Yup, that's right. Art Camp. It's called Snow Farm (www.snowfarm.org) in Williamsburg, MA. The Boston chapter of the Society of Glass Bead makers sponsored a weekend retreat. My colleagues at the glass studio were going so I decided to join them. Here's how it went:
I left work at the usual time on Friday. The weather had cooled off significantly so I ended up stopping at home to grab some warmer clothes. This meant I got on the highway later than I had originally planned.
Now, Williamsburg is about a half hour north of Northampton. More or less, in the middle of nowhere. By the time I arrived, it was dark. Once I turned off the main road onto the lane that took me to Snow Farm, it was PITCH black. I mean, really, really dark! I crept up the gravel lane, going about 2 miles an hour, looking for something, anything, that would tell me where to go. Eventually, I ended up next to a building that had several cars parked behind it (turned out, I parked right behind the dorm building where I was staying...lucky coincidence!).
So, I parked and started walking around. In the dark. In the darkest of darks. I wandered around a bit and finally came across people with flashlights (which I never thought to bring with me). Another lucky coincidence -- I found my colleagues from the glass studio! They were kind enough to share their rum and cokes with me :-) The weekend had begun!
My glass buddies had a list of room assignments and with their help, I found my room and unloaded the car. For some reason, I didn't receive the email that told me what I was supposed to bring (thus, the reason I didn't end up bringing a flashlight), but I managed to bring the right things anyway...sleeping bag, towel, pillow, blanket...everything I needed to be comfy.
Sleeping accommodations at Snow Farm are comfortable, but rustic. Each room opens into an open corridor...roofed, but essentially out in the open. Each building has a shared bathroom. Yes, it's a coed facility, but there was a sign to let others know which gender was in residence. It seemed to work out well. But perhaps that's because most of the attendees were women ;-). Once I turned on the space heater (it was a dark and chilly night!), the room felt quite cozy and I settled in for the night.
Breakfast was served promptly at 8:00 (Two types of pancakes, sausage, yogurt and fruit, juice, coffee and more. Yummy). While we're waiting, I get to chat with some of my fellow bead makers. It's interesting to hear about people who really do make their living by making beads or other types of crafts. Also got some good tips about how to take pictures of my beads for online posting.
Then, it was off to class. I decided to take only one class and then use the rest of the time for open studio. My class was PMC - Precious Metal Clay. The other classes covered Soldering, Welding, Glass Blowing, and Bronze and Copper Metal Clay. Our instructor was fabulous and we had a great time making small items out of silver.
>>Sidebar: PMC is an organic clay with very small silver particles embedded in it. You shape the clay the same way you would with any type of clay. You can sculpt it or use molds and stamps to create elaborate designs. You let it dry completely and then put it in a kiln. After about a half hour, the clay burns away, the silver particles fuse together, and you're left with pure silver (99% pure). It's an amazing process. You can also use a liquid form of the clay to paint any organic item, such as leaves, flowers, sticks, insects, you name it. The kiln burns away the organic material and you're left with a pure silver flower, stick, insect, whatever.
After morning class, it's off to lunch (pesto pizza - a bit too salty -- and salad. They have an interesting choice of salad dressings. I choose Lemon Parmesan which is quite good) and then I had the entire afternoon to spend in the glass studio working on my bead making techniques. What a pleasure to just have time to practice, practice, practice. So, there I am, all focused on making half-way decent beads, when I notice that people are clustered around one of the instructors who walked in, oohing and ahhing. What a second...what's that she's holding? It's a HEDGEHOG! Yup, Joy has a pet hedgehog. It's about as cute as cute can be. I've never seen a hedgehog before. I pet it (kind of prickly, actually) and share a glance with this amazingly different and special animal. Sigh.
By the time dinner time rolled around, I was exhausted! As I walked past the Welding studio on my way to the dining hall, I stop in and check out what people are making. The welded sculptures are amazing. If I go back next year, I might consider welding...looks like tons of fun.
After dinner, most people head back to the studios to do some more work. Although my glass instructor made it sound like the evenings were all about late night parties, the reality was that by 11, most everyone was out of the studios and snuggled in their beds, including me.
Sunday, the routine starts again (breakfast is scrambled eggs and bacon, yum!). This morning, it's back to open studio again and this time I get a lot closer to perfecting a technique that eluded me the day before.
After lunch, it's back to part 2 of PMC class. We learn how to set stones, make bales and drill holes in our pieces. The afternoon flies by. Before I know it, it's time for dinner. Then back to the PMC studio to see if any of our pieces are done. The instructor shows me how to use a brass brush to remove the remnants of the clay and reveal the silver underneath. It's magical! From a dull, white, stone-like item emerges a bright, shiny, silver pendant. Cool!
And then, it's time to head home. I take with me the best of souvenirs...a pocket full of new beads and some, pretty silver pieces. PMC is now on my list as a possible artistic endeavor to pursue (yet another EXPENSIVE hobby). But, we'll see....
All in all, I highly recommend Art Camp!
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