Residency in Mendocino, CA

Boy, time sure does fly! I'm just now getting around to posting some of the pics from the 4 weeks I spent in glorious Mendocino (at the Mendocino Art Center, MAC) during an artist residency this past February. It was such a gift to be able to have a beautiful, huge, well-lit (with a view of the ocean!), and well-appointed (thanks to the wonderful Linda Cloonan) fiber studio all to myself, 24/7. My time on the headlands allowed me to begin a new body of work combining clay and fiber, which I'm currently scaling up in my studio. It truly was heaven on earth. Artist residencies are incredibly valuable, and possibly necessary, in order to have uninterrupted time to bring ideas to fruition. Also, I met some amazing people — fellow artists, Art Center staff, locals/neighbors, and workshop attendees. The opportunity to teach a Botanical Vessels using Pre-Felts class was a bonus. Thank you to all the people at MAC for this incredible opportunity and for your deep commitment to artists and art making. I hope to teach another workshop at MAC in 2021, so stay tuned!

2020 Arizona Fiber Arts Retreat

2020 AFAR Workshop: (back row) Colleen Murphy, Sharla Peterson, Louise Love, Maona Grabscheid, Kathy Lohr, Joanne Nunn, Patti Dowd; (front row) Mali Pistiner, Kim Buchheit, Karen Billideau (not pictured: Gayle Starr and Shannan Cambern)

Last week's 9th annual Arizona Fiber Arts Retreat (AFAR) was a fantastic success. This event, hosted by the talented and generous Kimberly Hatch, brings together fiber lovers of all stripes to share ideas, learn, discover new tools and methods, purchase fiber and other goodies, and enjoy being with kindred spirits. I was honored to be able to teach (with the help of my ever-supportive hubby) a full-day workshop with an amazing group of students. We cut out botanical shapes from pre-felts (ala Matisse) and felted them into our vessels with great results. Every finished vessel was unique and lovely — just like each workshop participant. Thank you to all who attended my workshop and for all who make AFAR the incredible fiber event that it is! See you next year (Save the date: Jan. 13-16, 2021) :)