Jaine Toth
The Creative Arts Center Open House always brings newcomers touring through the various studios to see what is offered and what draws their interest.
Kathy Gerritsen, a winter resident from Calgary, Canada, was one of the visitors last January. Kathy isn’t exactly a newcomer. “We built our house 13 years ago, but have rented it out most of the time,” she said. But for all practical purposes, she could be considered one since, she explained, “Last winter was our first extended time here.” That’s when she attended the Open House and zeroed in on the Paper Crafting Club. “I’d never even seen this type of artwork before. It looked the most appealing to me.” She joined right away and attends every week while she’s in residence.
A retired fifth-grade teacher, Kathy says, “I love retirement, but I do miss the kids, so when I’m home in Calgary I take sub days.” Having this craft time helps make the retirement even more pleasurable when she isn’t working as a substitute. She planned to set aside a lot of her time back home to create homemade cards. Then she and her husband, Chris, ended up selling their home, and her time was instead taken up with packing, moving, and unpacking. She told me with an air of certainty, “I have every intention of making a lot of cards at home next winter.”
Meanwhile, she’s catching up, working on a variety of cards for all occasions, especially her Christmas cards. She likes having all the equipment available at the studio. It saves space at home in addition to the costs.
I’m impressed by her organization. She cut cardstock to size, scored and folded them, and then bagged them. She now has a stack of blank cards in a variety of colors ready to be decorated.
“It’s so fun giving them away because people are always impressed when they receive them,” she said with a smile. She added, “I really enjoy coming to the studio. It’s so nice to meet all the different members. I particularly appreciate the classes and take every one they offer when I’m here. It’s helpful to learn new techniques, and it gives me ideas for when I’m working on my own.”