Hello! I’m Shalene Germani and I’m from Ohio!  I have been married to my best friend for almost 30 years, I’m an aunt to a slew of nieces and nephews, and a dog mom to a fluffy white labradoodle.  Our favorite family activities are camping and kayaking — I’m truly blessed!

My 9 to 5 is in the field of sign language interpreting.  Until dotting, all my activities were related to interpreting — teaching, mentoring, volunteering… I needed something creative in my life!  But the problem was … I didn’t believe I was a creative person!  I can’t draw or paint well… I’ve never really been crafty… so I thought that meant I couldn’t be creative!

Then I discovered dot mandalas on YouTube.  And I thought this might be an art form I could actually do!  I mean … it’s putting dots on paper (or rocks or canvas or mugs or basically anything)!  So I bought a set of crochet hooks with flat ends with different sizes (raise your hand if you remember!) and I haven’t stopped since!

I’d been dotting a few years when COVID hit, those of us who were fortunate to be able to work from home left our offices and colleagues behind and everyone was looking for something new to do to fill the time.  I’d been teaching interpreting workshops through Zoom and I missed interacting with people, so I thought why not offer dotting classes online?  It turned out to be a good fit and Dotting with Friends was born!  I led dotting classes and sold kits and met some really amazing people along the way.

Interest in online classes eventually slowed down and I took a break for a while and then got back to dotting for relaxation and fun again.  Fast forward a few years and dotting is really a thing now!   There are tons of new artists and resources for dotting available — we have real tools instead of crochet hooks!  And we use stencils and brushes and mirrors and resin and cones and on and on!

Then I got the itch to teach again!  I discovered the 577 Foundation in Perrysburg, Ohio … they have an amazing history and community of instructors of all kinds of arts.  I am so fortunate to be one of them.  If you’re located in Northwest  Ohio — check out the wonderful things they’re doing and I’d love to dot with you in person!

If you’re not local, I’d love to help you in your dotting journey!  I offer beginner to intermediate level patterns in my shop as well as listings for my favorite tools and supplies.  There are even a few videos to help you with the basics!  I plan to add a lot more, so stay tuned!

I can be found on Facebook and Instagram… so stop by Dotting with Friends and give me a like or a follow, feel free to ask a question or just say hello!

Thanks for dropping by, friend!