The Greenville Arms 1889 Inn – home of the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops; check out their blog for photos of our workshop and on-going events - including the four star restaurant meals! Above is a view of the back of the studio and residence building in the late afternoon on a day late in April… The studio is a large, very well lit (with both interior lighting and lots of natural light from two walls of windows), well designed space with plenty of electricity for those of us in the fiber arts.
Magnolias opening in Greenville, NY
A glorious sunburst of Forsythia
Muse #1 – which was later cut into pieces and blended together with Muse #2 to create the image seen in the composite photo below in the top right corner.
Lava Flow (c)2006 Pat Dolan
Here I am on the final day with the fruits of the week-long workshop. Top left: Lava Flow; top right: Musings; bottom left: Global Warming; bottom right: Untitled as of today (all (c)2006 Pat Dolan).
The workshop, entitled “Tempting the Muse: Beyond the Surface” was an amazing experience. Laura is an A#1 Facilitator – one who meets you where you are and invites you to the next level of your work. She is also an art business coach, having trained with Eric Maisel of coaching fame. Thus the participants benefited from Laura’s artists know-how, including all sorts of helpful hints/clues/tips/experiments, and her ability to distill information in personalized packets and point one towards new potentialities in both work and business plans (or lack thereof, as in my case). Laura has challenged me to make a 5-year plan, setting the goals for where I’d like to be with my art/business in 2011 and then breaking that down into yearly goals, and finally into the goals for THIS year, subdivided into quarters or months, and finally, into: What Can I Do TODAY To Further My Long Term Goals?
There were eleven participants ranging in age from thirty-something to 75; and ranging in levels of experience from limited experience with fabric and no sewing machine to college art degrees and years of experience. The artistic styles of each were distinct, and Laura facilitated in such a way as to bring each participant beyond her comfort zone, through the subsequent panic; and into a new level of artistic expression. Each artists work was uniquely her own – and after a week together, we all suspected that we’d recognize one another’s work anytime anywhere!
As mentioned above, if you're interested in more on this workshop, check out their blog for lots of photos of our workshop (blog dates: April 23-29).
One thing for sure, I had more FUN and LAUGHTER in that one week than I have had in the past two years put together. Dinners were not only delicious and totally new to most of us, they were also full of intense dialogs, punctuated by outrageously funny humor and total respect for all opinions. Kim and Mark LaPolla, owners, have already planned a return visit for Laura and this group, set for December of 2007. You can bet that I'll be there if at all possible!
And now for a few photos from our Vermont trip:
Farm near Townshend, VT
Above: Keene, NH town center
Below: the Sawmill Parkway, NY
Glad to hear you are doing well from your surgery. The workshop sounds like it was alot of fun.
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear from you. LUCKY you to have a class with Laura!
ReplyDeleteWell, indeed, we hope you'll be coming back. For more information on Laura's course, go to here on the blog. We don't yet have the 2007 classes set up on our fiber art website.
ReplyDeleteWe look forward to the group's return. It was a very fun group and a laughing group. We're both glad you had so much fun. I'm sure it'll be just as fun next year.
PS You should see the magnolia tree now and my tuplips! They're all blooming! Beautiful. Soon the pool will be open and summer will be in full swing with all the summer greenery and flowers.
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