ArtFiberFest 2009

I have just returned from ArtFiberFest which was held in Portland at Reed College. Reed College is an incredibly beautiful place and a perfect spot for a retreat. Here is my diary of the trip:

ArtFiberFest was wonderful. I enjoyed every single minute of it. Probably the best retreat I have ever been to. I left early on Wed morning to catch a flight from Santa Barbara to Sacramento, changed planes in Sac and then flew into Portland. My friend Prudy was flying in about an hour after me so I waited for her. When she arrived we got a taxi who took us to a Trader Joes near Reed College so we could get wine for the event. The taxi dropped us off at the college and we went in and got our goody bag. What a goody bag it was!! A cloth patch worked shoulder bag with our itiniary and name badge in it along with snacks. Got over to the dorm and our rooms. The dorm rooms are small but very practical for one person and thankfully air conditioned. The bathroom is just across the hall with stalls for showers. After unpacking we went over to the dining hall for dinner. Whole wheat pasta with tomatoes, cheese, pesto and steamed broccoli. Then went to the welcome meeting where the teachers introduced themselves.
Thursday morning was scrambled eggs with mushrooms, fruit and french toast. My class was soft sculpture animals. She had us take a legnth of muslin and place stuffing in the middle. Then using crochet thread sew it closed and make it look like the animal that you wanted to make. After that was done we were to do a patchwork on the outside of the muslin. Originally I was going to do a crow but when I got the muslin sewed up it looked nothing like a crow so I kept playing with it.....added four legs, a tail, pigtails coming out of the top of her head. People kept asking me what it was.....i kept answering "i have no idea". I named her Ella. Other creatures in the room were a turtle, an elephant, a dog, and a monkey. Lunch was a flat iron steak sandwich with carmelized onions and peppers. Dinner was a bleu cheese burger. I havn’t had a burger in such a long time and they looked so good. I ate the whole damn thing. Between taking the class and having to think and all the walking we did between the dorms, dining hall and class rooms I figured I could have the burger. Man it was good. That night three instructors did demos - one in each dorm. They would demo a technique for 20 minutes and then we would go to the next dorm to see the next demo. There were three dorms so there was three groups of people going from one dorm to another watching the demos. One was using yarn and tieing knots in it to make a long scarf, Another was using coffee filters and round pieces of paper to string together and make a garland, And the last demo was making a tiny house out of card stock......After all of that we all hung out in the living room area where we stitched and bitched. Wonderful group of women.
Fridays breakfast was scrambled eggs with spinach and french toast and fruit. My class this day was Discovering Paverpol. I have had some Paverpol in my closet for awhile now and really didn’t know how to use it.....thus the class. We made a wire armature of the figure we wanted to make.....mine was a woman sitting down. Then we wrapped the wire with aluminum foil. After that we cut up white cotton t shirts and dipped the strips into the Paverpol and wrapped it around the form. The liquid reminded me a bit like mod podge. Once you had your figure completely wrapped it had to dry. I sat mine on the window ledge and when it was dry I painted her. The teachers had paper clay faces for us to use and I put one on mine. The classes go from 9-12, break from 12-1 for lunch and then 1-4 and it goes fast when your trying to complete your project. I finished painting her back at my dorm. Lunch was a grilled chicken breast sandwich with cranberry chutney and dinner was baked tilapia with pesto and roasted cauliflower. Usually I don’t like cooked cauliflower but I have never had it roasted before. I think I have found a new favorite veggie. That evening we had vendors night where the teachers and a few of the students had booths where they were selling their stuff. I got a book from Theo Ellsworth. I love his illustrations.
Saturday breakfast was scrambled eggs with tomatoes, blueberry muffin and fruit. The class is Treasure Nests. In this class we used half inch cotton cording and wrapped it with strips of cotton fabric and then coiled these into baskets. Very cute. After we finished making the baskets we embellished them with beads, fibers, etc. The teacher was great. This was her first class and she was a very good sport. At one point in the afternoon she left to go to the bathroom and told us keep working and not to go anywhere. Of course as soon as she went into the bathroom we all got up and ran down the hallway and hid. We waited until she returned to the room and she started laughing. We were like 5 year olds hiding from the teacher. It was so funny.
Lunch was grilled cheese with tomatoes and fruit. Dinner chicken enchiladas. Tonight was show and tell. Everyone put their projects out on the downstairs table in their dorms with cards filled out as to who the artist was, the class and the teacher. It was great going from dorm to dorm seeing what each student made.
Sunday morning was scrambled eggs with chives and a strawberry rhubarb pieish thing. Pie for breakfast! Fabulous. I finished packing and Prudy had arranged for the taxi to meet us in the parking lot at 9:15. I waited by the elevator while Prudy brushed her teeth and when she returned to her room she realized that she had locked her key in the room. We got the emergency number and called to have someone come over to unlock the room. It would be at least 15 minutes before they could do that and my flight was before hers so I took the taxi to the airport. Taxi drivers are absolutely insane. I stopped watching him driving and shut my eyes. I figure that my watching him wasn’t going to prevent an accident. We did get there safely and I got on my flight and home safely. Arrived in Santa Barbara around 5:00. Jerry took me to the Elephant Bar for dinner. Artfest is was a wonderful retreat with great people and classes. There are less than 100 people at this retreat so it is much more intimate and you get to know each other over meals and classes. I am thinking about putting in a proposal for teaching next year. If you ever get the chance to attend ArtFiberFest it is a must. Tracy and Teesha Moore go above and beyond to offer such a wonderful venue.
Things I learned at ArtFiberFest:
a) I love Portland and want to go back to explore the city;
b) Anal bleaching ;
c) I am able to sleep on a mattress that is covered in plastic and makes me slip and almost fall out of bed;
d) some people's grandmothers have large black vibrators that they insist on using and bringing with them where ever they go (you know who you are);
e) I can laugh till I pee my pants;
f) I really enjoyed being around a creative bunch of people. I usually work alone and am not around too many people.
g) I can't wait until next year!!

I have posted pictures of AFF on my Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40111833@N02/sets/72157620958779474/