Saturday, November 15, 2014

Gathering at The Prairie

Gathering


n. noun
1. The action of one that gathers.
2. That which is gathered or amassed; a collection or accumulation. 
3. An assembly of persons; a meeting.
Art Retreat at the Prairie was all of these.



Barb Solem of ViviMagoo Presents chose the perfect place to host an art retreat.  Rachel Ashwell's Prairie consists of the main lodge, several small cabins, a barn, and the main house where the shop and kitchen/dining room are.  All have been decorated in Rachel's shabby chic style and are so comfortable and homey.  The secluded, intimate setting lends itself to introspection, creativity, and coming together with friends, new and old.







I stayed in the Liliput Lodge or as it was being called, "The Big House" (not the one that Johnny Cash sings about though).  Here is a picture of my bedroom and the bathroom.



 Sweet little amenities



My teaching space the first day for botanical dye printing was on this lovely screened in porch that you see Rachel Ashwell sitting on the steps in front of.



It was the perfect place for dyeing but the second day of class the rain had set in and it was too chilly and damp to be out on the porch so we moved inside.



These rooms were transformed with extra tables, botanicals that had been collected, and all sorts of rusty items along with fabrics and ribbons to dye.  I am not very good at documenting with photos.  I get busy and distracted and forget all about taking them so you only get to see the pristine setting before we converged with all our "stuff".

Students work










After two days of botanical and rust dyeing the scene changed. Students arrived to reconstruct unloved shirts into a new garment.  Again I only have pics of one student's work and I'm sorry because there were some great garments being created and I have nothing to show.  Perhaps the students will send me some pics?

Here's Stevie in her upcycled art shirt.





At the end of the day the table looked like this as wine was brought out to toast our wonderful time to"gather".


At dinner there was a bit of shenanigans going on with lots of fun and laughter.




Thank you Barb, The Prairie and all my students and friends!






11 comments:

Deryn Mentock said...

Lorri, you stinker! What a horrid photo of me trying to kiss Diane! ;) So terrific to see you at The Prairie. xxoo

Deryn Mentock said...

Oh, I just noticed you got a great shot of my basket weave ring with Diane dancing around like a rock star. ;)

Joanne Huffman said...

I really want to go to this sometime.

Vivi Magoo said...

Thanks for joining us at The Prairie, Lorri! Your classes were amazing! Everyone wants you to come back! We hope to see you next November when we return and do it all again!
http://artretreatattheprairiefall2.blogspot.com/?m=0

The Creative Beast said...

How wonderful!! I recently learned about Rachel Ashwell's lovely bed & breakfast/hotel but didn't know that art retreats could be held there...it looks like a wonderful time was had by all! One of these days I really MUST take one of your dye workshops Lorri!

martha brown said...

I want to come next year! Seriously!

Vivi Magoo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Vivi Magoo said...

Martha - you MUST join us next year! You'll be so glad you did! Seriously!

Vivi Magoo said...

Hi! We host an annual mixed-media art and jewelry retreat at The Prairie each fall. We would love to have you join us! Barb

Vivi Magoo said...

Joanne - We would love to see you at The Prairie next November! You'll have a wonderful time! Guaranteed!

rivergardenstudio said...

Lorri, this workshop looks like it was amazing, the student work is lovely and the setting is amazing.
xox roxanne