Friday, July 23, 2010

Peters Valley Craft Center

My summer working as the Weaving Studio Assistant at Peters Valley

If you have never heard of Peters Valley Craft Center before I encourage you to visit their website.   The craft center is located in a beautiful area of the Delaware Valley Water Gap in Layon, NJ.  I have taken many Fiber Workshops there including a woven and felting workshop with Loretta Oliver.  Taking these classes at PV gave me inspiration and an opportunity to learn new and different art techniques with other artists from all over the country and the world.  Last summer I was given the opportunity to be a studio assistant for all the Weaving and Sculptural Fibers Workshops.  I learned so much that summer!  It was truly a blessing to spend my summer with amazing artists, creative friends, and passionate instructors.  
 
 With the nature that surrounds you in the Valley it is hard to not be relaxed and inspired.  I woke up every morning and saw this view out my window!  ( Not to mention the cute black bears I saw during my adventures hiking and swimming in the Delaware River. )

  

Each week in the summer there is a different workshop and instructor in each studio.  There are 8 studios at PV: Blacksmithing, Ceramics, Weaving and Structural Fibers, Surface Design Textiles, Fine Metals, Woodworking, Photography (digital and B&W), and Special Topics (painting, glass blowing, cake decorating...).  So each week there was a new group of people taking all different types of workshops and with them comes a new team of extremely talented instructors from all over the country and world.  I had so much fun talking and spending time with everyone that I met there.  Everyone had a different story to tell and experience to share which makes Peters Valley a truly special place to learn, teach, and be creative.  

These are some example swatches from the Experimental Knitting Workshop with textile and knit designer Elyse Allen!  This was one of the many favorite workshops from that summer.  So much color, texture, and fun techniques to learn and experiment with I never wanted this workshop to end. 


My summer at Peters Valley has had a lot of influence on my artwork. I learned so many new techniques within my medium and countless others that I now have more confidence to try new and adventurous ideas.  

I hope to continue to take workshops at Peters Valley and other Craft Centers to continue to learn new techniques and share creative experiences with wonderful and talented artists.