the gift of guidance

For our current Digital to Textile challenge, one member asked us to use an old photo of her mom as our inspiration.  I wanted to create a glass portrait and incorporate that with textiles, as I have done before.

However, as the photo is of such low resolution, discerning facial features was a serious problem. As the eyes were in shadow, I couldn't get a good read on their shape. After innumerable attempts, I have finally come up with something that is at least an approximation. It is now in the kiln -- I am keeping my fingers crossed that the firing goes well.

As I fashioned my contours, I was guided by the sage teachings of my portrait drawing prof, who was 87 when I took his classes three years ago.  He is still at it, beloved and respected by all.

Great teachers are a precious gift. Thank you, Mr. Cooper.