Spend a week with a friend at Arrowmont

Last summer my sister and I went to Arrowmont together. She took a class with Kathy Cooper http://kathycooperfloorcloths.com/ in making floorcloths and I took a course in dyeing for making quilts with Elizabeth Barton (http://ebarton.myweb.uga.edu/ and http://elizabethbarton.blogspot.com/ ). Now, my sister Kathleen and I don't see each other very frequently but we really enjoyed our vacation in the Smoky Mountains; we worked all day, enjoyed meals and the evening events together and visited all the studios each day to observe and applaud the progress of students in other media. I think that we both found that a vacation learning skills and reviewing them with criticism only sisters can share to be both fun and rewarding.

When I got back to Georgia with new skills and dyeing confidence as well as fifteen yards of freshly colored fabric I found myself emailing a couple of my classmates, Bonnie from Indiana and Elaine from nearby Knoxville. We send each other pictures, fabric, websites, our newest handmade pieces. We commiserate with each other over life's potholes and rejoice over life's rewards. We share the latest tidbits of information about Arrowmont's future because we will all keep returning to the school for teaching, learning and volunteering. Last summer we were acquaintances and now we are friends.

In March of this year I signed up for a workshop with Cynthia Toops http://www.cdbeads.biz/ in working with polymer clay. Eternally frugal, I made certain that I got that early application discount; I'll spend the money I saved (and more) in the Artist Outfitters supply and book store. Last week I found out that Bonnie and her husband will be at Arrowmont at the same time; Bonnie will be learning to make glass beads from Cynthia's husband Dan Adams and her husband, an accomplished woodworker, will be studying with Dixie Biggs ( http://dixiebiggs.com/gallery ). I bet Elaine will drive to Gatlinburg sometime during the week to join us for dinner and, since the class is the first full week in September, to celebrate the announcement of the location of Arrowmont's home.

I'm ecstatic that I'll be seeing my long-distance friends at the same time that I'm learning new techniques in a favorite medium with one of the best polymer clay artists ever. And probably adding new Arrowmont friends to our little circle!