Day 3 | Waldorf Practical Arts Training
Welcome to Day 3 of Waldorf Practical Arts Training module 7, Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Welcome to day three of the Waldorf practical arts training. By this point, we are, well into our projects and eager to get started. Our lectures are enriching and provide opportunity for reflection throughout the module and beyond. For those who wish to do block printing, today was their day! After doing a design and carving out just enough, people could do block printing before getting deeper into their project. As I have lettering on my project, I was unable to do the block printing. I continued working along the edges of my design, realizing how slow this process is and resigning to the fact that I will not be getting this project done by the end of the module. I tend to prefer to complete my project during workshops or modules as I don’t tend to go back to them after the module is complete. However, I don’t think that this design is going to get done in time. If it were a more simple design or I had cut the block into four pieces as I’ve seen other people do so that they had 6 in.² pieces rather than a 12 in.² piece, I might have been more successful at getting my project done. But also, I only intended to work four days on wood carving as I wanted to reserve the last two days for copper work.
Following our hard craft session and lunch, we dove into our soft crafts. At this point, I’m ready to work on the backside of my quilt. I tend to get through projects pretty quickly, but often my precision is not as good as someone who takes more time. For this, while I am done with the front side of my quilt, it has gotten a little bit crooked. I tried to correct it, but honestly, it made it look worse. with a little effort, I was able to get the basic structure of the backside of my quilt complete so that by the time open studio came around, I can work on my Eco printing. One of the best parts of natural fabric dying is seeing the results. First, I unwound our project from yesterday and saw the beautiful prince made on each of the fabrics. This gave me an idea on how I can arrange the leaves for a new project. I brought in a 35 cm² silk chiffon scarf to Eco print. I chose various leaves and folded the scarf in a way that allowed more concentration of patterns towards one part, the lower part of the triangle. Next, we wound it up tightly around a plastic tube and set it in the water. It will slow slowly simmer for several hours before we unwind it the following day.
These intensive trainings run three times a year: February, April and June. You may join anytime. There are a total of 9 modules (3 year program) with each module including a soft and hard craft.
Participants may also join online but I recommend in person if possible! The energy of working together and being inspired by other students and the feeling of community is unmatched.
Learn more by checking the Waldorf Practical Arts Training. If learning more about the hard and soft crafts taught in a Waldorf school, this program may be right for you!
Check out the other programs offered by WISC to see if there’s a certification that aligns with your goals. Waldorf institute of Southern California
Here are some of the books we covered for this module:
Practical Training in Thought, The Seven Core Principles of Waldorf Education, Balance in Teaching: (CW 302a) (Volume 11) (Foundations of Waldorf Education), Mona Lewis (soft crafts instructor) Sun Sprite Handwork on Instagram.
