Miscellaneous

1. A short-sleeve version of the Santa Monica Tee. If it looks like I'm being choked, I feel like I am. In fact, the top might be on backwards. That's one problem with this pattern - you can't easily tell after you're done sewing what's the front. Though from past experience, I could turn this top around and still feel like I've got a vice around my neck. Anyhow, isn't this lovely fabric? I got it at Vogue Fabrics. I wish I had more, it's just so dreamy looking. Speaking of Vogue Fabrics, there's a really big sale beginning tomorrow (however, if you go later today, you can start shopping early as soon as they change the sale signs). Silks, silks, silks (as it says in the store flyer) are $2.99 a yard, the Anne Klein collection, $4.99 a yard; lawn and voile, $1.99 a yard and leather pelts are 50 percent off. Get started on starting two seasons' worth of attire.

2. Interesting knitting poll results. It looks like 75 percent of you will continue your love affair with knitting needles through the summer, although one person will definitely not. I'm definitely with the sticks crowd. I'm working on a 100 percent cotton skirt. I've posted another poll on the side - check it out. It has something to do with Ravelry. One more thing regarding knitting: this year the World Wide Knit in Public Day is Sat., June 14th. The Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair organizers will be celebrating knitting in public at the Ogilvie (Metra) station downtown. They will gather at the Corner Bakery from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.. Look for the "Do It In
Public" signs. That's next weekend, folks. For those of you who live in Illinois, that means buy your $5 weekend Metra pass, get your act together needle-wise and head downtown. One drawback: if it's nice outside, you'll still be knitting inside. Rats, I know.

3. For Hat Lovers: Here's some more info about that fascinating millinery workshop straight from Eia's outbox:

FASH 602 001
Headwear Design: Straw Sculpture
August 17-August 23, 2008
1 credit hour
Instructor: Eia Radosavljevic
$100 Lab Fee

In this course students create headwear ranging from conventional to avant-garde using millinery straw in three different forms—flat yardage, braided, and traditional “hood” or “capeline.” Beginning with traditional techniques, students are encouraged to venture into non-traditional straw sculpting, inspired by the nature that surrounds them. Investigation and discussion of the historical, haute couture, functional, spiritual, or social roles of headwear will follow a visual presentation. No prior hand-sewing experience is necessary. The supply list will be provided in advance, and more difficult to find materials are provided by the instructor and included in the lab fee.

Registration info can be found here.

Ox-Bow requires full payment of all tuition, fees, and room and board at the time of registration unless you are applying for financial aid or if you are an SAIC degree student taking Ox-Bow courses for credit. Some classes require lab fees that also must be paid with registration.
Tuition Room & Board Full Rate Work Scholarship
One week
(non-credit) $520 $510 $1,030 -$330

One week
(1 credit)
UG rate: $1,025 $510 $1,535 -$510
GR rate: $1,140 $510 $1,650 -$510

Checks and money orders for credit courses should be made payable to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Credit card payments for credit tuition should be made through SAIC's payment partner, Tuition Management Systems (TMS), via their website, www.afford.com. Note that TMS charges a fee for processing payments.

All courses taken for non-credit must be paid for in full at the time of registration. Non-credit courses may be paid for by credit card, check, or money order. Ox-Bow accepts Visa, Mastercard and American Express. All checks and money orders should be made payable to Ox-Bow.

Refunds can only be granted if drop requests are made three weeks prior to the beginning of the class. A signature is required for refund; notification by phone of intent to drop must be followed immediately in writing by mail, or in person, before a refund will be processed. You will receive a refund minus the $50 drop fee. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for refunds to be processed. In the event that Ox-Bow must cancel a course due to low enrollment or for any other reason, full refunds will be given.

Additional Fees
A limited number of single rooms are available for an extra charge of $100 per week on a first-come, first-served basis. You will only be charged the fee after it is confirmed that you have actually received a single room; this may be well after you initially register.
Lab fees are listed with the course descriptions. Lab fees cover the cost of essential class materials supplied by Ox-Bow, fuel costs (if applicable), and costs of maintaining the studios. Lab fees are due at the time of registration.

Scholarships
While the deadline for scholarship applications has already passed, there may still be some work scholarships available. For any student taking an Ox-Bow course. Credit and non-credit courses. No deadline; apply at time of class registration; first-come, first-served.
Work scholarships are awarded by Ox-Bow on a first-come, first-served basis, and there are a limited number of scholarship positions available per course. Work scholarship students receive an award in exchange for working approximately 15 hours per week during their class session at Ox-Bow. Duties include housekeeping, building and grounds maintenance, and dishwashing. Award amounts are listed under Tuition and Fees. Interested students should apply at the time of registration for classes indicating interest on the Registration Form.

Ox-Bow's history
After almost a century in operation, Ox-Bow's mission has remained consistent--to serve as a haven for the creative process through instruction, example, and community. Founded by Frederick Fursman and Walter Marshall Clute, artists from the Art Institute of Chicago, Ox-Bow was to serve as a respite for artists from the industrialized havoc of Chicago. Today, Ox-Bow's longevity is due to the strength of this mission and the artists who have held true to it.

Fursman and Clute began this tradition after visiting the Saugatuck area one summer. They became enamored with the natural beauty of the area, as well as its rural isolation. They began teaching summer painting classes at the Bandle Farm on the east bank of the Kalamazoo River approximately one mile upstream from Ox-Bow's present location. In 1912 and 1913, classes were held at the Park House, down river and at the Riverside Hotel. In 1914, the School moved its entire operation to the Riverside Hotel - which soon became known as the Ox-Bow Inn.

The Riverside Hotel always supported the industrial and commercial trends that dominated the area. The proprietors of the Riverside Hotel, the Shriver family, originally built a small house in the 1860s on what was then the ox-bow shaped bend of the Kalamazoo River. After realizing the potential for trade traffic, they added onto their simple home in the 1890s, converting it into a 20-room hotel.

At the turn of the last century, Saugatuck's major industries began to decline. In 1907, the Kalamazoo River channel was straightened to flow directly into Lake Michigan, effectively cutting off the Riverside Hotel from its patrons. Due to a lack of guests, the Shrivers then leased the hotel to a group of artists for the entire summer. The industry of art and leisure was taking over as the area began to reinvent itself as a Midwestern resort community. The Riverside Hotel persisted as lodging for its clients even though the clientele had changed from traders to artists.

After Clute's death in 1915, with the support of a group of core shareholders including Isobel and Edgar Rupprecht, Fursman took over as director for the next 30 years. Also in 1915, Thomas Eddy Tallmadge, the renowned architect and architectural historian, came to Ox-Bow and quickly became its best patron, leaving 110 acres to the school upon his death.

Over the years, Ox-Bow has changed in many ways, but two things have remained constant -- Ox-Bow's mission to remain a haven for artists, and its fellowship with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1987, SAIC assumed responsibility for Ox-Bow's academic program and in 1995 Ox-Bow and SAIC formalized a sponsorship agreement that affirmed the synergy created in this unique relationship. Today, the relationship between Ox-Bow and SAIC, forged by Fursman and Clute, remains strong. This mutual commitment to preserving and nuturing the artistic process has benefited generations of professional, student, and amateur artists.

On that note, I'm out of here to go buy a hat. Stay tuned.