Monday, March 19, 2012

Back from teaching and I had a wonderful time

It is really nice seeing different places in this State I have decided to call home for the foreseeable future.  Also to discover what is available for artist.  The Atlantic Center for the Arts is one such place and I have Mary McBride to thank for this adventure.  I taught three days for her at the start of her annual 10 day retreat at this wonderful retreat facility.  The place is off the beaten path and very serene. 
What good is a place where you can't just run out for  french fries worth without a great cook.  We had a great cook.   Every meal Sue cooked was  tasty, healthy, well balanced and she adapted her menu to fit everyone.  The vegetarians , the no dairy people, the low fat, low carb and even the gluten free people like me. 
While there she served me gluten free raisin cinnamon bread that when toasted and spread with cream cheese was so good I can't tell you just how good it was without drooling.  It has been so long since I last had a piece of bread that tasted like what I remember bread tasting like.  So that was a good thing and a bad thing.  Bad because I do not need to get into the habit of having toast with cream cheese every morning so I am not going to go in search of this bread nor did I write down the name of the baker.   I will just have to contend myself with the memory.
 This is Marlene working intently on her painting.
 Linda at work on a piece that she was using freezer paper shapes as stencils and as a way to mask out an area.
 This is the painting studio.  Great natural light.
 The communal sewing space was set up in the dance studio with one wall of windows and a mirrored wall which makes the space appear larger in this picture.
There was a wood walk way that connected the builds. Turning left at the end of this walk way takes you to the dining room.   At selected places along the way were signs identifying some of the plants and wildlife; lizards and insects  rather than snakes and gators.   Here are a few images of the place and my class/studio/space complete with a place to hang wet painted or soy milk soaked fabric outside to dry. While I took pictures of some of the pieces they painted I am not going to share them here.
I had a small class of four ladies but I learned as much from them about what can be done with water color paints as I hoped they learned from me.  I loved the sense of freedom they exhibited as they pushed  the limit  of what water color on fabric could do.  Learned about the medium and what it allows when you have no care of how big a mess you make.  We were after all in a painting studio were messes as well as art was the order of the day. It was also good to see other images in water color besides flowers (something I always do) but Marianne, I have no picture of was doing some wonderful abstract stuff. 
Sorry this is a little disjointed, but I wanted to report my last weekend doings before they become old news to me.  So I have and now I am off to bed.
Answers to comments:
No Kathy the flowers are not dandalions.  The leaves look like them I know.  Yes Karen I will be in Louisville teaching a 2 day class that Rhonda Wallace is organizing on Sat and Sun May 19 and 20.  I think she is hosting it at a retreat place in Indiana near Borden(?) I think.

1 comment:

Carol said...

Was waiting for you to get back. Can't wait to see the photos. I've been drafting some trees.LOL