“We already have what we need—the opportunity to weave the tapestry of happiness every day with the needle and thread of our own mind.”
Sweet mountain air, a community of people who love tapestry, and five days of fun.
The Colorado 2018 design retreat was so much fun. We had a wonderful group of people. As an instructor, it is so rewarding to spend five days with people who are able to ask questions both of others but also of themselves. They were able to dive into their creative selves and identify what they wanted to work on and then actually work on it!
This was a retreat where I encouraged everyone to follow their own path. This did mean that they had to think some about what they wanted to work on before coming to the retreat and then follow their ideas with some guidance from me and their fellow weavers throughout the week.
The photos below give you an idea of how the retreat went. But really, you had to be there.
Robin's work is a good way to show the process of the retreat. She worked on a design which came from ideas about trees. She did an angle sampler to figure out how she'd need to weave it at her chosen sett and weft. Then she solidified her design ideas using cut paper to create a design. She was able to start the final weaving, though as she got into it she wondered if she would go home and weave it larger on her floor loom.
Robin's color card, angle sampler, and collaged design
Robin talking about her learning process, Colorado 2018 tapestry retreat
This series of photos should give you a feel for the group. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the use the arrows to scroll. Notice what a transformation can be achieved to a tapestry teacher with five days in the mountains! (With thanks to Andrew.)
Back row: Ercil, Victoria, Marilyn, Beth, Sherry, Elizabeth, Robin, Audrey
Front row: Michelle, Carol, Linda, Jon
Ground: Rebecca (Andrew)
“We’re too old to drink cheap wine.”
The gallery below has more photos of the week. If you get the blog by email, you might want to take a look at it online if the format looks a little weird. Click HERE to do that.
Click the photos to enlarge, hover to see captions, use arrows to move through images.
The week with these fantastic people has left a warm glow in my heart and a hope that through communication, collaboration, and making tapestry, we can make a better place in the world for our own lives and for the world in general. I don't think that is too big a goal.
Epilogue
I did see a moose. I don't think anyone else really cared about this aspect of the location,* but I searched every day and on the fourth day I saw two. We had taken a short hike with a naturalist earlier in the day and he casually mentioned that the moose were down in those willows, but that mostly in the day they were resting in the shade. So at dusk I hiked up the river and just watched. Sure enough, after about 20 minutes I noticed some rustling in the willows and then saw the telltale hulking black shape of a moose. It was a large cow. As I watched, I saw more rustling nearby and soon a small calf showed itself. The photos are poor due to distance and willows, but they are some proof that I'm not telling tall tales.
Mama Moose! At CSU Mountain Campus, Pingree Park, CO
Moose! Two of them at CSU Mountain Campus, Pingree Park, CO
* I missed you Carol, my fellow moose-groupie from 2017! I didn't see Karl, but there is always next year!