Around campus

Arrowmont as it caught my eye

The library from the inside out

And from the outside in

This peaceful spot is just outside the metals studio and one of the few places the wi-fi worked for me. 

If you had emails from me, this is where I was when I sent them. 

If you didn't, sorry, but I was prolly too busy nosing around taking odd photos.

Even the concrete floor of the auditorium caught my eye

Gnome carrying golf clubs and fishing pole (paint scratch)

Alien hiding in the wall

My friend on the wall

In at the deep end

Two whole weeks!
Two weeks to try something totally new
Far away in Gatlinburg

I was attracted to Betty Helen Longhi's work on her website and in particular her vessels for tears, the personal chrysalis and her zen garden sculptures

So the images above were inspiring enough to get me in the door to try my hand.

These are the forms we are aiming to make from flat sheet metal

Way out of my depth here. This is something totally new to me. 

All of these started life as single pieces of flat metal??? Really?

Yikes!

Still,  Betty Helen and her assistant Tina (left) are going to guide us through the process.

Gulp.

Lately I'm more used to metal clay than pounding with hammers so I'm a little daunted!

Still by the end of the second day, I managed to bash out a few shapes!

Arriving at Arrowmont

(Apologies in advance if I offend anyone from these towns)

Travelling from Cornwall to Tennessee took me a day and a half.

I started to wonder what kind of torture I was in for as I passed through Pigeon Forge.
The place is tacky beyond belief and so wildly over-the-top that it is almost a parody of over-the-topness!
Just along this one stretch of road in quick succession we have all kinds of nightmarish places to have a 'themed dinner'.
Battling Lumberjacks anyone?

Here's some snaps that should come with some kind of disbelief warning

My personal favourite below; a full-on (slightly) scaled down Titanic replica complete with iceberg.

(for scale you should realise this is on the opposite side of the three lane highway and we are in the middle of the three lanes on our side of the road!)

Hard to choose though.
It was a close call between the Titanic and the Totally Upside Down Mansion!
Yup, it's resting on the pointed roof there.

Sorry the snaps are not the best but I was shooting in horror from my taxi, thinking somebody had slipped something into that airplane coffee!

And once we got to Gatlinburg, my heart sank because the surreal 'situation' didn't get any better.
However, I needn't have worried because hidden away down a little lane in the middle of this ghastly place was an oasis of peace and tranquility.

Ah Arrowmont.

Sigh.

It seems somehow appropriate that I find myself staying in the WILD WING though

These friendly folk will be my fellow classmates for the next two weeks for the Shell Forming class. 

And this photo is taken in the all-important dining hall; venue of many a good meal accompanied by interesting conversation. 

The studio is fab. Spacious and well equipped

Filled with creative bods ready to work

There's a clever viewing balcony which runs through all the workshops up near the ceiling which means visitors can see whats happening without even entering the studios. 

Looking down on the studio from the balcony you get an idea of the size of the workspace

Looking forward to getting stuck into some hammering!

First things first

Before jetting off for a lengthy sabbatical, I knew I needed to spend time appreciating the things I love

Cornish vistas

Leafy lanes...

And a family camping trip on my doorstep

We had fun testing out all the vehicles

                                                      Lots of nice walks

Fun feeding the pigs

Getting braver about feeding the pigs

We found a birds nest in the wood pile. It must have been built around one of the branches when the tree was felled. Sad but beautiful

And cuddling up after a tiring day 

Drinking my fill before I leave

I'm going to miss this....

Still, adventure beckons.................................

Lights, camera, ACTION!

So now the secret is finally out.
For the last few months I've been feverishly filming ready for the release of our new Home Study Diploma.
Well, before I left for 6 weeks sabbatical that is.

The workshop was in use during the day (and the farm is pretty noisy in daylight hours) so when Julia finished teaching at 6pm I would head in for filming until dawn.

The clock you see in the background here says 5 -in the morning!

This went on for weeks so we could complete two 90 minute DVDs

and the late night routine is pretty unhealthy after a while...could send a gal a little crazy