WORKSHOPS

© Hetty van Boven

Ozquilt Network Newsletter #27, March 1998

After reading Kathie Furlong's article, (Ozquilt Newsletter #26) I'd like to share how the structure of my workshops has developed. I started teaching patchwork in 1985, first locally, then gradually throughout Queensland and lately, interstate. We owned a country business until 1990 and since then I teach on an average, a day a week. This of course is not how it works as most of my classes are booked from February until October.

I keep a list of 12 workshops. Because I have quite a few groups who book me regularly, I am always on the lookout for new workshops, and try to add one or two every year. The workshops that are booked the least are then removed from the list. I let groups combine up to 3 workshop subjects. Each student chooses one for the duration of the workshop. I enjoy this and it suits the groups I deal with.

The enduring workshops are definitely the project workshops: Make an Amish Quilt (a choice of 6, some with many variations) and Double Wedding Ring have been on the list right from the start. In Shadow Applique students learn a particular technique but go home with a nearly finished block, and that workshop has been on the list since 1987. The last couple of years the most popular workshops were: Scraps Unlimited, where students can cut out the patches before the workshop, and which literally does seem to have unlimited settings, and Bias Applique, where they either do my own Rose Window Stained Glass or a Celtic Design by Philomina Durcan ( with permission).

Early workshops that went by the wayside were a workshop on colour and a design workshop which was based on pushing traditional designs into something unique. The reason people give for not wanting to book the colour workshop, is always the same: "I am no good at colour". And as for design, forget it! If you can't show a photo of the article they are likely to go home with, they will not consider it!

The other reason these workshops weren't booked was that, because they are more tutor intensive, they could not be combined with others. As people become more advanced and start to get a little bored with quilt recipes, they will ask for something different. I do try, but as soon as you talk about "exploring" "creative", "not for total beginners", the group loses interest.

Now I am a pragmatic person and love to teach, and I don't really have a problem with this. Once in a while I get a student who wants to do something different with the booked workshop subject, and it is exciting to help her achieve that. Meanwhile, I am happy to encourage each student to try something different, a different setting, a different colour, something a little unexpected, that makes her project a truer reflection of herself. And judging by my bookings, there are many quilters who love this workshop format.

In the meantime, there are others everywhere whose workshop needs are not being met, because they want to take a leap, bungy jump, take a risk, but it comes back as always, to economics. Most groups can't afford or are unwilling to book a workshop for 2 or 3 people.

The other aspect of this is that of the tutor. I started as a quilter who was asked to teach and found I loved teaching patchwork and enjoy writing instructions. Later on my artistic skills began to develop, but I still have a very strong commitment to teaching the quilter who wants to make a nice quilt or wallhanging and is not interested in becoming more creative. And I am certainly not prepared to apologise for that.

Those tutors on the other hand, whose main focus is on the art of quilting, are looking at teaching from another viewpoint and while their audience, if I can call it that, is smaller, I think they would also be more prepared to travel. I know of one particular Queensland tutor whose classes at summer and winter schools are always booked out, but who finds it difficult to get country bookings.

Combining teaching and art also causes a problem of time and resources. Teaching takes up a lot of time: making samples, preparing and updating notes, advertising, following up inquiries, organising travelling, answering calls from prospective students. The more you do, the less time you have for your art.

I am at present creating a body of work for an exhibition in September at the Brisbane Arts Council Gallery, together with Angela Humphrey and Jen Luck. I would have liked to have a couple of months just to work on that and applied for funding. The funding was refused, so while I am cutting down on workshops a bit, I do need some to have an income! So I'd better go and do something productive!

© Hetty van Boven 1998