Hello Shapeshifters, it's Pam.
I'm just sitting here thinking about how fast summer came to an end. All the kids are heading back to school, and September through December always feel like such a rush. So many school breaks to plan around, fall vacations, the holidays, the parties... oh my goodness. Honestly, it feels like the busiest time of the year to me.
But looking forward to the leaves changing and the temps lowering got me gleefully thinking about the classroom. What happens at ShapeShifter is something special. When our instructors and students come together, to learn together, to be quiet together, it feels like real connections and friendships form. It brings such a peaceful, calming pause to the day. A time to recalibrate our minds and bodies amongst the zoom zoom. This is what we are so looking forward to... slow time. Time with our regulars and hopefully plenty of new faces, and to offering a place of solitude in the middle of the upcoming craziness.
Beyond improving your mental health and giving you something to look forward to, there are a few real benefits to signing up for your class now:
1. It protects the class you want. This fall session, we're sticking to our promise not to run classes that don't fill past a certain number of seats. When you sign up early, it lets your teacher and everyone else who's signed up know the class is on and will definitely be part of the fall lineup.
2. You're setting aside time for your mental health and your creative health. Which, honestly, I think are the same thing.
3. You actually get the class you want. A couple of our classes only have a few seats left. So if there's one you're really interested in and you haven't signed up yet, I encourage you to go ahead because once a class fills, the website will show it as full, and there will be a waitlist if you're interested in that.
My classes this fall:
One is part book club (Free Play: Improvisation in the Studio). I'm introducing a book I first read about six years ago, and it's a life-changing one. Not just for your art, but for your life practice. It's all about rediscovering your playfulness and how to bring more improvisation into your art.
My other class is a continuation of a skill builder I taught that combines drawing with pencil and charcoal alongside drawing with clay (Round Trip Expanded: Drawing Through Clay). This time we'll have two full days — six hours — to work on our clay sculptures. Then I'll fire them and we'll paint them. It's going to be a much slower paced class than the skill builder. Again no experience required. Just come as you are and rest.
We can't wait to see you this fall!
