2020 Workshops - Winter, Spring, Summer

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope that the new decade finds you happy, healthy, creative and well.

Thought I would round up my 2020 workshops and talks that I have scheduled so far in hopes that I will get to see some of you out there!:

glean, gather, group: Jody Alexander and the Santa Cruz SCRAP residency

Free talk at San Francisco Center for the Book about my recent residency at the Santa Cruz dump

Thursday, February 13th, 6:00 - 8:00

Mending Sampler Needle Book

French General, Los Angeles 

Saturday, February 29th, 10:00 - 4:00 

The Boro Aesthetic: Creating Fiber Arts Pieces Inspired by Japanese Textiles

Aya Studios, Stuart, Florida

March 21st - 23rd, 2020

Japanese-style Mending as Utility and Embellishment

A Verb for Keeping Warm, Oakland, California

Saturday, April 25th, 11:00 - 5:00

The Boro Aesthetic: Creating Fiber Arts Pieces Inspired by Japanese Textiles

Fibre Arts Australia, Ballarat and Toowoomba, Australia

June 29th - July 5th - Ballarat

July 6th - July 12th - Toowoomba

Very excited for all of this teaching and traveling and especially looking forward to all of the wonderful people that I will meet along the way. 

I hope that this post inspires you to take a workshop but I realize that it is not always possible...so remember...

I have workshop online at Creativebug 

and a book that goes over much of what I cover in some of these classes:

The Boro Aesthetic: Books, Bags, Zakka, and Zokin

Here is to a creative 2020!

Fall 2019 workshops and looking forward to 2020

Here is a quick look at upcoming workshops for Fall 2019:

Japanese Mending as Utility and Embellishment

A Work of Heart Studio

San Jose, CA

October 13th, 11:00 - 5:00

Boro Sampler Book and Boro Bags

Southwest School of Art

co-sponsored by San Antonio Fiber Artists

San Antonio, TX

November 9th and 10th, 10:00 - 4:00

(class is full - waitlist open)

 

and looking forward to 2020 for those of you planning ahead:

The Boro Aesthetic: Creating Fiber Art Pieces Inspired by Japanese Textiles 
Aya Fiber Studio,  Stuart, Florida
March 21 - 23rd, 2020

The Boro Aesthetic: Creating Fiber Art Pieces Inspired by Japanese Textiles 
Fibre Arts Australia
Ballarat, Australia: June 30 - July 4, 2020
Toowoomba, Australia: July 7 - July 11, 2020 
  

There will also most likely be a February workshop at French General in Los Angeles - we are still cooking that one up - it will be something new! ****update - new workshop is up here**** And, an April workshop at A Verb for Keeping Warm. Keep your eyes peeled for those...

I usually announce workshops first on Instagram and my Wishi Washi Studio Facebook page so join me there to hear about them first. I also list them on my blog - workshop page.

As always my Creativebug classes are available 24/7 from anywhere you have internet access, and my book The Boro Aesthetic is still available from Blurb Books.

Art of Textile Repair and Reuse Workshop, Summer 18

 I taught a new class recently at Cabrillo Arts. The name of the workshop is:

  

The Art of Repair and Reuse:

Looking at Mending and Re-purposing Traditions in Various Cultures as Inspiration for New Work.

 I did quite a bit of research for the course and showed students examples of repair and reuse traditions in the American South, Australia, Japan, India, China and France.

We also looked at the work of contemporary artists who create in the spirit of repair and reuse, and watched videos that exhibited different stitching techniques.

The students created samplers in the various traditions.

These samplers represented Gee's Bend and Wagga Wagga:

Of course, we made samplers inspired by Japanese Boro mending techniques - I always encourage students to vary from the indigo palette and rather focus on line, shape and texture:

 

 Samplers inspired by Kantha from India:

 When I was in France recently I saw some lovely mends on grain sacks that I shared with students - they interpreted those mends in the most creative way!:

 Chinese Ge Ba has been making the rounds on the internet and social media so we explored creating in that style, too:

 The workshop was only two days and would benefit from being a 3-5 day course where we could make the samplers at a more leisurely pace and then move on to personal projects.

 Some students just focused on the samplers but a few applied these techniques to garments that they brought into class and the results were creative, fun, whimsical and unexpected.

I'm hoping to teach this workshop again so look out for it in the new year!

Spring Workshops 2018

Happy New Year to you all!

Mending on a large furoshiki found at a Tokyo Flea market

I was so fortunate that my art and teaching took me to so many interesting places where I met such wonderful people in 2017. Teaching took me to Arrowmont in Tennessee, and to the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos, New Mexico. Both storied places where artists have been visiting and creating for years. My part in co-curating the MUSUBU exhibit took me to Tokyo where I made many new friends and became even more enamored of that alluring city.

Boro fragment from my personal collection - I take this example to every class

Now here we are in 2018 and I have a number of workshops coming up in the first half of the year that I want to share with you. Here is my teaching schedule through the end of June 2018:

One of my Boro Sampler Book pages

Boro Sampler Books

French General, Los Angeles, CA

Saturday, February 18th, 2018, 10-4

(class is full - get on waitlist!)

Japanese Mending as Utility and Embellishment

A Verb for Keeping Warm, Oakland, CA

Saturday, April 21st, 2018, 11-5

Mending on a large furoshiki found at a Tokyo flea

Boro Sampler Books

A Work of Heart, San Jose, CA

Sunday, May 6th, 2018, 10:00-5:00

The Boro Aesthetic: Creating Fiber Arts Pieces Inspired by Japanese Textiles
Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino, CA
Friday-Sunday, June 1st-3rd, 2018

Boro Sampler Books and Boro Bags
Ashland Art Center, Ashland, Oregon
Saturday and Sunday, June 9-10th, 2018
10:00-4:00 each day

Boro Bags

At the end of June I will be traveling to France to join French General's France Getaway Retreat! I will be teaching in the afternoons after the morning outings and adventures. How can you NOT join us?

Exploring Craft, Textiles and Food
French General's France Getaway
June 22 - 29th, 2018 

detail from one of my teaching samplers

 

If none of these locales are near to you remember that my book The Boro Aesthetic: Books, Bags, Zakka and Zokin is available on Blurb and Amazon. It includes handouts from my workshops, text that covers what I discuss in class, color images and a glossary. It is a slim volume but it includes how-to information from three workshops.

I appreciate each and every time that any of you sign up and take a workshop with me and I hope to see you in 2018!