Every once in a while I take a workshop offered by a Weaver or Fiber Arts Guild. I took one last year with David Owen Hastings, mostly to see how teaching on Zoom felt from the aspect of the student so I could take notes for teaching on Zoom myself. I learned some really cool things about sewing with paper and a new design technique that I have yet to apply to my work but I plan on using in the future. For me workshopping isn't about making a finished-something but to learn something new or a better way of creating from other creatives. (Also, I loved David Owen Hastings as an instructor, I highly recommend!)
Ellen W. Miller's workshops really got my creative juices going this month and the techniques were far beyond anything that I have touched upon in the past. I took her classes in Feather Embellishments and Chinese Knots.
I learned so much about feathers and how to work with them I've been thinking of all sorts of things I could use them for, particularly our wedding or just new accessories. I suppose I had never before thought about how feathers are manipulated, snipped and curled to get certain looks. We also learned about different types of feathers, both from parts of the bird and discussed different birds. Looks like I'm going to have to raid my parents little chicken coup when they get back from Texas!
I learned what I needed from the Chinese Knot workshop to apply to something that's been in a sketchbook for a few years. I'm not sure if I'm ready to share that idea right now, it's not going to be as easy as I once thought it could be. Ellen taught us 3 knots and then expanded upon how they are used and connect to each other to provide embellishment but also as fasteners.
Of course, even though I'm trying to get rid of books taking up space in my life, I want to buy her book to add to my fiber library.
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