Workshop preparation

Tomorrow I teach my first workshop! It’s about the design process. The students will go from exploratory play to generating ideas to generating designs from their ideas, roughly following the sequence of the book I’m writing. Then we’ll get into refining designs, identifying open design questions, and sampling to answer the design questions. At the end of it, my students will hopefully have a workable design in their hands, and – more important – some process tools to help them the next time they design something. In all likelihood they won’t want to use the entire process all the time (I don’t either), but hopefully they can find some useful tools in the box.

This is my first time teaching anything in twenty years, and I don’t think I’ve ever taught a class solo before, so this will be really challenging. Doubly challenging is the fact that I’m not teaching technique; I’m trying to teach students how to think independently about design. Teaching a technique would be a lot easier. As it is, I really sweated bullets over getting the exercises and sequence right, and I’m still not sure whether the amount of time I gave for the exercises is correct. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow!

Anyway, I’m doing the project-manager equivalent of biting my nails – which is to say that I’m compulsively organizing and planning.  You know, making checklists, reviewing lesson plans, digging through my stash and packing up anything and everything that might be useful at the workshop, etc. I think at this point I’m pretty well-organized and well-equipped. I hope, anyway!

I am also about 2/3 threaded for my Phoenix Rising sample! I hope to get it fully threaded and sleyed this weekend – I have Monday as a holiday, so plan to spend it writing blog posts for Creating Craft and setting up the warp. With luck, I just might do some weaving next week!

Off to bed! I didn’t get enough sleep last night, thanks to the enthusiastic ministrations of a hungry cat (was it really necessary to walk back and forth on my head for twenty minutes at 4:30 am??), so best to get to bed early. Tomorrow is coming soon!