Starting Out

We headed out early Sunday morning in what appeared to be a torrential downpour. I am a nervous driver at the best of times so I was glad John decided to drive. Destinatination: The Brewster Inn in Cazenovia, New York. About three hours into our trip the right windshield washer almost flew right off the car........don't know the technical term for what it is attached to but let's just say it was hanging on by a very thin thread. Luckily we pulled off the 401 highway safely but this continued to happen every hour or so before we reached New York. Welcome to a Roadtrip!



When we were an hour from Cazenovia we found this great rock station out of Syracuse. I knew it was great because every song they played, I knew. Unlike most of the music my kids listen to.......oh no, I do sound like my mother. When ELO started singing "Blinded By The Light" I just had to chime in as did John. The horrified looks on our kids faces said it all. They were cringing and begging us to stop what our oldest called "cruel and unusual punishment in a confined space". That in turn encouraged John and I to sing louder and longer.



We arrived at the Brewster around 4:00 pm and it was just lovely. After all the driving we didn't feel like heading out to eat so we ended up having dinner there.



The next day I headed off to class which I will openly admit I was a touch nervous about. Seeing the campus reminded me of high school which was not one of the most memorable times in my life. I found it all to be extremley clicky and exclusive. I spent much of my time drawing, listening to music and feeling the angst of being a teenager. Perhaps somebody should have told me to snap out of it....oh wait, I think my parents did but at the time I just didn't think they knew anything about being me. How very self indulgent!

In a nutshell, Carol Shinn was a fabulous teacher. Her work when you see it live and in person is not only inspiring but so very complex. Due to copyright laws I can't post any of her work here o but you can catch it on her website. The piece "The Blue Bench" is mind boogling to take in. You would never know that the entire canvas is covered in thread. You would think it was a painting until upon closer examination you saw the teeny tiny stitches. Much of her technique relies on layers and layers of thread. We used to joke in class after we finished two layers..." only 15 more to go and were done". On Thursday the class attended a lecture she gave in the auditorium and someone from the audience asked her how long it took to complete one of her pieces. She replied that an average piece of about 20"x18" would be 1-2 weeks working 8-10 hours a day. Now that is true commitment to your craft.

To be continued tomorrow...................I feel I've been droning on far too long.