It has taken me a couple days to catch up with life enough to start writing a blog post about our adventures in Houston. I have been to Festival every year for the last 13 years, this trip was a lot of fun but way more exhausting than any trip I have ever taken. Teaching at
International Quilt Festival entailed so much planning, packing, shipping, focus and talking... since I was also teaching a workshop for
Make It University and doing two sessions of Open Studios in addition to my two 6 hour classes.
I started Open Studios early on Wednesday night since MIU was short someone to start the night, so I spent 3 1/2 hours demonstrating embossing copper, meeting people and talking about various techniques. Here's a look at my table.
I think I always have too much stuff at Open Studios because I never know what people want to see the most, so I tend to bring a lot of smaller art work, especially things people may have seen in the magazines so they can see the work up close.
The little canvas and copper cover books really seemed to appeal to people, I think I will have to add that to my regular workshop offerings, it will need to be a two day workshop though.
Working across from me was my good friend
Leslie Tucker Jenison from San Antonio.
Following Leslie was
Alma de Melena Cox who creates beautiful and bright mixed media collages with fabric paint and wood.
Thursday morning I taught Mixed Media Painted Fabric, luckily I had thrown in a few extra kits because I had 3 additional students in class for a total of 28.
This is a class that has concepts very different from a lot of ways we are used working, like painting objects by painting the background to create the imagery. Layering paper images and paints, seeing colors come through from underneath and adding layers of color on top of color. It pushes people outside their comfort zone and
hopefully has them thinking and looking at things in a new way.
It was fun seeing a few familiar faces from my old Austin days!
It was great getting to meet
Susan Bruebaker Knapp in person after getting to know each other by email last year. She was very ambitious and painted a huge piece of cloth.
It can be so hard getting people to stop working and put their pieces on the wall!
Such a fun class!
More festival pics to come...
WOW! Absolutely AMAZING!!!!
ReplyDeleteHOLY COW look at the sheer size of that EVENT!! It is almost overwhelming. Your efforts and talent sure paid off! Your work is beautiful and so very original. I bet everyone couldn't get enough of you. I don't think you can ever be over prepared or bring too much, look at the diversity of people who attended. And trying to cram your whole career into tiny work sessions -you are a magician too :o)
ReplyDeleteoh what fun you had!! wish i could have been there... but there's always next year right? can't wait to read and see more about it! thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a lot of fun was had by all and Oh my GOODNESS! Is that a house shaped advent calendar I see? Is it a WIP or finished? I'd love to see more pix of it, it is FANTASTIC!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Advent calendar was a project I made for the first Quilting Arts Gifts issue, I think that would have been 2007. Thanks! You can see some more photos here:
ReplyDeletehttp://judyperez.blogspot.com/2007/11/advent-calendar.html
Thanks for the MIU peek. Looks like lots of fun (for the students -- lots of work for you, but hopefully in a good way).
ReplyDeleteI had so much fun in your class, Judy! I'll send you a photo of what I make with my big piece of art cloth I made in class. I SO wanted to take the wholecloth painted class, too, but didn't get signed up in time. You are a fabulous teacher. :-)
ReplyDelete