Patty's adventure to Canada began with usual delay in Chicago, 3 days teaching in Toronto, and a detoured drive to Ottawa after yet another snow storm.
Once here, she began with her standard three day Advanced Fusing Workshop. Ten lucky students learned more than they could have imagined on the first day, and then got to put that new knowledge to use in a variety of projects. A group dinner at Capone's West, (in the new, green side of course) was a great way to end the second day.
An introduction to coldworking kept everybody busy on the last day. A few smart people fled early as the incoming Perfect Blizzard began to bury Ottawa under 55+ cm of snow. Patty and Rachel got to experience the fun of digging stuck vehicles out of snowbanks.
The second course was an Intensive Three Day Fusing Workshop. The daily list Patty taped to the door had nine projects on it, and they all were finished by the end of the first day. This group, having taken classes before with Patty, was familiar with her style and heavy workload, and took charge of their work.
The second day was more detailed works of art, with lots of advanced techniques put into action. The MK Twist in the Vitriograph was a popular project. Several students freely shared their own special ways of doing things with glass. K2's Large Pot Melt Bowl almost walked out under many different jackets, but it was too big to go un-noticed. The second day ended with a picnic dinner in front of the Glory Hole while some cane was being pulled. The only thing missing was the marshmallows and some torches that worked properly. There had to be a technical glitch at some point.
Triptychs were the premier project on the last day. A final group dinner at Lone Star was a proper send off for Patty, before the group headed off in all directions.
We would like to thank the many companies who most generously donated glass and material to our two workshops, Spectrum Glass, Uroboros Glass, Coatings by Sandberg, and Glassline Paints. Thanks as well to Center de Verre and ASW for providing the lap wheels in a timely manner, and the staff at Hollander Glass Canada for their efforts in procuring all manner of material necessary for these workshops. And of course "the hostess with the mostest", D from the Empire's Catering Division, who had plenty of coffee, drinks, snacks, and fab-u-lous sandwiches for all students to recharge on throughout the days.
We must thank Patty for all her hard work and long hours, with only sips of Diet Coke to power her, while teaching here at Stained Glass Stuff.
Patty has already committed to return to Ottawa to teach in 2009, around the same time, early to mid March. We have not yet figured out what format the workshops will be, but stay tuned. We do have a list started of interested people, so sign up now. Her classes always fill up months in advance.
We will be posting pictures of the highlights on our website sometime in April, when we get around to it. We have burned DVDs for everybody who attended of all the pictures taken by students with digital cameras who were at the workshop, so if you don't have yours yet, it is here waiting for you.
A suggestion from K2 was that all the students from the workshops get together in six months as a kind of mini-class reunion. Late August was proposed. Again, stay tuned for more details as they develop.