Master Class

5 day class for intermediate to advanced textile practitioners

In the last 3years I have been studying for a Masters degree in Visual Arts, which has required me to explore a concept and bring it into a visual reality exploring various techniques with which to best explore the concept. In particular I have be looking at my cultural history ( as I am a Dutch Immigrant in Australia) and how I can use that history to create my art. I am particularly mindful that there have been stories in my family of French and Spanish ancestry and on a recent trip to the Netherlands found that there was more to this than simply stories. I studied old photographs of members of my family dressed in Costume from Zeeland in the Netherlands and found that there was such a richness of fibre and fabric and jewelry and story that I could use. Everyone has histories, myths and memories that they can use in their work to create a unique way of expressing themselves. This class is about exploring these histories and memories in order to create a new form of visual expression in fibre.

This workshop is designed to create an original quilt or fabric or fibre structure incorporating dyeing, printing, designing, planning and creating. Whilst some techniques will be used as in dyeing and printing and constructing- this is a process class. Hopefully given the time span participants will be close to finishing their piece/s, but some participants may wish to explore certain methodologies or designs or histories rather than completing a whole quilt.

It would be useful to study some Textile History books before hand and bring them to class if possible particularly if participants can identify certain regions their families may have come from or moved to or any other cultural matter or treasures that relate to the past of a particular family. I would also encourage students to contact me before the class so that I may provide some guidance in exploring the type of material/cultural artefacts/histories that could be explored.

There will be a cost of 10 -20 euros per class for the use of dyes and printing ink. The cost will depend on how much the participant uses.