A fabulous sample by Lynda  The group that were on my first Zoom workshop, A New Starting Point, 2 weeks ago, had their 2 hour Show and Tell yesterday. Again on Zoom. Wow!! what a great group. Such enthusiasm. Whilst Zoom isn't the best thing for a workshop, at the moment, it is the only choice we have. For the Show and Tell it was perfect. 12 students from the UK and Ireland, having a chat over coffee and talking about their work for 2 hours. What a treat it was, for all of us. I wanted to have some  sort of catch up after the Zoom workshops. I always wondered if the students had developed any work from any of my workshops when I used to teach pre covid. Some students were kind enough to send me images, but you never really knew.  With a dedicated catch up, 2 weeks after the workshop, it gives the group a chance to develop their samples, or do more, have a play . .  and have a date to work towards.  Just look at this collection of gorgeousness!!! A New Starting...

 Sample by Julia Zagar Well my first live Zoom didn't go too badly at all. I had 14 lovely ladies in the group who were great fun, and were patient while I learned how to 'pin'. There weren't too many hold ups and I think the flow was there. Zoom can never replace being the same room with your students, but it was a good second best as it was in real time. I have now discovered there is a 'spotlight' function that will help us all see one students work. Who thought we would all be learning all these new skills? A fabulous torn sample that works so well as the colour palette chosen is analogous/tones of one colour with silver highlights. It took a long time to set up for the workshop. Trying to think ahead. The students had a list of materials to paint and collect together before the workshop. The workshop was A New Starting Point, so we were working with painted Bondaweb, painted papers, gilding flake and transfer foils. The worst thing was not being there and b...

Torn newspaper layered with painted Bondaweb, decorated with gilding flake and transfer foil.   Well that's it!! There is no going back now . . I have just bought a Zoom licence. My first live Zoom Workshop is on Saturday, February 27th. I have been on the other side of many Zoom meetings, now I will be hosting my own. I am really looking forward to hosting.  I am offering 3 of my favourite workshops first, then I will be adding newly developed workshops from the end of May. The one day workshops run from 10am - 4pm. The first item on all my materials list will be cake! Cake, in any form, will be an important part of my workshops. Cake will be compulsory I am missing faces, happy faces, concentrating faces, 'I don't get it' faces and cheeky faces. Live Zoom workshops are the closest way for me to get to working with students. If we can't actually be together, at least we can see each other in real time. The workshops will consist of a one day workshop and then a 2 h...

The view across my field today  Happy New Year!!  All is calm on Loop Head today. The light is bright and golden and it is almost warm in the sun. We have just weathered Storm Bella - for 4 days!! That was a big one. With some amazing waves. But not as big as some of the waves we saw at the end of October - my goodness they were huge, as you can see from this image. Massive waves at the Kilkee Cliffs on the 28th October 2020. This is a short film I made of the waves. Wave Watching at Kilkee Cliffs  ***   It feels we have a lot to catch up on - but not much has happened. Time has certainly passed . . Who would have thought, this time last year, that we would be in turns afraid, angry, scared and just inert, with the feelings that Covid 19 and all the restrictions brought with them. I hope 2021 is finding you reasonably positive and healthy. With the prospect of the vaccine looming, there appears to be hope for us all. Do we have the energy for it? I don't know about ...