Lorraine Roy: Textile Art

Well I’m back from a hectic 48 hours of teaching two one-day workshops and presenting one trunk show in St Marys. Yes, tired. Yes, happy. Hoping I accomplished all I set out to do, to the best advantage for everyone in spite of a rocky start.

Now, I have significantly altered this posting since I first wrote it. It was suggested it might be misinterpreted by residents of St Marys and for this I profoundly apologize. My intention was to find humour in a stressful situation, but this was NOT the way to do it! I would love nothing more than to spend more time in this jewel of a town. My dream is to book 3 nights at a B&B and just walk the entire village, along the river, around the train station and that beautiful park, and try out every restaurant.

Queen Street, St Marys

On to my story:

Thursday morning, I decided to check at which door I should unload Friday morning at the Pyramid Centre, where the Quilt show was also being held, a huge complex with many entrances. This is when I first learned my workshops were not at the Pyramid Centre, but at the Masonic Hall. This shook my composure: what if I hadn’t asked? Showing up at the wrong address before a workshop is my idea of a nightmare.

from sandykumskov.com

So, rattled, new map in hand, I decided to head out to St Marys that very afternoon instead of the next morning as I had planned. Quickly booked a B&B on Google. My intention was to check out the Quilt show, find the Masonic Hall, and have dinner then a quiet evening at the B&B.

Hathaway House B&B

It takes around one and half hours to get from Dundas to St Marys and I took a new-to-me country route to get there, a beautiful drive. The Piecemakers Quilt show at the Pyramid Centre in St Marys was in full force, and I ran into lots of friends. The display was huge! On to the Masonic Hall, which at first appeared an unpromising structure… Peeking in, I wondered: will it be big enough? will those small tables accommodate sewing machines, cutting boards, and the ever expanding materials of my participants?

As I have learned so many times in the past, things are rarely as dire as I imagine they will be. I arrived promptly next morning, and the custodian unlocked the door to an immaculate interior. It was one of the best-lit spaces I’ve ever seen. There were extra tables available from storage and we quickly had the place ready for the class. The first group of 9 were easily accommodated, and the second group of 15 were tight but not inconveniently so. Both groups were eager, creative and productive:

View from my station

A froth of netting

Sandra, the workshop organizer, was a whizz at helping with sewing machine issues, and we had great fat sandwiches from a local Cheese shop for lunch. One of the highlights was the presence of some good friends, one of whom had registered her 14-year-old son, Chris, who dazzled everyone with his innovative use of colour and sense of design.

So – happy campers all around. My Trunk Show on Friday evening, despite dark warnings that ticket sales were slow, was very well attended, with around 70 visitors. It was an alert, engaged audience and I enjoyed every minute.

I’m in recovery at the moment, having unloaded the car and rehung my work in the Studio. I’m looking forward to a long walk on this gorgeous day.

What’s next? Not sure yet… got a few irons in the fire, and some ideas… but for now, I’ll be kicking back, checking in with friends… and watching the birds at the feeder.

(By the way, if you plan a visit to St Marys, may I recommend: Hathaway House B&B, and the Black Angus Restaurant.)

Tags: creativity, enhancing creativity, imperfection, public speaking, students, textile workshops

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 29th, 2012 at 12:30 pm and is filed under My workshops, Public speaking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.