My second class at SAW was "Three Tools" with Terri Dautcher. Terri- the person and the teacher- was unbelievably generous, good-natured, funny, kind, and patient. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class with Terri you should run, jump, and elbow others out of the way- maybe in the face- to take the class (not really...). Also, her studio was nothing short of astonishing and is similar to how I imagine heaven must look. She has a place for everything and everything has a place and she literally has everything you could want for crafty or fine art endeavors.
Beginning: Terri picked us up from the camp and drove us the short distance to her house/studio where we would be spending the rest of the day. We filtered into her studio and all had our thunderstruck/speechless moment of awe. Once we recovered, Terri gave a very thorough review of the tools we were going to be using for the day: jigsaw, drill, and tape measure. She also reviewed power sanders, hammers, different types of nails and screws, washers, drill bits, importance of a level, and wood glue. She then encouraged us to use the surroundings, the wood available, a shelf full of idea books, and other various accoutrements as inspiration for designing our boxes. You can see, from the picture below- my ginormous smile and stary eyes- that I was a little overwhelmed by inspiration. This part of the day lasted a bit over an hour.
Middle: We all sketched, drew, and measured our designs for our boxes. Terri then took us outside and we started marking and cutting out the wood. The really cool thing about this part of the day was how actually helpful, kind, and supportive everyone was. We all took turns cutting with the saw, holding other people's wood so they could cut, sharing tools, etc. Assembly was equally utopian, classmates holding other classmates boxes so they could drill pilot-holes, spread glue, and screw the box together. This part of the day took the longest, at least 5-6 hours.
End: The end was fairly staggered. Terri gave us free-range to use any of her craft/art supplies and allowed us to stay as long as we needed to in order to finish decorating our box. Some people lined their boxes with fabric and used Terri's sewing machine to finish the job. She offered ideas and perfected the role of creative conspirator.
Wrap-up: We now use the box as an art-catch-all on the kids' craft table. It turned out great for storing the kids works in progress as well as general supplies.
One more parting shot of the fabulous studio...
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