2022 - 2023 Calendar
January 10, 2023 via Zoom
Becka Rahn
Lecture - "A Spoonful of Spoonflowers?”
A Spoonful of Spoonflower Designing fabric is more than just putting pencil to paper or generating pixels in Photoshop; it’s about connecting and sharing stories and ideas. Get a tour of what it’s like to design fabrics and print them using Spoonflower, a web-based service for printing your own fabric designs. Get the scoop on the technical details of uploading and proofing your files, see samples of different fabrics and walk through the process from start to finish. We’ll also talk cost-saving tips for getting the most out of your yard of fabric, ways to proof designs and more. https://www.beckarahn.com/
February 14, 2023 via Zoom
April Sproule
Lecture - "My Transformation from Technician to Artist”
Come along with me on my journey as a textile artist to see how letting go of perfectionism transformed my creative practice. Abandoning the need to control the final outcome of a project, and instead work freely, can be incredibly empowering.
To start out slowly by gathering information and skills, gain momentum by trying new things, and finally arrive at a place where you trust in your abilities enough to work intuitively can be a rewarding experience.
Collections of my work will be featured along with an informative demonstration on how to paint a garment with stencils and water-based textile paints.
March 14, 2023 via Zoom
Kim Thittichai
Lecture - "Textile Travels”
Originally from Brighton, England, Kim Thittichai is an international textile artist, tutor, and author who now resides in County Clare, Ireland. Fascinated by the seemingly endless variety of textures and colours to be found in textiles, she took up the challenge of experimenting with heat, dyes, glues, and stitch to create new textured surfaces and 3-dimensional forms. Kim has worked all over the globe teaching her original and fascinating textile art techniques, and she will share memories of her travels around Australia, New Zealand, and India, discussing the design inspiration provided by the abundance of colours, shapes, and forms seen in everything from architecture to food.
May 9, 2023
Anne Flora
Lecture - "A Fiber Artist’s Journey”
Anne Flora is a lifelong artist who has studied modern dance, choreography, and costuming in addition to her extensive educational background in the fine arts. She moved to New York City for a further study printmaking and worked as an independent printmaker while she pursued a degree in culinary arts. Abandoning printmaking after 16 years because the medium no longer appealed to her, Anne moved to Wales where she operated a Bed and Breakfast for several years and would not be involved with any artform for 10 years.
Moving to Michigan and beginning a challenging new career, Anne began to feel the need to create after the long hiatus. In 2000, she began to explore felt making and by 2001, after taking a workshop with Chad Alice Hagen, she fell in love with the medium. Fascinated with the crossover in mediums, her experimentation with a myriad of fibers and other materials continues. Anne’s process emphasizes discipline, emotions, the vitality and movement in her compositions, the richness of textures, and the bold and vibrant colors that she uses, and her work embodies her rich life experiences along with her lifelong studies in the visual and tactile arts.
