life experience into a capsule for you to swallow. I will answer all of your questions and help you any way I can, but I had a student make the comment that she had to drag information out of me. Which is really funny, since I can't shut up when I am teaching.

When I am teaching a workshop I have a class outline and teach to that class outline. If there is something else that interests you, I am more than willing to help. :) But there is no way I can teach you everything I know, so don't expect me too. That is like me taking a cooking class and wanting a chef to teach me every cooking style in one week!  When I  take a workshop with a teacher I am taking that class to learn from that person, but also to get to know that teacher on a personal level. That gives me insight on how they produce their artwork and that is what drew me to their work and workshop in the first place. If they are teaching different methods on dyeing fabric, I don't expect them to also teach me block printing on fabric too...that is a different class.

I hope this helps you find your way through one of my workshops and deciding if it is for you or not. I didn't want anyone to sign up for one of my classes and not get what they expected. 

Hey everyone! I have started a new monthly challenge on the Fiber Art/Mixed Media Site. Thanks to Sue Bleiweiss, she will be tackling the challenge organization. Please check it out!! There will be prizes!!

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May -Junk Mail Challenge on the Fiber Art/Mixed Media Site.

1.Quality through quantity. Don't get hung up on making this one piece good -- make ten and one will certainly be pretty good.

2.Do NOT mix generating and editing. When you're making a piece, don't stop and get judgmental half-way through. If it's a piece of crap, get that piece of crap out of your system -- don't try to fix it mid-flow. Finish it, move on.

3.When to judge: After you've completed a piece, look at it and decide what direction you want to go in next. Or if you're selecting pieces for submission to a show, apply your critiquing mind then. Make a piece of art; look at it; make another.

4.Don't be afraid to re-use elements. If each piece has to be unique, then you're going to get hung-up when you create some bit that you like. But if you can re-use bits, then you can keep moving.

5. How to have "lots of ideas": permute. Start anywhere. Once a piece is done, try varying some aspect. Think of all the variables that could have permutations.

6. "Get through your first 50 failures as fast as you can." I don't think that we should be shooting for a place where we no longer make crappy art. A good artist is one who's in motion making lots of art -- you only think they're so much better because they produce so much quantity that their pile of "good art" has also been able to accumulate. For every piece of crap you create, you're one step closer to getting something you really like.

7.Don't even bother "fixing" pieces. Making art shouldn't be a struggle. You're simply "thinking out loud" onto the page, photo-paper, or canvas. If a product seems confused, leave it confused. Make another piece where you contemplate whatever issues you were wrestling with. Try something different. When clarity arrives, it will come in one living piece -- not be Frankensteined together out of a single infinitely re-worked, mangled corpse.

8. Work fast. Creativity is exciting. If you're not judging while you're making, then you can just throw things together as fast as your mind can move. You're smart; if you don't like what you've made, you'll know immediately. You might not know what to do about the problem you perceive... Don't "think", standing there cogitating -- try things. If your hands are in motion, you can be generating new permutations. The one that you want to pick will come out on its own time.

9. Let your level show. Let the world know that despite having years of investment in your art form, you're still a beginner who doesn't know it all. Rather than hide your thought process, let your questions be present in your work. You are a fundamentally more interesting artist if people get to see what it is that you're struggling with, rather than just your final answers. Show your work. Talk about what you still can't understand (unapologetically).

10. Don't hide your failures. If you are only willing to show those perfect pieces that you are aspiring towards, you're never going to display / publish your work. Show everything, the worst of the crap included, and let your ego be humbled -- and goaded to create more.