Do You Know About Cullowhee Mountain Arts ?

apparition.40 - encaustic monotype

Jane Allen Nodine

Last year I was looking around at the various workshop opportunities in the southeast and became aware of Cullowhee Mountain Arts.  Those of us who live in this part of the country are fortunate to have several well known and respected workshop venues within easy driving distance; Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts,  John C. Campbell Folk School and Shakerag Folkschool.  

All of these schools offers workshops in craft media and at least two offer more traditional art media workshops.  Cullowhee Mountain Arts has established itself with a focus on painting, drawing, mixed-media, photography, ceramics, book arts and writing workshops taught by instructors with national and international reputations.

CMA has formed a relationship with Western Carolina University where the actual workshops are held and this summer 21 week long workshops are scheduled. A partial list of instructors includes: Rebecca Crowell, Jane Nodine, Lisa Pressman, Stuart Shils, Alice Austin, and Baron Wormser.  Please visit the CMA site to see all the classes and instructors.

The school is founded on the idea of high quality instruction for students of every skill level from beginner to professional with required skill level noted for each workshop along with a detailed description of the class.

In addition to the workshops at Western Carolina University, CMA is also offering several additional  study opportunities.  The first is Workshop Retreats at Lake Logan in Canton, NC which are scheduled for May and September and the second is Art + Retreat in Santa Fe and Taos NM in April.  All of the workshops are located in beautiful surrounding, quality classroom facilities and accommodations.  

Please visit the various links to read about these exciting classes.  There might be one that that is just right for you.

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Terry Jarrard-Dimond: An Interview With Myself

Designing on the design wall.

Recently a friend pointed out to me that the pages on my website which listed my exhibitions, awards and teaching experience had disappeared!  I checked and indeed the pages were missing.  I suspect a recent change in the software for my website was the cause of this disappearance.  My friend pointed out that I needed to fix this omission quickly as this is the time of year people make their plans for upcoming workshops and if someone was interested in taking one of my classes they would likely be interested in this information.  Of course my friend was  right about this but as I thought about it I decided I wanted to share not only the list of accomplishments but more about myself which might help someone make the decision to study with me.  So here goes.

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Question:  What qualifies me to teach a workshop working with textile materials?

Response:  Like many artist my age I have worked with different types of materials but fabric and fiber have almost always somehow found a way into my work.  I learned how to sew as a teenager and continued to make clothing until I was an adult.  Along the way I taught myself or studied with others to learn many of the traditional fiber related techniques and processes: weaving, spinning, embroidery, knitting, crocheting, dyeing etc.  and even had a hand weaving studio for a time.  About ten years after undergraduate school I returned to university and earned an MFA.  Actually, I went into that program as a weaver and came out of the program doing mixed-media sculpture.

For 13 years after finishing graduate school I worked for the South Carolina Arts Commission on their Crafts Truck and then as an Artist-In-Residence all over the state of South Carolina.  Even though I was making sculpture in my studio, most of these residencies involved some type of work in textiles.  During this time I also taught Two-Dimensional Design, Drawing and Sculpture as an adjunct faculty member at Clemson University, Anderson University, Lander University and The Museum School at the Greenville County Museum of Art.  In addition to this teaching I also did numerous workshops for other colleges and art programs including being on the faculty for The South Carolina Governor's School for Arts for 10 years while it was a summer program.

During these years I worked with every age group except kindergardeners.  My students ranged from those seeking degrees in art to the casual student wanting to try something "different". 

Later I left teaching and worked as a textile designer until I retired.

Working directly with the fabric.

Question:  Having had these very diverse experiences, what did I learn?

Response: Teaching and then later working as a designer in a range of situations was a challenge.  Each group has its' own dynamic but universally I saw that people want to do well with their work, however, depending on their background and their personality, being in a group of people that often they don't know personally can be very stressful.  A workshop is a kind of "hot spot" where I believe you have to be willing to risk something in order to get the most out of the experience.  This can mean trying something you've never done before and not getting the results you want.  It can also mean sitting next to the person who is a total "newbie" yet everything they do comes out "perfect".  If people get too much into comparing themselves or judging themselves against one another it can be very difficult.  One of the most important things I learned was to work from achievement rather than disappointment meaning that I try to find the best in everyone's work.  If someone desires a "hard" critique I can work with them but I only do this if invited.  Most workshops are only a week long and that is not enough time to establish a relationship which supports tough criticism.

Trying something new.

Question:  How do I plan workshops?

Response:  Most of my workshops are planned around the Elements and Principles of Design.  I use this as a format because it seems there are so many people who haven't had the experience of formally studying design.  While I do incorporate some technique, I don't think that is the most important thing I have to share with people.  I want my students to leave my classes with added confidence in their ability of make observations about their own work and feel they can solve design issues for themselves.  This is a tall order for a weeks work but these workshops can be a start.  

I spend a good deal of time working on my programs and try to find unique ways to approach exercises along with the tried and true approaches.  I'm a great believer in experimentation and while students may not go home with a stack of finished works I work to see that they go home with ideas to carry them along to a finished work.

Enjoying new territory.

Question: What's the most difficult part of workshop teaching?

Response:  I myself have participated in many workshops as a student so I understand the commitment that is made in time, money and emotion.  Knowing that, the most difficult thing for me is to try and meet the needs of all the students.  I don't know if that can be done but I do try to spend individual time with every student every day and contribute to their growth as an artist.

Having a one-on-one talk.

I invite you to check out my workshops for 2014.  There are links at the top of the page.  If you have questions please contact me at tjd225@gmail.com.

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QBL 2014 Workshops Announced

Thank You Morris Louis

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

This week I received the 2014 Quilting by the Lake workshop catalog and was very happy to see an example (pictured above) of my work featured on the cover.

I will be teaching Line As Language during the first session of the program, July 13 - 18, 2014.  I first taught this class during 2012 at QBL2 as a 3 day workshop.  The class was well received and has been expanded to 5 days with all new exercises and of course, more time to explore the many applications of line in art.

The course descriptions have not yet been published online but you can request information at :

qbl@schweinfurthartcenter.org   Quilting by the Lake is a program of the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY but is held on the campus of Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, NY.

LINE AS LANGUAGE

The focus of this workshop is on the study and application of one of the basic elements of design - LINE.  Dramatic or understated, frantic or languid, Line can be the focus of a composition or a solid supporting player.  Learn how to incorporate line to tell your story using machine piecing and applique.  Work directly with fabric as well as studies created in cut and painted paper to be finalized in fabric.  Work will be made in black & white as well as color. Group and individual discussion will be an important part of this class.  Design is the foundation for great work.  I embrace creativity and work from a base of encouragement for all students.

***

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Textile Museum Workshop Report

Students working to complete design exercise during workshop.

I returned home Sunday after a fast but productive and fun two-day trip to Washington, DC to present a  workshop at The Textile Museum.

The class was titled Shape Intensive and it was intense.  We completed 4 exercises and had a tour of the current exhibition, Sourcing the Museum, lead by Tom Goehner, Director of Education for the museum.  Mr. Goehner focused his remarks on the use of shape as an element of design by artists represented in the show.  I will be writing about the show soon.

Display of two of the completed design exercises.

I have been using cut paper as a way to develop ideas for many years and have used this process in several workshops but this was the first time students utilized this technique exclusively.  The idea behind this was that since design is a concern of all artists, focusing only on paper design the class would be of interest to a broader group of artists.  I believe as a result of this approach we had a more diverse group of students.  There were a number of artists who work with fabric but we also had 2 painters, a rug designer/weaver, an embroiderer, and three professional graphic designers.

The workshop was held in a room just off the main entrance to the museum.  It was a very formal room with dark paneled wall and brass sconces.  Not exactly the type of room most workshops are held but it worked for us.  A new building is already under construction for the museum and it will be exciting to see the new venue when completed.

I want to thank each member of the class for spending the day with me and for the focused attention they gave their work.   I also want to thank Mr. Goehner and his staff for the excellent way the workshop was organized and promoted. 

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Shape Intensive Workshop- The Textile Museum - Washington DC

Saturday, July 14th, I will be presenting the one-day workshop: Shape Intensive at The Textile Museum in Washington, DC.

This workshop is part of a series of workshops held in conjunction with the current exhibition, Sourcing the Museum, featuring the work of renowned textile artists and work  inspired by items in the museum's collection.  These new works are exhibited alongside the inspiration pieces.

The Shape Intensive workshop is structured so that anyone interested in this topic can participate regardless of their chosen medium.  All studies will be worked in paper and will form the foundation of a portfolio for future study.  Follow the provided link for more details and information for registration.

Artists in the exhibition include Olga de Amaral, James Bassler, Polly Barton, Archie Brennan, Lia Cook, Helena Hemmarck, Ayako Nikamoto, Jon Eric Riis, Warren Seelig, Kay Sekimachi, and Ethel Stein.

Thank you for spending time at Studio 24-7.  I love hearing from you and hope you will join me at The Textile Museum for a fun-informative day.

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East Bay Heritage Quilters

Workshop In Progress

Two weekends ago I lead a workshop in Oakland, CA for the East Bay Heritage Quilters.  The workshop was Discovering Your Shape Vocabulary and this group really put in effort toward starting that exploration.  I think you can see from the photo that there was great intensity in the classroom.  In addition, on the last day I presented my lecture, Self Critique, which was well received.

This guild is well established and has a large membership.  It is also a very active group sponsoring a long series of workshops throughout the year as well as on-going projects such as comfort quilts and  auctions which supports their activities.  I saw the huge "store" of fabrics which are collected to be turned into kits which the members sew into quilts for donation and the stash was impressive.  I'd also like to say that the effort it takes to prepare those kits is impressive but happily given.

I want to thank the officers and members of this guild for the wonderful planning and execution of this event.  Thank you Pam Jensen for the excellent communication of the numerous details for the workshop.  Thank you Deanna Davis for opening your home to me.  You were a great hostess and I felt right at home.  Thank you Cindy Cossen and Suzanne Williams for your handling of the workshop details.  It was very well organized.  Thank you Karrie Hanson and Rachel for hostessing me Sunday.  I really enjoyed the Museum and seeing more of San Francisco.  Thank you Anne Johnson for being my taxi to the workshop on Saturday.  Thank you also to Valerie Eaton for shipping my work back to SC.  

A special thanks to area artists who I have met the past few years who came to hear my lecture.  I really appreciated your special effort to be there.  And a huge thank you to the participants of the workshop.  You did a great job and were fun to be with!

After the workshop I headed down to Southern California to visit with my son and his wife.  More about that later.

***To see the work of one class participant, go to : http://mad-elena.blogspot.com/2012/05/geometric-shapes.html?showComment=1338485282264#c4176664049815524926

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Self Critique

In early September I traveled to the Washington DC area to work with members of the Potomac Fiber Arts Guild. Part of that visit was the presentation of my new lecture, Self Critique.

The topic of how to critique your own work was suggested by the program co-ordinator and it is a very good topic because if you are serious about your work you are always engaged in making thousands of little decisions which determine the results of what you make. The hardest part is when you get near the end and must evaluate what you have done.

I began the process of gathering information and thinking about how I evaluate my own work. I made the decision that I wanted to slant the talk away from the usual discussion of the Elements and Principles of Design and give the audience as much "inside" information as I could gather. To do this, I composed a list of artists who work at a mature level. Each artist received a list of questions to which they responded. In addition I requested that they provide several images that related to specific criteria. These artists sent wonderful information and images and that information became the focus of my lecture. While I will not be posting specific content from the lecture I am planning a series for this blog about evaluating work.

I want to thank all of the artists who participated. It was so interesting to read their responses and hear both a unified voice on some points and much diversity on others. The artists are:

Jane Allen Nodine, Kathleen Loomis, Shelley Brenner Baird, Jeanne Raffer Beck, Judy Langille, Pat Pauly, Leslie Riley, Leslie Avon Miller, Rebecca Howdeshell, and Christine Mauersberger.

I will be presenting this talk again May 21 for the East Bay Heritage Quilters, in San Francisco, Ca. followed by a two day workshop. If you live in the area I invite you to come and participate.

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Why I Enjoy Workshops

Sarah is studying her sketchbook.

I returned Saturday from a week teaching at Quilting By the Lake on the campus of Onondaugh Community College in Syracuse New York. As I reflect over the week I jotted down a few notes about my experience.

Penny is exploring how to create texture.

I attended QBL two years ago as a student and had a great time. I enjoy the workshop format and I love being a student. It is an opportunity to pack a lot of exposure to new information and new people into a short amount of time. I also have enjoyed being in the position of instructor and I have spent a huge amount of time during the past two years in preparation for my teaching assignments this year. My preparation took the form of reading, writing, experimenting and more writing and rewriting. This supports my idea that teachers often learn more than the students because you can never share all that you prepare.

Suzanne works on her black and white shape study.

Carol is now ready to sew.

Being in New York state is always fun. I feel a special affinity for NYC as well as the Auburn/Syracuse area. My husband and I lived in NYC when we were first married and our son was born there. Since becoming involved in the "quilt world" I have made many friends who live in NY state and it's always fun to touch base with them. There is much interest in that area in quilts and fiber in general.

Mary is just starting on the work utilizing interpretation as a source.

I have always been impressed with the women I meet at these workshops. Smart, educated, accomplished and talented. The members of my class were all of this and there was a wonderful age range of 40ish to 80ish. Both the youngest and most senior were delightful and fun.

Julia is exploring line in black and white.

Debbie is just finishing up this colorful study in line.

While I revisited old friends I also met friends face to face for the first time. These are people I have interacted with online. I am always struck by the doors that the world wide web has opened.

Melanie is pictured working on a piece which investigates

slicing through many layers of fabric.

I also had the opportunity of meeting internationally know faculty and seeing a beautiful exhibition by Jane Dunnewold. I won't try to describe the work from her Sacred Planet series but it was excellent and I can't wait to see where she goes next.

Carol constructed a grid to help her in the placement of elements in a new composition.

There were lectures, vendors, a participant exhibition, show and tell, and an apron auction to raise money for scholarship! My apron sold for $200.00! I was very pleased.

Stephanie is pictured adding some final touches to her composition.

This was the second time I had taught: Ask: What If? so I was able to refine the program and will refine it even more. I came home with several ideas for new classes.

Pat working on some design concepts.

I thought this week in NY would give me a break from the heat but things didn't work out that way. They too have been having a heat wave and one day it was 100 degrees which was only 1 degree less than the all-time hight of 101. Heat is heat and I was happy for the AC.

Linda at the design wall.

I'd also like to give a little nod to the staff of OCC and to Donna Lamb, Executive Director of the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center and her staff. The facilities were beautiful and well cared for. The campus is a little jewel and very pleasant. Donna and her staff are great organizers and I appreciate all the work they invest to make this event one that has lasted for 31 years!!!

***

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Workshop at QBL Coming to A Close

Melanie is pictured having a great time checking her fabric collection.

My week of teaching at Quilting By the Lake is coming to a close tomorrow. It has been successful and fun week. Great students, wonderful facility along with perfect organization by Donna Lamb and her staff.

Pat is hard at work locating just the right spot to begin her composition.

The event is held each summer on the campus of Onondaga Community College. The QBL workshops have been held for more than 30 years and brings in faculty and students from across the US and abroad.

I'll post a few more images of the workshop very soon.

***

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Quilting By the Lake Apron Auction

Auction Apron

This weekend I head to Onondaga Community College to teach a class for Quilting By The Lake. This event is organized by The Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY and is a well respected and beautifully run series of workshops, exhibitions and lectures.

One of the fun events every year is the auctioning of studio aprons embellished by the workshop instructors. The money raised from the auction goes toward scholarships for deserving students to next's years' workshops.

I decided to stitch a section of a pieced composition under the apron pockets along the hem. The fabric is hand dyed and machine pieced. It has also been quilted. If any of you attend I hope you bring your checkbooks and are ready to get in on the fun.

I'm hoping to be able to post a few images from the workshop so I'll see you next week from New York State.

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Taking A Chance

Mixed Media work from Fran Skiles Workshop

I will be teaching at Quilting By the Lake in a few weeks and I have been reviewing my lesson plans. One day will focus on the value of chance in opening doors to new ideas and new work. The pictured mixed media composition is a piece I created in a Fran Skiles Workshop about a year ago and it demonstrates chance, faith, and process.

Sometimes, after an artist has developed a known style, it can be difficult to move away from the known, the sure thing. You know how to do whatever you do, you know what will happen if you do certain things and while there will always be varying degrees of success, you aren't always surprised by the results.

One of my favorite passages on chance is from an interview with Nancy Drew by John Baldessari in a book titled Chance. The book was edited by Margaret Iversen and is one of a series of books called Documents of Contemporary Art.

The passage reads as follows:

(It would) be unbearable if our intentions were regularly frustrated. Yet there is something terribly arid, not to say mechanistic, in the idea of a world where all our purposes result in predictable consequences, where we are completely transparent to ourselves and where intentions always result in expected actions. We value the degree of interference in human intentional activity offered by the unconscious, by language, by the apparatus of the camera or computer, by the instruction performed 'blind.' In short, we desire to see what will happen.

I stated that the piece I have pictured demonstrates chance, faith, and process. For me that was true because I made elements for the piece without knowing how they would be incorporated into a work, faith because I knew that Fran had a bigger view of how this would work and I followed the process as presented by her.

You might try this approach for yourself. Make some elements, make a lot of elements. Enjoy the process of making. Do it freely and without too much of a critical eye. Don't think too much about how you might use them. Try something new. Use something old in a new way. Then look at what you have done. You might be surprised. Take a chance.

*****

Recently I had some correspondence with Jane Davies who designs a wide array of products for many prestigious manufacturers. She is also the author of several books on collage and mixed media. I have enjoyed her book Adventures in Mixed Media as her illustrations and directions are very clear. You can check out her site at: http://www.JaneDaviesStudios.com.

Thanks Jane for all the great information!

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Monet Speaks

Detail of Monet waterlilies painting

During the Masterclass I recently participated in with Dorothy Caldwell, Dorothy shared a list of questions that French artist Monet wrote relating to his art. I loved the list as it is so timeless.

Questions

• What is that dam thing out there? (Imagine the aged whiskered man saying/writing this...in french.)

• What does an idea look like? (I always imagine that art legends know even if I don't.)

• How does this whole mess fit together? (Repeat....I always imagine that art legends know even if I don't.)

• Does this line have integrity or is it girlie? (I suppose "girlie" as in Not Strong.)

• What have I made up and what have I observed? (Think of his waterlilies. I saw them in person for the first time last summer and I'd say it is about 50/50 for the waterlilies.)

• Of all the things I can do what shall I do? (Now there's a question! This is the reason teachers give assignments and why it can be so difficult making work when you have everything from which to choose.)

• Will I ever get it right? ( Does it surprise you that Monet would ask himself this question? I am somewhat surprised and it makes me think he was rather grounded.)

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Dorothy Caldwell Masterclass

Pictured left to right front row: Tama, Sally and Pamela

Pictured left to right back row: Kressa, Terry, Dorothy, Shelley, Kathy and Sharon

I returned home yesterday after a wonderful week of study at the Crow Timberframe Barn with Canadian artist Dorothy Caldwell. It was inspiring and I came away with new insight as to my work and with many new ideas about how to continue.

The class was small with 8 students so we had a rare opportunity to work with Dorothy one-on-one everyday.

I am not posting images of work from the workshop out of respect for my classmates but I'm sure each one of them would confirm my feelings that it was an exceptional experience.

Thank you Dorothy for your insight, willingness to share your work and your thoughts on the making of art.

For more about Dorothy you can visit:http://www.ccca.ca/artists/artist_info.html?languagePref=en&link_id=180

You are also invited to read my article on Dorothy's Expressive Stitch workshop: http://studio24-7.blogspot.com/2009/08/expressive-stitch.html

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Ask What If? Building Pathways to Creative Work

Small section of large composition.

I returned from Ohio over the weekend after teaching at the Crow Timberframe Barn. The course was titled Ask What If?: Building Pathways to Creative Work.

Detail of larger work.

Detail of larger work.

The course was one I had been preparing for sometime and it was great to finally be able to present the material and see how everything worked. I had a fantastic group of students willing to explore and try new things which is always a good thing especially when you are working with material which ask students to perhaps think in new ways and do things they may have never done previously.

Detail of larger work.

Detail of larger work.

The class was held in the lower studios of the Barn which has just been painted and reorganized. The fresh paint and the sun coming in the three sets of back double doors made a pleasant warm environment. Because we were next door to the dye studio I was able to include some exercises which involved some surface design and I was impressed at how expressive the class was with wet media.

Detail of larger work.

Detail of larger work.

Detail of larger work.

I am only showing a few thumbnails of work from the class to give you an idea of what we were doing. The group was fun to work with and did a fantastic job. We used raw-edge applique, piecing, surface design media, fabric and some alternative materials.

Detail of larger work.

I will be teaching this class again at Quilting By the Lake, July 17-July 22. Session 1, Class #9 so if you are interested drop by their site for more information.

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Art Quilters Unlimited Workshop

Cheryl

Last week I spent time in Fort Myers, Florida with members of Art Quilters Unlimited in a three-day workshop All About Shape. The group draws on a wide area with members from many other cities. They are talented, motivated and fun. Thanks to the workshop organizer Mechelle Walker for a great experience and to my hostess, Linda Bachman for her hospitality.

Over the three days we worked with three different ways to discover interesting shapes and how to use them in strong compositions. This group is a member of Alliance for the Arts so they are able to use that groups facilities and it worked very nicely.

Here are a few shapshots of class activity.

Betty

Carol

Pam

Sibyl and Linda

Linda and Sue

Sandy

Carole

Sue

Faith

Michelle (great smile!)

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