Sunday, March 18, 2018

Penland Spring Concentration 2018


March 9, my husband, Bob, and I left New Mexico for Penland, North Carolina with our two small dogs in tow.  It was a 2 1/2 day drive, and when we arrived it began to snow, and then snowed some more.  It has all melted off and we are left with the purposes of our trip:  me to teach an 8 week concentration and Bob to take an 8 week sculpture class.

I have eight students in a lovely, fairly new painting studio.  I've never worked with students this long, and this intensively(we meet everyday).  It's also a much smaller group than what I'm used to working with.  I have a corner of the classroom for my own materials and work, and have set it up to be as much like my studio at home as possible, which is tricky since at home I have 1200 square feet of studio space and roughly ten tables plus wall space, as well as complete privacy.
I've done a weeks worth of demos for the students, but haven't really started anything of my own yet, and I have quite a bit of trepidation about starting.  I will try and work on the weekends, but have already seen, with this weekend almost gone, and next to nothing done(a trip into Spruce Pine, the nearest town, to buy art and household supplies)how quickly it goes by.  I will be way out of my comfort zone in terms of my ways of working, plus my normal, extreme anxiety anytime I start something new.  I'm going to try and post every few weeks as we progress, so, sit tight, and send a few creative prayers my way.