Whispering Woodlands
Posted on June 3, 2009 - Filed Under 2009 Workshops
Monday night I flew all around the world, after teaching in Wisconsin at Whispering Woodlands, where we painted pages and made books all weekend. I stayed with Marcia and Anton, my dear friends in Madison, and ate wonderful food. Monday Mary Ann and I went to Chicago and took the architectural boat tour. It started to rain the minute we got off the boat and headed for lunch. Everything, to that point, was perfect.
What is not to love about spending the weekend among wonderful women in a pastoral heaven? Bucolic is how it can be described, and I do know what that means. Despite my knowing, the word does not match how it actually looks. Bucolic sounds like something that tastes bad, that might not stay down. So, I will use “pastoral” because I like the way it matches how the place feels.
At one point, in the middle of class, someone pointed out that down the long valley at the end of our view, cows were lined up single file, headed back to the barn. We stopped the class to watch them file down the dirt road, nudged on by a cowboy on horseback. How can you not appreciate the splendor of black and white cows in a bright green world? And these designer cows are friendly. They like to check you out, sticking their big noses out right at you. Curious cows.
I would have liked to visit a bit more with them, but we were so busy.
Here is most everyone. Some escaped before the picture was taken. Fabulous group!
I asked a lot of this class. We painted with all kinds of paints and sumi. They tried lots of techniques for texture and composition, and used symbolic languages to make marks under and over the paint. Then we made books, small story-telling structures that turned out so lovely I am very glad I had time to take these pictures so you can see them. I am proud and pleased and always so flattered that all of you showed up. Thank you, thank you!
Mary Ann dropped me off at Midway for my flight home. My bags did not weigh over 50 pounds, and I soared through the security line. In the cafe I met a young man just home from service in Afghanistan. He showed me pictures of the children there, that serve his troops as guards and mini spies. He said they were not allowed to speak to the women, and that everyone there is always hot, they wear so much clothing. I thanked him for his service, and went away grateful for his bravado.
On the plane I sat next to a young man who was an inexperience flyer. And, as he decided to share with me, inexperienced intimately with his bride-to-be. Good heavens, why would you share that with someone you just met? It amazed me what tumbles out of some people’s mouths, including mine. This guy can call himself experienced now, as a flyer anyway. We had to traverse the west to avoid a storm headed due east. Up and around Wyoming, back down to Colorado behind the storm. Lightening was flashing all around us, the plane was tossing. When we finally landed, we sat on the tarmac as there is a new rule that they can’t roll the ramp out when lightening is striking. So we sat. I ended up rolling up the drive about two hours after I had expected to, and into the house alive with children up far later than they should have been. They made forts of the couch cushions and were having a sleepover with a friend buried beneath them. I slept really, really well. No dreams that night. I left my dreams in Wisconsin.
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jill, it sounds absolutely wonderful. you took great pictures and all the work looks beautiful.
Thank you for the wonderful workshop! Pictures don’t do your beautiful painted papers justice. I love that the paper is still soft and pliable and can even be written on, even after several layers of paint have been applied.
Lucky me, I love the litle book! I received one of your creative charms in charm swap from Cloth Paper Scissors. My first plan was to use it on a necklace, but since I am also a needlepointer I think I will also consider how to adapt it to needlepoint as an embellishment. Thanks again.
i loved hearing all about your wisconsin adventure jill – i feel the exact same way about cows too, i love watching them. your class sounds like it was so much fun – that group of women looks HAPPY!
Congratulations on your article being published too!