WWoO (Wonderful Weavers of Orlando)!

I just returned from a very nice trip to Florida where I taught a workshop for the Weavers of Orlando.  The workshop was called "Weaving the Days of your Life" and focused on the practice of weaving a tapestry diary.

The WoO members meet at Westminster Towers in Winter Park for workshops, using the top floor art/craft space called the Roof Room.  It's a nice, large space with fabulous views in two directions--here's Orlando in the distance:

And here's a view toward more of Winter Park; Rollins College buildings are those in the left side of the photo:

The workshop began on Saturday, the 17th but I left home on the 15th to drive part of the way.  I arrived in the afternoon of the 16th, unloaded with the help of the workshop organizer and moved things to Roof.  Westminster Towers is part of a retirement community and the facilities are spacious, bright and quite impressive.  I stayed in one of the guest rooms courtesy of my hosts, Edie and Bob, who are residents there.  It was so convenient to be able to park my car after I unloaded it, then not have to get back into it until days later.  Both Edie and Bob are weavers and have been instrumental in Weavers of Orlando being able to use the facilities for meetings and workshops.

There were 15 people in the class and we met for a hour or so on Saturday morning before the monthly meeting of the larger guild group.  It was held on the first floor in a conference room, complete with two large screens on which my slides were shown when I made a presentation following their business meeting.

Lots of weaving, discussions and ideas flowed through the weekend.  There were many types of frame looms in the class, from commercially available ones to home-made.  A Wolf Pup floor loom was also in use.  It was great fun and I hope many (maybe most?) of those participants will continue to weave the days of their life for many years in the future!  Here are a few photos taken during the three days:

On the way home I was able to visit a couple of friends in Deltona.  It's always nice to see a tapestry I've woven living with someone--and this was the case!  My friend's partner had surprised her with it a few years ago, going into cahoots with her daughters and another friend to buy it together.  I gave her the watercolor on which the tapestry was based, also.  Thanks, Fran and Val, for the hospitality!

I spent the next two days getting home, stopping overnight in central Georgia on my way back.  Driving for about five or six hours at a time is about my limit now.  I love doing workshops but it always takes a bit of reentry time when I get back.  Unload the car, reorganize things I've taken to the workshop, do laundry, tie up loose ends from the workshop (if any--and there was this time--like a major mistake in one of my handouts that I needed to correct and have reprinted, then mail to everyone).  And, sometimes have adventures along the way!  This time those included a trip to the Cornell Fine Art Museum at Rollins College to take in an Impressionist show and to the Deland Museum of Art to see a fantastic exhibit of M.C. Escher's work.  Other less fun adventures were having my credit card declined at two service stations (all OK but because I was out of state, red flags were up) and seeing the "check engine" light on my dash come on.  A trip to a car dealership in Dublin, Georgia resolved that issue--and gave me time to do a bit of waiting room sketching, too!

I'm settling in at my studio to weave in a few days.  A new tapestry is on the horizon, to begin soon!  In the meantime, I'll continue to weave the days of my life on my tapestry diary warp.  Day by day by day by day....