On the one hand, that was great because it was incredibly convenient. For nearly all of it I commuted home at night, which meant I was able to still attend an evening orchestra rehearsal, I could check in with the kids in person, and sleep in my own bed. On the other hand, driving back and forth to Chicago every day was exhausting, and there is something to packing up and leaving town and not being distracted by your normal everyday life while trying to immerse yourself in another experience. Overall, though, it was great to have the workshop so comparatively close.
The workshop was held at the Chicago School of Violin Making. I have several friends who got their training there, and my own teacher taught at CSVM for years before moving to Wisconsin which is where he took me on as a student. I enjoyed having a chance to work in that space for a week and get a feel for what that environment is like.The workshop was led again by Joe Robson, who is a varnish maker, and luthiers Marilyn Wallin and Todd Goldenburg. The dozen or so of us in attendance spanned the range from people oil varnishing for the first time to accomplished builders. It was a really pleasant and interesting group.
