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.

Taos 2017

One week after I returned from Tokyo I was headed to the airport again to fly to Taos, New Mexico to teach with Diane Ericson, Design Outside the Lines, at the Mabel Dodge Luhan house.

What a wonderful, nurturing and inspiring venue Mabel's is.

 

 

I was brought on by Diane Ericson to co-teach alongside her and inspire the students with what I have learned about Japanese textiles, and Japanese Boro and mending techniques, and how I applied that to my artwork.

 

We practiced Japanese mending techniques on a piece of cloth that later was turned into a mini-bag:

I got to play around a bit and was experimenting with stencils and fabric painting on some scraps that I brought and turned those scraps into a different kind of a bag. When I asked the students if they would like to learn the structure, the answer was "yes"!

 

Well, a few of them became obsessed with this bag and they played around with the dimensions and pushed the original design of the bag into these fun structures:

 

Seeing as I had just returned from Japan, I could only really allow myself to take a day and a half to site see after my teaching duties were up.

But, my friend and I packed as much as we could into those hours.

The highlight was the Georgia O'Keeffe house and studio in Abiquiu.

 

So minimal and modern!

 And, the short drive to Ghost Ranch was just stunning with the post-rain saturated earth surrounding us:

Although I am thankful for the experience, Tokyo and Taos with just a week's catch up time in between is a bit more travel than I'm used to so I'm trying to slow down and process both of those inspirational experiences right now. 

As usual, more pics over on Instagram.

 

 

Summer Teaching 2017 - and a Spring Wrap Up

I pulled back from teaching this Spring so that I could dedicate as much time as possible to working in the studio on my Bibliomuse Series for an exhibit this Fall 2017 at Seager Gray Gallery.

It paid off since I was able to complete a few more pieces for the show - they are very labor intensive!

Incredible Truth

Above is a detail of a piece from the Bibliomuse Series called Incredible Truth.

I did teach a couple of workshops and thought I'd share some of the student work since I am teaching both workshops again this Summer at Cabrillo Arts and Handcraft Studio School.


In March, I taught a new class called Creative Textiles: Deconstruction, Reconstruction and Reuse at Cabrillo Arts (and will be teaching it again in July).

Essential - detail

This was a two-day workshop and was inspired by some of the processes I use in my own artwork. A couple of years ago I ran out of the old linen fabric that I use in my current work - but I did have an old farm dress hanging around that I had used in an installation. I realized that I probably was not going to use it as a dress anymore so made the move to cut it up and use the pieces in a wall piece. The first cuts were hard but then I was so glad that I did it. And, I discovered that the existing seams, hem, worn areas, and other elements inherent to the garment were a fabulous starting point for the piece. There were so many lines, curves and textures to react to. Below and above are details of the two pieces that I made out of that dress for my KEEP: Modern Library Series: Essential and Higbee.

Higbee - detial

For the Creative Textiles workshop I asked students to bring in old garments that were ready for re-purposing. We looked at images of Japanese boro textiles, Gee's Bend quilts, and artists that have worked with old clothes in their work, as inspiration. I taught some printing and image making techniques, some mending and embroidery stitches and then let the students fly! It was fun to see all of the different projects that emerged from the same points of inspiration.

student work - old waistband looking like shibori!

student work - reconstructed stripes

student work - men's shirt on delicates

student work - stitching on a t-shirt on a sweatshirt

Such creative work in that class and I'm teaching it again July 29th and 30th, 2017, at Cabrillo Arts.

The other workshop I taught was the tried and true Boro Sampler Book workshop but in a new location. My friend Rhiannon Alpers invited me to teach out of her studio space in San Francisco and it attracted some really talented students. They were artists, designers and creative business owners and needless to say their books were gorgeous.

I love how this student used Sally Fox fabric scraps as patches AND thread that she unraveled from the fabric:

student work - Sally Fox fabric and unraveled thread

And, more fabulous student work:

The next Boro Sampler Book workshop will be at Handcraft Studio School on July 15th, 2017. 

I'm traveling to Tennessee in a couple of weeks to teach at Arrowmont (class is waitlisted) and then to Shakerag to be a student! Really looking forward to both and will be sure to report back. 

Happy Summer of making to all and hope to see you in a workshop!

The Boro Aesthetic: Blurb Book

Ever since I started teaching my Boro Sampler Book and Boro Bags workshops people from afar who can't attend have been asking me for information on these classes so that they can play along, too.

Finally, I have done something about that! I've written a book called: The Boro Aesthetic: Books, Bags, Zakka and Zokin. I used Blurb, a self-publishing platform, to help me create and distribute the book. Follow this link to my Blurb book page.

[Update: The Boro Aesthetic is now available on Amazon, too.]

Heavily patched Japanese textile from my personal collection

 I tried to make the book as much like my workshops as possible with images of my personal collection of Japanese boro textiles, images of class samples, scans of handouts, tool and supply lists, a glossary, and writing the reflects what I talk about in class.

Included in the book are directions on how to get started with projects that are inspired by Japanese boro textiles. This includes the Boro Sampler Book, Boro Bags, and a newer class that I call Zakka, Zokin and Chiku-Chiku.

Boro Sampler Book - instructions in book

In the Boro Sampler Book section I take readers through the various kinds of mending techniques seen in boro textiles. At the end of that section I have included directions on how to bind your sampler pages using the Japanese Side Sewn structure (I teach fancier versions of this binding on Creativebug).

Boro Bag - instructions in book

Next, is the Boro Bags section where I encourage readers to continue practicing the mending techniques on a larger piece of fabric and then make it into a Japanese style bag. Included are instructions on how to make the Tsunobukuro and the Azuma Bukuro.

Zokin inspired coasters - instruction in the book

In the Zakka, Zokin and Chiku-Chiku section I include instructions on how to make hand stitched cloth coasters (and how to adapt to a placemat or table runner) using the techniques learned in the sampler book section.

Throughout are beautifully photographed (thank you r.r.jones) Japanese boro textiles from my personal collection, a couple of images of my artwork, and class samples that I have made.

Boro Sampler Book page

 

I have ordered copies of the book and am very pleased with the reproduction of images, as is the photographer (and Mr. Jones is very particular about that). The book is artist and photographer approved!

Because many of you are from areas outside of the U.S., and I know shipping costs can be prohibitive, I have made an e-book version available (it shows up as "related editions" under the "add to cart" button). It is much more affordable and there are no tax or shipping charges. The e-book option may also be attractive for U.S. readers, too. 

Boro Sampler Book page

Students that have taken my in-person classes are also ordering the book to have it on hand for continued inspiration and instruction. I plan to have copies available at my future workshops, too.

My KEEP: Modern Library exhibit book may also be of interest to some of you since it is a series, exhibit, and body of work that was greatly inspired by Japanese boro textiles. It is also available on Blurb as a physical book and an e-book.

Bias from KEEP: Modern Library series

I hope that some of you find The Boro Aesthetic: Books, Bags, Zakka, and Zokin useful, informative and inspirational.

Happy reading, viewing and making!

Fall 2016 Workshop Wrap Up

When I had my teaching studio I would try really hard to create a blog post after every studio workshop with a little report on the workshop containing images and information about the structures, instructors, materials, etc.

Since moving my studio this summer I have been lax about writing up reports on my workshops that I have been teaching out and about.

So, here is a little wrap up of my Fall 2016 workshops.

In September I taught at 3-day workshop at Cabrillo Arts Extension (as a result of the Summer workshop filling up and having a waitlist). I took more pictures of the summer workshop that you can see in this previous blog post, but I just wanted to share this wonderful bag that one of the students made on the last day of the September class:

This is a structure that I casually teach as a bonus project on the last day of the 3-day Japanese Boro Textiles workshop. I've played around with this structure a little in the last year or so, and I just love how it looks in this rather unfinished state with the "floppy ears".

In October, I traveled across the bay to A Verb for Keeping Warm to teach my Boro Bags class. Verb is such a wonderful shop and they always gather fabulous students for me who do beautiful work:

In the Boro Bags class we practice Japanese mending techniques on a length of fabric and at the end of the day make the cloth into Japanese style bags. Always a fun day.

Later in October, I had the pleasure of teaching a group of public school art teachers who were in town for a conference. I decided to teach them the Exploding Picture Box since it was something that I could teach in half day, and it was a structure that they could pass on to their students:

I have to say that sometimes teachers are not the greatest students but this group was an exception - a wonderful group that was talented, creative and appreciative!

Next up was a unique opportunity to teach photographers a book structure and talk to them about the Importance of Play. I was invited to teach at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel as part of their PIE Labs (Photography + Ideas + Experience).

 I showed some slides of my work, talked about how allowing myself to play in my studio has led to new ideas, and then engaged them in a little play of their own by having them use their own photographs or found photographs in an accordion structure. They were encouraged to extract lines and shapes from their images, repeat them, and create interactive structures.

 I've taught my Boro Sampler Book workshop many times but it was so nice to teach it at the San Francisco Center for the Book in conjunction with their current exhibit In Remembrance: People, Times, Places curated by Lucy Childs. It is a beautiful exhibit if you get a chance to see it, and my original Boro Sampler Book was included in the show so it was nice to teach along side of the exhibit. And, of course, the students did gorgeous work:

You can see more Boro Sampler Books from previous workshops here and here and here. 

Lastly, was a new workshop for me taught at Handcraft Studio School - one of my favorite places to teach. The workshop was called: Zakka, Zokin and Chiku-Chiku. I have been teaching Boro Books and Boro Bags a lot in the last two years and wanted to vary from that a little while still teaching stitching inspired by Japanese mending techniques. I came up with this class so we could just make stuff! The class was inspired by zokin which are Japanese dusting cloths made from old pieces of fabric that are layered and stitched and stitched and stitched:

My collection of Zokin

Zakka is a Japanese term that means: anything that improves your home, life or appearance. Chiku-Chiku is an onomatopoeia that mimics the sound of needle and thread passing through cloth repeatedly. I just love all these words so I put them together for my class.

Students did beautiful work interpreting these ideas:

 

Phew! That was a lot of teaching. I'm going to take a couple of months off from weekend teaching so that I can concentrate on my own artwork, and some other projects, but I will be back at Cabrillo Arts Extension in March for a two-day workshop called: Creative Textiles: Deconstruction, Reconstruction and Re-Use. We will be taking old clothes apart and drawing inspiration from seam lines, tears, and fading to create new textile objects.

Then, I will be teaching a similar class at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in June that will be a five-day class called The Boro Aesthetic where we will also be taking apart old garments and then looking to Japanese Boro textiles for inspiration in creating new objects

Be sure to check back and visit my workshop page on this blog where I will continue to post workshops as I schedule and confirm them. And, as always, I have classes on Creativebug that are available 24/7.

This is my last post of the year so I will wish you a Happy New Year and I hope to see some of you in a workshop next year!