I'm Classy

Today I found out that I will begin teaching my first classes on Monday. And I found out that I will be working with higher-achieving students, not the ones in need of remediation! Wow, that is a huge difference. I worked primarily with special education students in my career as a teacher before I retired. I love new challenges, so this should be fun.

And, this weekend begins the online quilting class I signed up for with Pamela Allen through the website Quilters Threads. Bad timing- of course I had no idea I would be getting a new job when I signed up. But I am looking forward to learning some new ideas and techniques from this quilt artist! Here is the description of the class:

Think Like an Artist- Have you made the transition from traditionally designed quilts to ART quilts? Would you like to? Then this is the class for you. There are two parts to every art quilt....one is the technical expertise of stitching, applique, quilting, blocking, binding. And we all continue to improve in this category simply by making work . The other side ... the ART part....is more ephemeral, as it requires many years of questioning, risk taking and imagination to develop. Pamela has designed a program that will start the student along the road to that development. Students will hone in on the whole process of art making using a series of hands on exercises which focus on the important elements of creativity.

And this additional information is provided on the page about the class:
I met Pamela Allen on an online email list several years ago. She started out making collages out of fabric and this past year, she has been adding intricate quilting motifs that she free hand quilts. She has been doing this on a lower model Kenmore and has just found out that she is the recipient of a new machine from Janome of Canada. Pamela lives in Kingston, Ontario with her husband who is also an artist. Pamela gave me this message to you - I favour a rather informal style where the image is developed as a sort of "stream of consciousness". By that I mean each element grows from what has taken place previously. This attitude works well with my drawing-with-scissors technique, which allows me to put down background, primary shapes with prints and recycled fabrics, and then develop the narrative by additions and reductions depending on how the composition is developing. I have a largish collection of books on folk art, outsider art, and non European art which inspire me. I can relate to the kind of art that is spontaneous and unselfconscious. It’s as if the idea goes directly from the heart to the hand, bypassing the brain and it’s preconceived ideas. Emulating this philosophy allows me to keep an open mind right to the very completion of each project I look for the personal element in art, where the artist seems to have direct knowledge or experience with her subject matter. When I am working, I have to have a personal stake in it to maintain my interest.

Check out Pamela Allen's website to see some of her work.