WORKSHOPS AND TALKS
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I offer five workshops which are themed, but I am very flexible, and will design a workshop to fit in with your specific needs upon request. They can run for half a day, a whole day or two days or more.
The courses are suitable for all abilities. No sewing machine is needed for the courses,as generally we will explore hand stitch, but participants are welcome to design their work with machine embroidery in mind to continue after the course.Students are asked to provide their own materials, although I always have some spare fabrics and threads. Any specialist materials will be available for purchase at the price I have paid for them.
I also bring a large variety of my own work and other relevant resources.
I offer two talks, the information about them follows on after the workshop information.
Please e mail me with your enquiry.
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1. DESIGN FROM NATURE
Using personal photographs or images from magazines and books, develop a theme based upon the natural world which may be used to produce one piece of work or develop into a series.
This could include examples of themes such as the colour and structure of leaves, a coral reef, pods and seed cases, animal patterns, birdlife, a favourite garden or life as seen under a microscope.
Work can be pattern or image based, and the design work will be based upon the level of the individual student, so amazing drawing skills are not required.
The chosen topic will be developed to make a piece of textile work using a variety of techniques including applique, hand stitching, and on a two day course printing and painting of fabric.
A variety of fabrics, papers, metal, plastics and found materials can be used.
Students will be encouraged to keep a sketchbook to record their progress and development of ideas and techniques, and to store any sample pieces.
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2.PRINTED AND LAYERED TEXTILES
A chance to let go and enjoy using acrylic paint and ink on calico and recycled fabrics to produce original cloth to use in your textile projects.
Free painting, block printing, monoprinting, using natural forms and the use of stencils will be explored. Design applications will be discussed, but no drawing skills are necessary. The resulting cloth will then be used to produce a pattern or image based piece of work, using fusible web, simple stitching, quilting, and the addition of other materials such as commercial fabrics, beads, and found objects.
Students are encouraged to bring personal reference material to work from. We can manage this course in one day,but two days is ideal.
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3. STILL LIFE, A PERSONAL APPROACH
Explore the possibilities of still life composition using a collection of your own personal objects. We will look at examples of paintings representing still life in all its variety, from flower painting, botanical art, collections of curiosities, beautifully painted foodstuffs to homely groups of possessions.
Anything meaningful or visually interesting to you, or simply a witty object can be included in your arrangement.
After some preliminary design work for which no drawing skills are required, your still life can be constructed in fabrics, papers and any other interesting materials to produce a charming and personal piece of work. You could choose objects related to another person and make a special gift. Stitching will be by hand.
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4. EXPERIMENTS WITH PATTERN
Using personal reference material in the form of photographs and/or drawings, design a piece of work using elements from the visual material. These will be chosen and refined, leading to simplified shapes which can be manipulated to explore the fascinating world of pattern.
After the design session fabrics can be chosen to start to construct the artwork. This is a great project for using a variety of commercial fabrics, but on a two day course elements of printing and painting personal fabrics can be incorporated too.
Interesting surprises of pattern, colour and design will result from experimenting with pattern manipulation such as using changes in scale and juxtaposing a range of different fabrics and mixed media.
No drawing skills required.
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5. ARCHITECTURAL INSPIRATIONS
Using felt, fabrics, other mixed media and stitch, develop a theme based upon the built environment, using your own visual reference. Any architectural style from the domestic to the industrial, or simply architectural elements that inspire can be used.
We will also explore the use of inks and paint on felt, and the effectiveness of simple stitches used in a variety of sizes.
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TALKS
These last about 50 - 60 minutes, and I bring examples of my work to show as well as a slide show.
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1.FROM CLAY TO CLOTH
A description of an artistic journey starting with a reprise of my work in ceramics for 20 years, and graduating to textiles and mixed media. The talk concentrates upon how my work has evolved, and my methods of working, with reference to my influences and inspirations.
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2.THEMES AND THREADS
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A talk based around the themes I use in my textile work, their inspirations, influences and ongoing development. Examples of finished work, work in progress, sketchbooks and design processes will be shown.
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