Squam Art Workshop, Day 1

Do you remember the movie, On Golden Pond? It was filmed at Squam Lake in New Hampshire. It is an awesome place and home to the Rockywold-Deephaven Camps and the Squam Art Workshops.

We followed the signs to register and were welcomed by smiling faces, maps, personal schedules, goody bags, and jars of hand picked flowers.

I loved the railing on these stairs. Throughout the camps branches are used as railings and chair legs, very charming.

I shared a room with two friends. This is my bed, next to the windows. It was a wonderfully cool spot and I could hear the loons on the lake at night calling to each other. We had a total of 9 women in our cabin, wonderful, creative, friendly people. We got to know each other very well sharing one shower.

My goody bag had a skein of yarn, a book about Rockywold-Deephaven, the latest Martha Stewart Living magazine, a pattern (and yarn) for a little pin, and lots of other cool things.

Thursday morning was brisk and beautiful. We investigated the walking paths in the woods and around the lake. Thank goodness for my Off Deep Woods insect repellent.

I loved the canopy of green over the road. Although there were 125 attendees plus instructors, kitchen help, and assorted camp personnel it was possible to roam the woods and still feel totally alone.

My first class was Napkins, Placemats & Tablerunner with Catherine Slye. Our cabin was on the water with a beautiful view and a welcoming fire had been set to take out the chill.

We took a break and snapped some photos. On the left is my friend Ruthann, next is Catherine, our class instructor, me, and then Alison, another student.

I can't believe how much we accomplished in one day! I learned a lot. Here are the two cloth napkins that I made and beneath them my crazy quilted placemat. It was so much fun. We used repurposed fabrics that Catherine collected and brought with her, as well as some that Alison contributed (thank you). We followed a basic approach but had the freedom to create our own designs.

I love the colors Ruthann chose for her placemat.

This is a detail from Alison's placemat. She stitched around a flower printed on her fabric. Very chic.

I took some pictures on the way back from class. I would have loved to take a canoe out on the lake.

All of the cabins were supplied with split wood for the fireplaces as well as blocks of ice for our icebox. Yes, a real icebox.

This is the Rockywold Dining Hall where we had one great meal after another. So nice to have great food, lots of healthy choices (and desserts) waiting for us and we didn't have to do the dishes either. We just ate. And talked. And looked at the works in process from our workshops.

I think I started eating this before I remembered to take the picture. The fish had a mango salsa on top - wonderful.

Yeah, well, I could not resist the brownies. One day macaroons, one day Boston cream pie, the next day brownies. And ice cream every day.

At the back of the Dining Hall tables were set up to show the work we were doing. At lunch the pieces were partially completed and many were done at the end of the day. We all crowded around to see what everyone else was doing. I think the hardest thing about this event was choosing among the wonderful course options. Below is a bag made in the class, Coffee Sack Hack, repurposing with burlap. So nice!

The paper below is from the Color Class.

The class, Create a Painting in a Day was another course I would have liked to have taken. I like the colors and composition of this painting.

Whew! You've made it half way through the photos I plan on posting. Can you feel the excitement, the creative energy, the fun? I carried a notebook with me jotting down ideas from classes, details, techniques, email addresses of new friends, everything I needed to remember besides the photographs. I plan on continuing with this "idea journal" to capture the energy that I still feel from SAW.