Pinthila wrap-up

Karen and Natividad, at the end of the class. I'm glad I stayed with it. By the end of the third day, I began to feel comfortable, and by the end of the week, I was stitching in every direction, with much more control. Natividad has been doing this for 25 years, I can't expect to be as fast or as controlled as she is in 35 hours of work!












Michaela's work. She really moved quickly, and created a beautiful design.
















My design at the end of the fourth day. By Friday evening, I had filled in the rest of the shape, and the quality of the stitching was much improved!

We commisserated when we heard a cry of, "No, no, no"!  That meant that someone had accidentally pulled out the last few precious stitches.  Those cries became fewer and fewer by Thursday.





















We had a 'cutting' ceremony at the end of the evening. Maria asked Natividad to walk through the gallery, and talk about a few of the pieces, then asked me to join them, too. I didn't understand much of what was said, but a few things were clear: she loves what she does, and felt a deep attachment to both the art and the process.

It's been a long week. I'm proud to have been in the class, and proud of what I learned. Will I do more? I don't know, but do know that her work has inspired me to look at embroidery in a very different way.

Salud, Natividad!