On the Road Again…

The first workshop of mine that had to be cancelled due to covid was to have been held on March 24-27 of 2020. The first workshop that I was able to teach live again was held on March 24-27 of 2022 in Raleigh/Durham NC. I am taking this as a hopeful sign that these are to be the bookends of this seemingly endless time and we might be beginning to emerge back out into the world again.

After two years of watching with dismay as one after another workshop was either postponed or moved to zoom, I was beside myself with excitement when I went online and booked my plane ticket. Then I had to think about all the adaptations I’ve made in the ways that I now teach online, which ones I wanted to carry forward into a live workshop, and which ones I wanted to go back to from before. And then I had to remember how to pack for a teaching trip again.

Despite waking up to an unexpected winter storm and having to shovel snow at 6:00 am before driving to the airport, everything on my trip went smoothly. As we descended over North Carolina I remembered how much I love coming to a new place and seeing an entirely different landscape. As much as I love the open skies and subtle colors of the New Mexico desert, the tall trees with their fresh spring green leaves and the vibrant magenta of the redbud trees were a balm to my soul.

The Triangle Weavers Guild had a tag team of members ready to make sure that my visit was a wonderful experience. Sharon picked me up at the airport and took me to the beautiful home on 20 acres of my hosts Victoria, David, cat Uli, and almost-real greeting dog Sebastian.

I had an upstairs bedroom, and each morning when I woke up I would look out towards the barn and see the three goats, Izzy, Betsy and Wilson, starting to emerge into their yard for the day. It was a little wet and muddy to spend time with them the first couple days I was there, but on my last evening we went out and I was able to spend a little up close and personal time with them.

My first full day there was free until my evening program for the guild. Dianne picked me up at the house in the morning, and drove us out to the nearby town of Hillsborough. It is a lovely, quaint, historic town dating back to the Revolutionary War. We started out by going down to the Riverwalk along the Eno River.

Walking through these woods and being surrounded by so much green reminded me of all the years that I used to live in Oregon. One of my favorite sights along the way was this wonderful Bee Hotel and the adjoining Pollinator Garden -

After spending some time walking along the river we headed back into town and walked along the streets lined with historic red brick buildings, stopping into a few shops and galleries along the way. As we walked down one street I noticed a wall filled with a mural painted in tribute to Billy Strayhorn -

Billy Strayhorn was an incredibly talented pianist and composer who collaborated with Duke Ellington for many years. He spent part of his childhood living with his grandmother in Hillsborough and learned to play the piano while he lived there. He was best known for writing the jazz song “Take the A Train” while riding on the A Train on his way to meet Duke Ellington in New York.

Dianne and I had a lovely lunch while leisurely sharing stories, which is one of the things that I enjoy so much about teaching in person. Afterwards we drove out the the guild’s weaving center, where they have the use of three large rooms in an old schoolhouse. Several of the guild members were there in the large auditorium room where the workshop was to be held. There was plenty of space for the thirteen looms that were already set up and in the front of the room where I would be giving my lectures there were tables where I laid out my samples.

That evening I gave my Mathemagical Design program to the guild on zoom from a computer in Victoria’s office. It felt odd to have traveled clear across the country and yet still be giving the program via zoom, but everything went well and made a great introduction to the members of the guild and kickoff to the start of our workshop.

The next morning back at the weaving center we began our three days of the Double Rainbow workshop. Despite all having masks on, everyone, including myself, was so happy to be together weaving again, and we could feel each other’s smiles even if we couldn’t see them. I meant to take a class picture with all our masks on, but forgot to do so until it was too late. But I think we’ve all seen enough of people with masks on these past couple years anyway.

It was so nice to walk around the room and see all the different versions of the colors on the looms. One loom had been set up with a mixture of colors from several of the Lunatic Fringe palettes that I work with, and I liked it so much that I think it might have to become a new colorway called Carnival -

There were some new learning curves for me as I gave my lectures through slideshows instead of writing on a whiteboard and as I showed recorded videos doing the loom demonstrations from my own studio. Fortunately Deborah, guild president and workshop participant, was on hand to make sure that all of the equipment and technology worked together and behaved during the three days. I think that having to adapt my teaching methods for zoom has been a positive thing for me, and the consensus from my students has been that they get a better view of what I am doing at the loom by watching the videos and being able to see multiple views of what my hands and feet are doing than they were able to get by all being crowded around one loom at the same time.

Victoria hosted a couple small group gatherings at their home during the workshop, and she was definitely a hostess with the mostest and a fabulous cook to boot. I felt totally comfortable and utterly pampered during my stay with her and David.

My flight back home didn’t leave until a bit after noon, so Victoria took me on a tour through the Duke University campus with its spectacular Gothic buildings -

And then we drove and took a walk through the section of Durham where the tobacco warehouses have been beautifully revitalized -

Flying back home I felt so happy that everything went well and that I had been able to be with weavers in person again. Now I’m busy packing up supplies to teach a Mathemagical Design workshop in Cincinnati next week. I know that zoom workshops will continue to be part of my life as things go forward, but I hope that we will always be able to have these opportunities to gather together in person as well.