All workshops take a playful, creative, no-rules approach. You'll discover that when you experiment, stretch boundaries, and work intuitively, magic happens!
Jump-Starting the Art Quilt
confident beginner-to-advanced
2-5 days
Fresh out of ideas? Want to move away from traditional and not sure how? Spark your creativity and banish “blank design wall” syndrome!
Day 1: creative exercises, mind-mapping, words and visuals will lead you forward. Working quickly using line, color and free-form design, you will work conceptually, follow your intuition, and experiment with a number of small studies using glue stick or fusing.
Day 2: Sewing, group sharing & discussion, show-and-tell, optional critique if you are stuck, and ample time to explore and play. You may choose to expand a small study to a larger piece, continue working in a series, or try out a new idea you didn't have time for on day one. Leave class with a way to express your personal vision, the start of new work, and tons of new ideas!
Day 3: Studio time for you to continue working with the potential of finishing new and original work. Individual feedback, group brainstorming, “what if?” problem-solving, and a whole new way of creating exciting quilts!
Days 4 & 5: Independent studio work with focus on new work. Individual critique of work in progress with each student, plus group crit and discussions on developing a series, variations of color,value, design.
Students will go home with work substantially in progress or finished and with enhanced ability to do self-critique.
+
Cinderella Quilts! Reinventing the UFO
all levels
1-5 days
Get those UFOs out of hiding and bring them to class. Unfinished tops and orphan blocks you'll never finish as they are. Slice, dice, add strips and completely transform those stalled projects into beautiful blocks and quilts you never imagined you would make from them. Total fun!!
1 day class: Make a small quilt or top from one or two blocks.
multi-day class: Create exciting new quilt from strips and leftover blocks. We discuss color and design to maximize potential and get beautiful results.
Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts
all levels
2-5 days
Is your creative muse on vacation? Take your own creative journey with no rules & no rulers (almost).
Free-cut strips, sew together and create an original quilt as you slice, dice, and combine elements in a variety of ways to make a small quilt. Ahhhhh...stress free sewing that's better than being on the beach!
Creativity + Design + Color = Original Free-Form Quilts
Fearless Color: Anything Goes!!
beginner to intermediate
1-2 days
Do color decisions make you tense? Do "split complementary" and "tertiary" confuse you?
Throw away that color wheel and trust your eyes and instincts!
Fanny's Foolproof Color Theory will free you forever from the same old combinations. We'll look at value, fabric personality, combining patterns, and how to work with commercial and hand-prints together. Push your color limits and say goodbye to color angst forever!
Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth
with water-based paints
Stamp, Screen & Stencil with Ordinary Objects!
all levels
1 day
Using low-cost, low-tech materials from the kitchen and around the house or hardware store, you will come away with your own unique fabric to use in your quilts. Perfect for beginning surface design students!
Can this Fabric be Saved??
all levels
1 day
Update your stash without buying more! Drag out those "what was I thinking????" boring, outdated commercial fabrics or blah/ugly hand-dyes from your stash and make them new again with paints, stamps, and screens. You won't believe the difference a few layers of paint will make!!
Gelatin Plate Monoprinting
all levels
1 day
Using gelatin from your pantry, water-based inks and your hands or a brayer your hand-carved stamps will partner with brushes, leaves, and other small items to put gorgeous texture and detail on your fabric.
.Carve Original Stamps - Print Original Cloth
all levels
1day
Make simple and sophisticated prints with hand-carved stamps that reflect your design sense and personality.
Using easy-to-cut blocks, lino cutting tools and water-based paints, explore different methods of inking the block and various design possibilities as you stamp.
Soy Wax Batik
some experience with dyes*
2 days
A 21st century approach to an ancient art. Non-toxic soy wax, wood, resin or metal items to stamp with, inexpensive brushes, and a writing tool are all you need to create your own batiks. Come play with soy wax and you’ll be hooked!
*one-day workshop can be done with paint
MORE Hand-Printed Cloth
with dyes
Deconstructing the Screen
some experience with dyes
no screening experience necessary
2-5 days
Working spontaneously with thickened MX dyes, explore deconstructed screenprinting. This exciting and unpredictable way to print lets you create as you go, transferring your own marks from screen to cloth. We will work in layers, adding and taking away color with discharge (weather permitting) and more dye, steaming the fabric as we go. Work on silk, rayon, or cotton and discover this freeing process!
I am happy to tailor workshops for the needs of your group.
For available dates, rates, longer workshops for retreats, and supply lists, please email me.
I look forward to hearing from you!
