Spring has sprung (sort of!)

 

Or at least it's beginning here in the northern part of Georgia, U.S.A. The first jonquils began to open their bright faces in February and are in full bloom all around town now. They'll soon be giving way to other blooms as everything else begins to return to life. 

Of course, the life that's coursing in those plants is there year-round. It's just my limited human perception that only sees and experiences the life of the natural world when the greening begins to happen.

Here are a few more photos from the last couple of weeks that I've taken on morning walks around town:

This year has given me new adventures of learning and teaching. I mentioned the two online writing classes I took in February in a recent post. Last week I taught online for the first (and maybe only) time. My class was for also for John C. Campbell Folk School and managed through Lessonface. There were 20 participants and we were able to accomplish quite a lot in the week's time at our own homes from across the country--folks joined in from Alaska, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

For my part, there was such a steep learning curve with the technology for presenting information in a live online way that I named it Everest. 

The class was called Let's Look at Design for Fiber Arts! I planned it as a basic overview of design fundamentals that could apply to any sort of fiber or fabric medium one might choose. Of course, there's lots of information about design elements and principles that could be part of even a basic course. And a week's time isn't very much to explore in depth but I tried to touch on ideas that might be most helpful. I also shared resources where one can find more information to continue exploring. Of course, nothing replaces the hands-on work each one does to become more and more comfortable with designing tools--both actual materials & tools and concepts. I was so excited to see some of the results throughout the week from everyone. 

Here are a few photos of my studio (aka known as the Scanlin online video production studio for March 8-12). The Lessonface team was so helpful and patient with me as I tried to figure out the best way to do the course without having to purchase much more equipment. I was able to use two different camera apps, one for my iPhone and another for my iPad, and also my laptop camera. Those three different views worked out mostly OK. I also had help from a few of the class participants ahead of time to check out whether things were working as I hoped they might. 

 This was the calm before the storm. It was on the first day as I was getting ready to begin.

Another view... as things are beginning to get a bit piled up around me.

Each day I pulled out examples to use in the lesson coming up and then put those away after class ended. On the last day there were several topics to cover and by the end of the session I could barely get out from behind the work table!

 I spent much of Saturday reclaiming my studio and I'll be heading there in an hour or so to get started on a new idea for tapestry. I haven't woven anything but my daily tapestry diary since cutting off the fern tapestry in mid-December so I'm ready to weave! Not quite sure what it will be yet but possibly something from this springtime group of photos. Something hopeful for the hopeful rest of the year to come.

And just one more thing before I go--my new book about design for tapestry should be released in late May. It's been showing on various sites for about a month or so now and I'm excited to soon see a real version. It's called Tapestry Design Basics and Beyond: Planning and Weaving with Confidence, published by Schiffer Publishing. Here's the cover: