Monday, March 25, 2013

Details, Details

  

2/16 cottolin warp ready to thread


pattern for proposed summer tops - short sleeves and probably shorter length (cottolin is 'grabby' and I don't think I want that around the hips!)

Today's job list:

Wind five 10.5 meter long warps (10 inches wide) - one down, four to go
Weave rest of linen warp (about one yard)
Follow up NEWS Faculty Exhibit inquiry
ANWG confirmation arrived which means dealing with:

   Exhibit forms (decide what to send, measure, write descriptions, etc., find out when and where to mail, etc.)
   Housing form
   Travel form
   Accounting form (for payment)
Re-write workshop description for John C. Campbell and email

As you can see much of today is going to be spent on the type of administrivia which is essential (because conference/teaching planning is all in the details) and which will take up much of my day.  These sorts of tasks are the 'hidden' cost of being a self-employed teacher.  For weaving instructors who make their income from teaching, it is the sort of thing that must be done for each and every teaching event.

Not to mention workshop topic development, preparations for each workshop, banging out the details of the actual travel, answering questions from participants and so on.  The daily fee that an instructor gets paid while teaching has to extend to the hours spent in writing up proposals, sending in the breadth and depth of information conference planners are now requiring even before you are hired (which is an enormous amount of time and effort in the hopes that you will 1) be chosen and 2) that your offerings will actually get sufficient enrollment to go ahead - months in advance of any sort of payment...but I digress).

Now that the institution that I applied to for teaching has accepted me as an instructor, I'm hoping that their staff will deal with much of this administrivia and that, other than ensuring my travel arrangements are suitable, will just have to arrive and do what I enjoy - passing on my knowledge and experience to other like minded students of this ancient - and still current! - craft.

But somehow I rather doubt that is going to happen.  :-/

I'm still waiting for details of what teaching for this institution will entail - once I have that information I will share.

3 comments:

Sandra Rude said...

Nice pattern! It'll look great with the blue stripes.

Good luck with all the paperwork. I know you'd rather be weaving, but the paperwork is important, too :-(

Unknown said...

Laura, when will you be teaching at John C. Campbell again? What will the class be?
Thanks,
Suzanne

Laura Fry said...

Pam has booked me for another Boot Camp during the week of Jan 12 with a two day (Friday evening to Sunday morning) workshop on block weaves

I'm really happy with the warp now I see it on the beam. All colours that I wear frequently. ;)
Cheers
Laura