Residency- Burnsville, Talking suitcases- Susan Armington- 4 Hrs
Last week, Susan and I continued the Talking Suitcase workshop at the Ebenezer Care Center. As usual, we organized supplies into three groups. We finished assembling cardboard suitcases, that we'd eventually hand out at the end of each session. I was excited to give out these suitcases because it felt like a personal gesture. We wrote everyone's name on a different suitcase and stored their small hand-made objects inside. It was super pleasing to see high stacks of suitcases encapsulating numerous projects. The workshop is much easier to coordinate as we improve our mobility, efficiency and reliability. This past week, we had time to cart our supplies outside from one site to the next. The sunshine and fresh air was refreshing. I hope we will have time to walk outside every week.
It seems like there is a growing interest in each class. We see some familiar faces but we always learn more about each individual. In every session, there are some joiners, who sometimes stay and sometimes go. One joiner in particular stayed, but didn't make her own object. Instead she helped someone next to her. Everybody is engaging more with the group offering suggestions and moral support. The stories are developing elaborately as they make new hand-made objects. This week, they continued working on their stories from previous sessions. Many had already created a background for scenes depicting a favorite place, so they worked on pop ups and drawings to further represent that place. In preparation, Susan made templates of pop-up people that could be drawn or collaged on. I found they were incredibly useful because they were general enough, so they could be easily customized. She also provided handouts of step-by-step drawing tutorials. They included a range of different subjects. Susan is teaching me, that preparartion is crucial in any type of workshop.
Here, Susan and I sharpen color pencils so that they are ready for drawing.
Overall, the sessions were very engaged this week. People seem excited with their storytelling and art-making each time Susan and I visit. I'm eager to be back working with Susan and can't wait to see each suitcases filled with fascinating objects and scenes.