A Week at Arrowmont Art and Craft School

I spent last week at Arrowmont Art and Craft School in TN taking a Surface Design class from Pat Mink. Pat is an Associate Professor in the Art and Design Dept at East Tennessee State, located in Johnson City, TN. Pat is probably the premiere fiber artist working and researching printing on fiber using the computer.

Pat brought books and books of samples where she had tested fabrics using chemicals, not using chemicals, using an array of different fabrics. Pat has experimented with many fabrics and is very sharing with her findings.

I am not a big computer person but have managed through the years to be able to use the computer for my needs. My present work has expanded so that I now need to know more about Photo Shop Elements however, I did not wish to take a class where I had to learn everything the teacher wanted me to learn. I wanted to pick and choose the things I needed to know. Pat's class provided this for me along with the knowledge I need to print on fabric.

One of the books that Pat recommended highly for this class is "Digital Essentials" by Gloria Hanson. Pat felt that this book is excellent for the lay person, easy to understand. I agree.

This was my first time at Arrowmont and I found it to be an inspiring school. The school is located just one block off the main street in Gatlinburg, TN. However, you would never know that a busy street is just a block away. The environment is tranquil, the grounds lovely, the facilities wonderful the food good, the teachers well qualified and the students open to learning. It is with pleasure that I share the photos and comments below about this experience.