Sometimes I forget that I have the power to change the course of things. This statement sounds a little dramatic, so let me explain…
Workshop proposals for art retreats are due early—sometimes, almost a year in advance. For example, I sent off my class proposals for Art and Soul 2013 on Friday. And I’m teaching a 3-day weekend retreat at Art Workshops by the Sea on the Oregon Coast in July. I planned the workshop and wrote up a schedule for it way back in December.
There are a lot of logistics around scheduling and planning these kinds of things, so I totally understand why it has to be planned so far in advance. But I had a sinking feeling that the Art Workshops class just wasn’t strong enough. And knowing that I’m going to Ranger U this week, I thought it would be much more appealing if the workshop was based on the techniques I’ll learn there. I stemmed and stewed about it, not sure what I could do, until I thought—well, let’s just see what the organizer says. Is she okay with some changes? How disruptive is it, administratively? And does she think what I think is on track?
So I asked. And while this might not seem like much of an “a-ha!” moment, I realized that it is possible—and important—to take a pause and get a second opinion…before it’s too late. I mean, I can ask about changes three months in advance—but not three weeks, and definitely not three days. Sometimes it’s easy to get tunnel-vision when you work alone, and think things are set in stone when there just might be a chance to make some adjustments.
And I think it made my relationship with the organizer stronger. She knows that I’m working toward the success of the event as well as the success of my classes, and the interests of the students, and that feels pretty good.
So…if you can make it to the Oregon Coast in July, and want to get the low-down on what I learn at Ranger U (plus some other stuff!) then please join me for a weekend of mixed-media techniques! Click here to find out more–just scroll down until you see “Mixed Media Techniques with Ranger Ink”. I’ll post up more project examples when I get back from Ranger U, so stay tuned!
Happy Monday! We’re celebrating Queen’s Day here in the Netherlands, where Amsterdam is awash in orange!
