I have been meaning to capture some of the highlights of my 2020 Artist-in-Residency (AIR) experience with Muskoka Chautauqua. Of course - early in the year I was anticipating going back for another week to teach a mosaic workshop - this time at The New Baldwins Resort in Windermere, Ontario - on the shores of Lake Rousseau. I had booked mid-July, 2020 in my calendar.
To learn more about my AIR experience in 2019 - go here. |
But as time went by, and we went into full lockdown due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it became quite clear that things were just not going to be the same. I received this email on June 10th, 2020:
Good Morning All,
Just wanted to provide another update regarding AIR this year. Clevelands House in Minett has announced that they will not be opening to provide accommodations this year, nor will there be accommodations provided in Windermere. This news, combined with group gatherings being prohibited, means that we will be unable to conduct our AIR programming in the traditional sense. However, we will be continuing to offer it virtually via livestream/zoom or pre-recorded videos. These videos will be posted during the weeks each artist was scheduled for (provided you would like to still participate).
These virtual workshop videos can either be: one video for your scheduled week of a couple different ones (it is completely up to you). Please let us know if you would be able to record a video of yourself teaching a workshop or if you need assistance with filming.
Kind regards,
Kelly Hart
Muskoka Chautauqua
I considered this carefully and then replied:
Hi Kelly:
Thanks for your email about this year’s AIR programme – and the idea to offer our workshops virtually this year.
I have given some thought to how I could teach my yellow mosaic workshop via video – see outline attached. Participants would need a kit – that could include the loan of tools and/or they would have to have their own tools. You could consider offering delivery services for the kits within a specified region.
I don’t have the capacity to shoot the videos as described – but I could come to Muskoka and we could do the video shoot at your end. At the same time I could bring the participant kits.
Let me know how you would like to proceed.
Thanks!
Christine
Getting ready to assemble the mosaic kits |
After a bit of back and forth, a plan came together to do a very professional video shoot involving five artists in mid-August. I decided to develop some Yellow Camino Mosaic arrow kits, complete with a set of instructions. And planned to create one arrow during the video shoot - accompanied by me teaching the process - if that seemed appropriate. I was ready! And then just "let it go" after that and trusted the creative process.
My accommodations on Lake Rousseau! |
Applying thinset to a yellow Camino mosaic arrow |
My pop-up mosaic studio in the woods on the shores of Lake Rousseau |
Using nippers to cut mosaic tiles |
Starting to add the 2nd layer of "bits and bobs" to the mosaic arrow |
Who knows where my mosaic journey will take me next? |
No comments:
Post a Comment