On-Line Class: Freeform Screenprinting

Registration is open for one of my favorite classes over at QuiltUniversity.com.

Freeform Screen Printing

four lessons, one opening each week beginning September 14th

      OUTLINE

• Lesson One
• Preparing your materials and workspace
• The mechanics of printing
• Paper stencil screens
• Lesson Two
• Found materials and other resists
• Finger blending
• Plastic stencil screens
• Bonus - discharge printing
• Lesson Three
• Flour paste screens
• Preparing images for Thermofax screens
• Printing with Thermofax screens
• Printing yardage
• Lesson Four
• Cheap and easy home-made frames
• Glue and paint screens
• Spray paint screens
• Bonus - drawing fluid and filler

The class will be open for almost seven weeks. 

An extra week is built in before one of the lessons to let you order or create your own Thermofax screen. 

Beginning experiments by Charlotte Robinson

I'll be checking into the class forum each day to answer any and all questions you might have.

Layered prints by Maggie Birchenough

I've got to say that Quilt University is one of the best deals out there. $37 for four lessons and that much of my time is an absolute steal!

Stencilled screen by Sue Price

We'll have a ton of fun - and best of all, you don't have to haul stuff anywhere!

Screened discharge with a tape resist by Elizabeth Gobson

I hope to see you there!

sign up at

QuiltUniversity.com

On-Line Class: Playing With Paint

A new session of "Playing With Paint" will begin Friday, June 8th at www.QuiltUniversity.com. It's a great on-line class where we learn to play with complete abandon. It's just like being  back in kindergarten - oh - and we'll also be learning the properties and uses of textile paints.

Playing With Paint

will include many wet brush painting techniques, stamp carving, stenciling, and yes - 

playing with your food.

One lesson opens each week for four weeks but I'm on-line for at least five or six - answering any questions and commenting on all the fun work students submit to the class gallery.

During this tough economic time on-line courses are a fantastic alternative to the expenses of traveling to a live workshop. $36.00 for a month of fun is a great value. Oh, and you get to come to class in your pajamas!

SIGN UP NOW! Let's PLAY!

You can see a class description and supply list here: http://quiltuniversity.com/classlist.htm#PlayingWithPaint

On-Line Class: The Artist's Toolkit

Registration is open for
The Artist's Toolbox

An on-line course at www. QuiltUniversity.com

based on the book

Art + Quilt: Design Principles and Creativity Exercises

Come learn the basic alphabet of the visual language, the elements and principles of good design.

I'll walk you through each element, explaining them in easy to understand language and metaphors.

We'll observe each element in the world around us both in art and in the natural world.

Finally we'll put what we've learned into practice through practical exercises.

The supply list couldn't be simpler.

Sketchbook and whatever drawing stuff you have

Glue Stick

Fabric Scraps

Registration is open now and the class fills almost every session so don't delay.
Class begins June 1st
(4 lessons, the forum is open for 6 weeks)

On-Line Class: The Artist's Toolbox

If you are looking for an easy way to learn about art, to pick up the basics of the visual language,

I'd like to suggest my upcoming class:

The Artist's Toolbox

Reaching by Lyric Kinard

An on-line course at www. QuiltUniversity.com

based on the book

Art + Quilt: Design Principles and Creativity Exercises

Come learn the basic alphabet of the visual language, the elements and principles of good design.

I'll walk you through each element, explaining them in easy to understand language and metaphors.

We'll observe each element of the visual language in the world around us.
We'll learn to see with the eyes of an artist.

Finally we'll put what we've learned into practice through practical exercises.

The supply list couldn't be simpler.

Sketchbook and whatever drawing stuff you have

Glue Stick

Fabric of Paper Scraps

Registration is open now 

Class begins September 30

On-Line Class: Freeform Screenprinting

I'm teaching one of my favorite on-line classes soon over at QuiltUniversity.com

Freeform Screen Printing

four lessons, one opening each week
beginning September 9th
closes October 29th - giving you extra time to do the lessons

      OUTLINE

• Lesson One
• Preparing your materials and workspace
• The mechanics of printing
• Paper stencil screens
• Lesson Two
• Found materials and other resists
• Finger blending
• Plastic stencil screens
• Bonus - discharge printing
• Lesson Three
• Flour paste screens
• Preparing images for Thermofax screens
• Printing with Thermofax screens
• Printing yardage
• Lesson Four
• Cheap and easy home-made frames
• Glue and paint screens
• Spray paint screens
• Bonus - drawing fluid and filler

I hope to see you there! We'll have a ton of fun - and best of all, you don't have to haul stuff anywhere!

On-Line Class: The Artist's Toolbox

The April 22nd session of The Artist's Toolbox only has a few more spots available.

motion study by Nancy

Sign up here at QuiltUniversity.com

shape study by Sheila

Or read more about it here.

Shape and movement by Sue

On-Line Class: The Artist's Toolbox

Introducing: The Artist's Toolbox

An on-line course at www. QuiltUniversity.com

based on the book

Art + Quilt: Design Principles and Creativity Exercises

Come learn the basic alphabet of the visual language, the elements and principles of good design.

I'll walk you through each element, explaining them in easy to understand language and metaphors.

We'll observe each element in the world around us both in art and in the natural world.

Finally we'll put what we've learned into practice through practical exercises.

The supply list couldn't be simpler.

Sketchbook and whatever drawing stuff you have

Glue Stick

Fabric Scraps

Registration is open now and the class is almost full.

Class begins April 22nd.

Freeform Screen Printing Student Spotlight: Linda Robertus

Linda Robertus was a student of mine in Freeform Screenprinting on-line at QuiltUniversity.com. One of the things I love most about on-line teaching is interacting with the international students. The internet has made the world a much smaller place in many wonderful ways. Linda is from the Netherlands but is is living in Australia. She has taken what she learned in class and worked to truly master the techniques. It brings me joy to see the lovely work she produces.

Screen printing with stencils is a truly simple technique that yields such lovely results. With a little patience and precision she has made this technique her own and brought her own unique voice to the process. I love the balance of color and the echoed forms in this piece. The implied and impending motion as well as the perfect stillness of the gymnasts is beautiful. This quilt is featured in the student gallery at Quilt University.

In this piece Linda has created a freezer paper stencil to use with a silk screen. I'd say she's mastered the technique. I love the flow of this composition as your eye is drawn up and to the left, taking a detour here and there to follow the lines of the legs or of the gymnast's horse. She's blogged about this one here.

Linda also has a great time drawing the details of the world around her. She then emails a jpg of her drawing to me to be made into a thermofax screen for screen printing. 

You really do need to head over to her blog. She has posted lots of pictures of her projects that you will enjoy seeing. Leave a comment and tell her I said hello!

http://q-linda.blogspot.com/

This is a thermofax screen print made from a drawing of her screened porch door. The woman has talent and is not afraid to use it. Actually - what I should say - is that she is not afraid to spend the time it takes to hone her craft to the level of excellence she has achieved. We could all learn from her in that regard.

The next session of Freeform Screenprinting at QuiltUniversity.com begins March 18th. There are four lessons and I will be available for six weeks to answer questions in the class forum. The cost is $37. The best part?  When you take a class on-line nobody chastises you for being late, or for showing up in your pajamas. I'd love to meet you there!

The Sketchbook Challenge: Highly Prized

I've been thinking about the Sketchbook Challenge theme all month.

It only took a few minutes to know what I consider to be very valuable.

TIME

The first bit glued into my sketchbook? My usual schedule. It looks like that through next June. Five kids and a part time career will do that to you. Time is flying by and I often feel I'm missing it. My oldest daughter just applied for college. I'm feeling a little ... something. Excited? Yes. Apprehensive? Just a tiny bit - she's prepared. Bushwhacked? When did she grow up!?!

I've thought of images I wanted to incorporate. I've thought of amazing and wonderful outcomes.

I've also avoided actually doing anything until the last possible moment. It's a fear thing. Yup - me. The lady who preaches non-stop that "it's all about DOING the work and we can't let fear get in the way." Here I am in front of everybody - thinking everybody is expecting some fantastic outcome and feeling inadequate.

So. TIME for me to take my own words to heart and just DO it. Forget about expectations. 

1- The calendar gets glued in. Painted over with a bit of gesso. Oops. Now I remember that ink-jet prints smear when wet. Ah well, so be it. Find a couple of my favorite pics.

2- Let the gesso layer dry then paint a little bit of a color wash over that. I'm using Prochemical's Profab Textile Paints - because I have a LOT of them on hand. They're an acrylic and work fine.

3- Play around with photoshop and a few of the images that speak to my feelings. Print them out, cut them out, glue them in. I used a PVA glue this time. I think I might like gel medium better. We'll see.

4- Add a little more of a blue wash over the hands to blend it into the background.

5- More acrylic in a transparent blue and an opaque white - swirls in with a brush - like time swirling all around me and away.

6- Hunt through my stack of screen for the perfect image. Ah - there it is. This time I used it like a stencil, first with the white opaque paint, then a navy transparent. It was a pain having the wire binding loops right in the way. I'm seriously thinking of working with loose sheets then binding them as shown in Jane Davie's  tutorial. When I find some time.

I am addicted to thermofax screen printing. I have a machine and run a service, making ready made or custom screens. It allows me to feed my insatiable hunger for making new images in my own work. This particular screen came from a photo sent by Alexandria (one of my on-line students from QuiltUniversity.com) of one of her antique pocketwatches.  

This is what my work surface looks like when I've got projects going on. Stuff left from the last class I taught. Samples shoved out of the way. Kids forms for school events to be filled out. The usual. No - I'm not an artist who thinks clutter is great - it drives me nuts. I work best when I can clean everything up and start fresh with room to work and breath. No TIME for cleaning up right now.

8- Last step - I started in with pencil, moved up to a Sukura Pigma Pen and then decided a sharpie would glide over the bumpy acrylics on the page. 

My baby has wings. She's ready to fly.

I'd love your feedback.

Do you have any ideas that could help me?

I want to learn how to savor each moment, live in the present. I still have to keep most of my schedule - I'm already very good at saying no to more stuff. The things I do I love. But time still flies away.

Oh, and don't forget to head over to  the Sketchbook Challenge today to see who won this months giveaways. February's theme will go up tomorrow. Can't wait!

Student Spotlight: Sally Westcott

I'd like to introduce you to a student I feel I know and love, but whom I've never met face to face. Sally Westcott lives half way across the world from where I live -  but we've had lots of fun together thanks to the wonders of technology and on-line teaching.

Here is some of the lovely, playful experimentation that Sally did while in Playing With Paint at QuiltUniversity.com.

Sally played with Shiva Paint Sticks - rubbings found anywhere and everywhere.

Wet washes with both crayon and salt resists.

Stamp carving and stenciling.

More lovely stencil work.

These techniques will be taught in the on-line class 

Playing With Paint

January 14th, 2011

www. QuiltUniversity.com

I encourage you to pop on over to Sally's blog and say hello.

My favorite things about on-line teaching

These are a few of my favorite things about teaching on-line.

NOT schlepping 180 lbs of supplies on an airplane.  And wondering how I'm going to get everything in the trunk when someone picks me up. And shipping a ton of boxes and hoping they all actually arrive.

Teaching with my feet up on the desk, while wearing my favorite socks! Makes it even better with a lovely view out the window and cup of hot coco in my favorite hand-made mug. I love hand-made mugs.

And most of all - interacting with students from all over the globe!

In my last class I had students from the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland

And students from all over the United States too!!! AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, HI, IL, KY, MA, MD, MI, NC, NH, NJ, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV were all represented in my last QuiltUniversity.com class.

How cool is that!?

Registration is open for 

Playing With Paint

and

The Artists Toolbox

at QuiltUniversity.com

Put your feet up, brew your favorite cup, and join me for some great  fun!