Love is the thread...

My journey to John C Campbell Folk School began when my dear friend Dee Dee picked me up at the Atlanta Airport...off we went through Atlanta making a few stops- IKEA, Sam Flax, and a few others. Their home is about 2 1/2 hours from Atlanta nestled in the mountain area outside Bryon City, NC. Dee and her husband, Robert own and operate Spiral Creek Art Retreat. I saw first hand how lovely and spacious their new building is.

Dee Dee and my road trip route

The next day Dee Dee took me to Asheville, were we did a bit of shopping and lunching. I have never been there and found it to be similar to Boulder, CO...with a feel of the south and of course those gorgeous trees and greenery. She took me to a fabric shop that I managed to find something to buy- Waechter's Silk Shop- yikes- they have the largest selection of original designer patterns...more to come on that later!

So my time ended with Dee Dee and Robert and off to the Folk School...

This is my second time there and I am still amazed at the spirit of art and community that thrives within the beautiful grounds and tin roof cabins. For me and my teaching it is time that my students and I can really dig into our doll making and yes...laugh and get silly a bunch too!

The Rock House where I stayed

Our time was precious because we where on a short week, so "my girls" got to it and created these beautiful dolls in four (long) days. They each sculpted the heads and hands from DAS clay , sewed and stuffed the bodies, painted the faces with a wax finish...

Bunnies at the "Beach"

We had time to discuss color theory and balance and look at the costumes they made...

It was wonderful...and I am so proud of how hard my girls worked. In all our concentrated efforts we still had time to have theme song and time to enjoy the surroundings of the Appalachian Mountains, the food, and most importantly each other!

Love is the thread that binds us...

John C Campbell Folk Art School

I am away teachin' this week at the beautiful John C Campbell Folk Art School in North Carolina.
Will tell you all about it in next weeks blog.

Pixie Magic...

All you need is trust and a little bit of pixie dust!

~Peter Pan~

This past weekend, I taught a class in making Pixies...and to make certain the whole day started out right, there was Pixie dust scattered outside my studio door- sparkling like Pixie laughter in the sunlight...

Each student received a kit to make two Pixies, because we all know Pixies love to be with friends and dance! I designed them to be very free form and creative....we broke all the color balance rules that I usually ingrain into my girls...wrapping yarn- willy nilly and little charmed items here and there!

The body design was simple, with the only part taking a wee bit of concentration was the head construction. Each head was a molded face form and over-laid with pima knit fabric. The main body section simply armatured for dancing capability.

front view

The costuming was a ribbon bodice with a sweet gathered skirt of delicate ribbon or tulle. The hair was a snippet of mohair carefully placed in a casual frolicking manner...and then the real fun began pulling out those kept little treasures to make each Pixie detail special.

back view

I will say, that as the day went on you could feel that Pixie Magic becoming more and more present...the laughter of my dear students becoming more and more joyful and the ooo's becoming more and more delighted...yes indeed those charming little Pixies made their magic known!

Laughter is timeless -
Imagination has no age -
And dreams are forever
~Tinkerbell~

It was a day that any doll teacher would be grateful for!
Here are just a few of the Pixies...more to come in the ROotie E-News.

Pixies dwell in the twilight, between day and night,
between the heavens and the earth,
between the conscious and the unconscious...
where all things are possible,
where our past and future meet,
where we meet ourselves coming back.
When we dance with the pixies,
we dance with the reflections of
our true selves and the true nature of the world.