Bath Textile Summer School, Day 1

First Day of Class

 Time for class! After getting my students registered,  there was no time to waste, as I had arranged for us to go up and view the Holburne beaded basket , up close and personal, out of its display case with curator Catrin Jones. 

  Catrin not only brought up the basket, but a casket and other 17th c embroidery she thought the students might enjoy. It was an extra special treat and I appreciated it greatly knowing how busy she was.

 After our viewing it was back to the Clore Room to get busy!  My workshop was four days, Monday and Tuesday, with a day off on Wednesday to let the brain and eyes recoup... then class on Thursday & Friday, 8 hours a day. It may seem like a long time, but its not, especially when working a large project like the Bath Arbor Basket. Students all received a kit with full step by step photo instructions on how to make their own basket...53 pages worth of instructions! Class time would be spent focusing on working the Ladye, and going over in person the techniques for working the frame & flowers. To me, there is nothing like seeing something done in person, no matter how good the written instruction is. 

I started class off with a history of glass, and beads in the 17th c.

This is some of what was in each kit. I hand made each and every frame, as well as sculpted a Ladye figure. 

  I sculpt each figure by hand, directly to fit the embroidery pattern. The afternoon hours of class today were spent walking the students thru the basket's frame construction~ covering the wire with wadding, silk and then wrapping with beads. It was really a great day~ my students were the BEST!

 After class, on the walk home, I stopped by VV Rouleaux, a wonderful ribbon shop that just opened a new store in Bath.

  Amazing ribbons....and feathers! One cannot enter in, and not come out with something....

 I very much enjoyed my walks home after classes...even though it was most all uphill!  Bath is an amazing city....I think I read there are 80,000 residents...but it didnt seem like that many to me. 

  This was the view from my bedroom window~ Thomas Gainsborough stayed at the beautiful house in the center while he lived in Bath in the 1760s

Lynne & Michael Roche, who run & organize the Bath Textile Summer School, we so kind and generous to host me while I was teaching. They put in endless hours of work to make the Summer School a success...they would bend over backwards to accommodate a request. They have both done an amazing job~ something like the Bath Textile Summer School anywhere else would take an entire team of people to organize~ I dont know how they do it. I'd like to publicly thank them for making my experience so enjoyable and stress free. I must also thank Flossie, my new favorite little fur angel~ just the sweetest lil thing on the planet~ for sitting happily on my lap...

 And Freddy~ just the most gorgeous Bengal I have ever seen....he was doing me a great kindness to let me take his picture.

A most wonderful supper to end a most wonderful day~ thankyou Michael & Lynne!