Be Brave

Guild: an organized group of people who have joined together because they share the same job or interest; especially: an association of people who made and sold goods in the middle ages.
                                                                                                                                         ~Websters

So there you go! Guilds have been around for a long time.

I especially loved this definition from Guild.com

"We create environments and experiences that evoke creativity and inspire interaction through technology, art, architecture and the intersections between."

That is my hope in my wanderings with my little business and studio:  To create an environment and experiences that evoke creativity and inspires interaction one with another.  I feel it actually blesses our lives to share and work beside one another.  I believe teaching can profoundly affect the teacher and the student.  It is a glorious thing that causes such growth and admiration.

My experience at the workshop put on by Utah Rug and Fiber Guild with Diane Stoffel.

               

So above are my two inspiration pieces.  We fell in love with the gorgeous painting

at the Museum of Art at BYU a couple of years ago.  

(The Agony in the Garden by Danish artist, Frans Schwartz, 1898) 

They had an amazing exhibit of alter pieces from Europe.  

It is such a beautiful piece.

The print size we chose is too small to stand alone 

so I decided to create a little gallery wall in our living room.

What to pair with a painting of Christ?

I decided on the tree of life and small watercolor of 

a sheep that I we bought from a friend years ago.

The collection of trees above were inspiration for the little piece I would be

hooking at the workshop. Using the colors and shapes to create my representation of theTree of Life.

I had my work cut out for me since I really only had a vision and no "plan".  As you can see below, most hookers will begin with a well drawn out design and then work on the color planning.  I hoped that the teacher would have guidance for me! And lots of patience :)

I got right to work.  I believe when you create from the heart something special happens and 

it is a very neat process to work through.  I knew in my mind and heart what I hoped this 

tree would "feel" like.  I  wanted something organic and watercolor-like. 

Shelley is working on a little rug of one of her darling Alpaca's.  

She is was an inspiration because she is just a beginner and is jumping right in with both feet!

And one day I hope to be able to show you Marliss's Mermaid!  She was so fun to sit by :)

In settings like these you find heart touching stories that inspire works of art out of love.

I don't know the very details of Michelle's story, but that she lost a darling baby boy

at the tender age of 7 months.  He would have been 23 this year.  

One of her dear friends' husband is a very gifted artist and he drew this rug

design for her.  (This friend is a remarkable artist in her own right!!)

For the story goes that they nick named their dear baby boy, the Tin Man,

because he needed a heart that worked.

This piece will be a treasure!

We took a some time to look at the progress of each other's rugs.  

Some prefer not to have their work online and I respect their wishes.

Gayle is whom I credit introducing me to this fine Guild in Utah.

We met each other through our blogs :)

So lots of teaching and demonstrating and hours of time on our rugs.
Diane had an interesting philosophy with her teaching.  She didn't bring her
own rugs to show and I was quite surprised by that.  In her cute New England way, she said, "What would the purpose of that be?  It's one thing to show you I know how to do what I am trying to teach you - but the important thing is to get each of you to do what I try to teach you."

I have thought about that a lot over the past few days.  

It makes complete sense to me now, and I love it!
It's like teaching a man to fish rather than feeding him, right??
It is the hope I have when I try to teach others.  

Encouraging them to do their own thing, find their own voice.  

Be brave.  

It isn't easy to do as a teacher or as a student.  

But when it happens, it is glorious! 

A gathering of like-minded people.  

Such an inspiring place to be!

Where people like Pat give hours of their time and creativity.

Little surprises were shared with us over the three days with the Cape Cod theme.

Pieces finally completed get cheers from everyone!  

Beautiful job, Lisa!

Dedicated people who show up with a smile on their face

despite the fact that they are not feeling up to being out of bed.

Londi and Pat are incredible organizers!

And in the end there are friendships formed and mentors made.  

We have so much teach each other and so much to learn from each other.

I encourage you to get out there and do something you love.

Be Brave!

It will be worth it.

Thank you, Diane - you have taught us so much from your heart!