Four weeks ago I posted “Fabric Collage Dispatch: Greetings from Beautiful Bar Harbor!” I find it hard to believe it’s been only four weeks since the class I was teaching there ended. It’s been a full and busy month since then and I’m just now getting around to finishing my “report” on this great class in my home state of Maine. It’s been fun to review the work that was accomplished in that week, and very satisfying to be finally sharing this event with you.
A reminder that my new Captivating Cats Fabric Collage 4-Week Follow-Along
begins on Thursday October 29, and continues on Thursdays, November 5, 12, and 19, 2026, 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Check out the Follow Along class details in this post: The Captivating Art of Fabric Collage—New Learning Opportunities in 2026 and 2027
Cat Portrait pattern and Follow Along email will be sent to all registrants.
It’s been a few years that MISA—Madeline Island School of the Arts—has organized classes of a variety of arts at their Bar Harbor campus. I’ve taught here for most of those years, and each year has been a pleasure. Of course, I am a bit biased. I chose to make Maine my home state about 40 years ago and though I’ll never be a native Mainer, I’m happy to be forever considered a transplant.
Regardless of where I go on my travels, I’ve found that early morning walks in any town with store windows offers great opportunities for photos that not only capture the displays of the wares inside, but also reflections of the outside surroundings. I only got out wandering these quiet streets one morning, but what a treat to find a famous Maine novelist gracing the window of a town bookstore.
Meet My September 2026 Class at MISA in Bar Harbor, Maine!
I thoroughly enjoyed spending the week with the women in my class, but then I always do. I’ve been quite fortunate to have classes filled with those who are as fond of playing with their fabrics and making creative messes as I am, and we part as friends. This year, half of the students were returnees from last year’s class, which gave a bit of a September homecoming feel.
Our first dinner together was a return to the Bar Harbor Lobster Pound. The evening temperature ran a little cooler than last year, but the conversation was lively and the food was a good introduction to Maine cuisine—complete with lobster bibs if needed.
For this week’s and next week’s posts, I’ll be breaking the class into two groups—the Bar Harbor First Timers, and the Returnees. Each post will introduce you to seven of the fourteen students in this class of open subject matter for all levels.
Today’s First Timers may be new to this Maine location but not necessarily to my fabric collage classes. We’ll begin with Sandra Koterba, who has taken one of my 5-day online classes. Farther into the post is Jill Lundin, who describes herself as a “complete beginner,” though she already was quite familiar with my Sea Turtle eWorkshop, and made great progress on her own version.
All-in-all, in this post I’ll be showing off the six critters and one sweet little girl, collaged by the Bar Harbor First Timers. Stay tuned for next week’s post featuring the work of the Bar Harbor Returnees. Enjoy!
Be sure to click on the smaller photos to view them larger and to scroll through the photo galleries.
Student Work Gallery
Below, you will see each student’s end-of-week collage, followed by in-progress sequence photos.
Sandra Koterba
Sandra traveled with her husband from their home in Clifton, New Jersey. Sandra’s goal was to create dimension—especially in the muzzle—of this portrait of a dear friend’s German Shepherd, Jack.
Helen Bellomo
Helen is from Natick, Massachussetts. Helen’s goal for the week was to bring yellows and oranges into the fabric version her perky and playful two-toned pup.
Mona Lagan
Mona traveled to Maine from Weston, Wisconsin. Mona’s goal was to learn more about blending within values of a color—using a brilliantly colored Mandarinfish as inspiration.
Ellen Heath
Ellen is from Easton, Pennsylvania, and also traveled to Maine with her husband. Ellen’s goal was to bring out the warmth and calm emotion of her beloved coffee and cream cat, Dewey.
Jill Lundin
Jill was able to drive back and forth to class from her local summer home in Bernard, Maine, on the other side of Mount Desert Island. For her first fabric collage, she chose my sea turtle pattern as her subject so she could concentrate on learning how to better blend from one color and value to the next with her fabrics.
Nancy Ison
Nancy traveled from Sylva, North Carolina to get started on a portrait of her daughter’s cute and curly pup, Barley.
Linda Kearns
Linda lives in Westerly, Rhode Island. She exceeded her goal to finish the facial features of her granddaughter, and completed the first draft of a lovely portrait.
See you next week with the other half of this group of talented artists and lots more fabric collage art in the post: Part 2—Catching Up with September’s Class in Maine!
One more Windows of Bar Harbor (Ba-ha-ba) photo—I couldn’t resist including it. 😉
