Sunday, November 05, 2006

Elsie Flannigan scrapbooking class

Towards the end of the class (a year in photographs journal - some photos are on Elsie's blog) there were lots of photo ops asked for with the star teacher.

On the right, Elsie's computer which ran a slideshow of her images throughout the class. On the table on the left, some of the threads available to us.

I scrapbook less than I quilt - scrapbooking and using scrapbooking techniques have been functional, roads to catching family moments for calendars, for instance, and I've drawn on them for quilting projects (eg tags, and using brads). I don't have a zillion albums or pages done, so I'm no expert.

I'm rarely overwhelmed in a quilting shop, in that I always feel (without really thinking about it) that I can manage the cornucopia I see and so create happily. Scrapbooking supplies offer an almost overwhelming choice - narrowing myself down to actually making something is more difficult, as my brain keeps whizzing with "what if?" and "what if?". The other scrapbookers at my table were far more experienced, and efficient, than me.

In some respects, including retrospect (!) what I'd probably find more useful for me would be a techniques class rather than a project class - practising doodling, and handwriting variations, for instance, to expand my repertoire for use in my own work. This is no criticism of the class - Elsie's project was a great idea and much enjoyed by the ladies there - but rather an observation of my creative journey. The ladies went away with a terrific array of journals in funky felt bags.

What did I learn? Although the class requirements didn't specify it, I bought/brought a white pen, as Elsie's work uses these. Writing on my photographs - which I haven't done before - was a good step on my creative journey. Thanks, Elsie!

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