Eventually, scientists will prove that each day of a covid year is longer than a normal day and that each covid year is multiplicatively longer than a regular year. Until then, let’s just say that it was amazingly wonderful to be together for Ohio Scottish Arts School this year!
After two years online (in and of itself enough of a feat), it really was brilliant to be together making music, seeing old friends, making new friends, hearing pipers piping (especially at 7am!), drummers drumming, fiddlers fiddling, having snacks in the evening, playing (and winning!!!!) silly games, being cared for by Thistles – the whole sheebang! Wow was it great to be back!
Our new “home” has similar but different interesting architecture – perfect to explore.
Better still, we f-i-n-a-l-l-y got to move to our new “home” at Baldwin-Wallace University. We have a whole new world to explore – to find the nearest and best ice cream, to acquire the closest coffee, to spot the special architecture, and to suss out the mind-clearing walks – and boy, did we!
Although we’re not very far from our old home, everything is different in Berea
As usual, I was fairly busy being in the moment, but I did do my best to take some photos. I was just delighted to not be doing screen captures – and this year the OSAS photo is a real photo of all of us, together and laughing – having fun.
We revived some previous activities including learning to waulk fabric and sing the work songs with Seumas (and later weave that fabric into a beautiful cloth we could share. We held tight to some traditions – like Tuesday Tea. We thought we saw Nessie but it was just a stick.
I cannot thank my consociate teachers – Corrina Hewat, Sharon Knowles and Seumas Gagne – enough. They did heroic work being amazing musicians, phenomenal teachers, and acrobatically flexible. We even had captivating artwork for our lesson day when Corrina illustrated our names on the signup board. 
And everyone together made the week into a bumper sticker –
If you were at OSAS this summer – let me know what you liked best in the comments (but for complaints, send me a private email 
). If you weren’t there – I hope you’ll join us next summer!
What a great blog Jen! And I absolutely loved the week. You held it together with great aplomb! Loved all the participants. Lots of special times created, with space to make more when we needed, great rooms to teach in with adventures every day in temperature regulation 🤣 and level of player, and what to eat!! Tunes galore, such lovely intimate sessions, it really was a glorious week. It was a pleasure sharing the tradition with OSAS. Thank you xx
Can’t wait ’til next year!
It’s so good to be able to spend a whole week taking harp instruction with old friends and making new friends. Absolutely top notch instruction! I have come away from this week with so many tunes that I want to polish and keep in my repertoire. Even though there is so much packed into a week at OSAS, I came away feeling so rejuvenated. You, Jen, did a great job organizing our harp week as Sue Richards has passed the leadership baton to you. Even though there are inevitably so many last minute decisions that need to be made and problems that need to be solved, I enjoyed how you moved through the week in a calm and relaxed way. It was great to hang out with Sue Richards and Jo Morrison who were both attending as students this year—that’s a testament for great harp workshop leaders to attend an event as students. I love our morning singing, and Seamus leading us in Gaelic Waulking Songs and Corrina leading us in poignant folk songs was just the best! I’m glad Tiffany Schaefer found us a great new place to continue our evening singing culmination that we used to have under the Giant Weeping Beech Tree at Oberlin. Our new Singing Grove at Music Mound Park is a great place to gather. It was so good to be able to gather together, in person, and share such special time again. I just love all the Harpers who come—such good hearted people.
I had a great time learning new tunes, making new friends and enjoying the creative energy at OSAS! Thanks for all your hard work, Jen!
So glad you were able to be there eventually!
Jill, it was great seeing you again. Thanks so much for letting my try out your stunning tiger maple harp!
i wasn’t there this yr. we’ll seee next yr! l o n g drive from Maine….
nice pics. all the lever harps! ( not one pedal creature). 🙂
a draw for me would be Corinna so sorry to miss her!
Corrina (and all the teachers!) would certainly make the drive worthwhile! See you next year?
…and when you come next year you need to bring your Thormahlen Clare Harp!
she’s a ceili -mor
Ah, I was sooo close in remembering. It seems the Ceili-Mor morphed into the Clare? Anyway, I’d love to see and hear it. There were at least 2 Thormahlen Ceili’s at OSAS, and it’s great to be able to see different models. I do hope you come to OSAS regardless of what harp you end up with while there. The distance is daunting, so I hope you can figure out how to overcome that hurdle.
Come next year Kate!!!
I c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e-l-y concur!
alllrrriiigghhttt