More than thirty years after I first ventured into a
classroom to teach, I still enjoy the excitement of sharing my skills
and ideas with those eager to learn. My teaching, both through workshops
and lectures, is an important and stimulating part of my life as an
artist. It has taken me to communities all over Australia, as well as
much further afield, to Great Britain, France, USA, Japan, Korea, and
South East Asia. In each of those places, I have been met by receptive
and enthusiastic students, and I hope I have enriched their lives just a
little, as they have surely enriched mine.
I do not teach product workshops, but rather process
workshops. In other words, students will usually not go away at the end
of the day with a finished article, although they may be well on the way
to completing one. Depending on the workshop, they will leave with
samples or work in progress.
However, I believe that what you take away in your
head is more important than what you take away in your hand. Students
will have learnt a new process, which they can use in a variety of ways
in the future, making anything from small items to large quilts. They
will leave the workshop with new skills, many ideas of how to use them,
and hopefully also the enthusiasm to explore those ideas.
Where suitable facilities are available, my workshops
sometimes include the viewing of slides of other students’ work, providing
inspiration and discussion of what works well and why. I also show
slides of my own work in progress, so that students can follow through
the whole process of how I use the technique being taught to develop a
finished quilt.
Some workshops are for the quiltmaking community,
others have much broader applications. Workshops specifically for
quiltmakers are suitable for those of all interests and ability levels,
whether they make traditional quilts or wish to explore more
contemporary design possibilities.
My workshop fees are quoted on a daily rate based on
6 hours of teaching, and for practical purposes workshops most have a limit of 15
students. Lectures vary in duration, but are approximately 1 hour in
length. I expect the host organisation to cover my travel and living
expenses for the duration of the visit. I am happy to be billeted, but
for health reasons prefer a smoke free home. If several different
organisations are sharing my services, then the travel costs are divided
equally between each group.
For overseas teaching engagements, my workshop fees
are negotiable, but usually structured to reflect what the top local
teachers receive. In certain circumstances either the workshop fee or
the travel costs will be adjusted in order to ensure that all party’s
interests are well served.
If you are interested in having me visit your area to
teach, or wish to inquire about my fees, please contact me. You can also
request a printable version of my workshops and lectures. Go to the
contact page to find my email address or other contact options.
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