This past Friday I had the opportunity to check out the CREATE Retreat in Rosemont, IL at the Hilton Hotel. What an exciting event for those who love to design and create! Interweave’s, cloth.paper.scissors sponsored the four-day retreat which featured over 50 classes full of mixed media workshops. This is the first time Interweave has put on an event like this, but considering that some people came from the United Kingdom to attend (and registered 5 months in advance) it’s most likely something they’ll pursue in the future. What’s really unique about this event is the class size. The biggest class I saw had only 25 people per instructor. It’s basically like getting a private lesson!
Aside from learning new techniques, CREATE encourages artists, instructors and their students to socialize. You get to rub elbows with some of art’s finest instructors and it also serves as a nice stepping stone for artists and bloggers who aren’t as well known. It’s also great seeing how other students interpret various techniques. With Mixed Media art specifically, everyone is going to interpret their creation in a different way – like snowflakes, no two mixed media projects will be the same. It’s incredibly inspiring to see variations of the same technique.
There were so many great classes there it’s hard to choose a favorite. There was a “Larger Than Life” class taught by Alisa Burke, where HUGE canvases were painted and transformed into giant works of art. There was also a class called “Vintage Metal Deck” where participants created lovely vintage cards using old metal keys.
Basically, the hotel was bursting with art! Here’s a sample of a creation that was sitting on display outside of some of the workshops.
By Christine Leigh
If you’re into green crafting, you would have loved Alisa Burke’s trashy clutch workshop. Here’s my thoughts on the class:
Check out FaveCrafts editor Kari’s thoughts in her blog, The CREATE Retreat.
