Exploring Textiles

It's been a while since I wrote a blog, with lots going on to learn and grow from and hopefully inspire others with too! My courses have been busy, especially at a lovely new venue (new to me) called Made and Making. It's been really exciting to teach Collage, Card Making and my Exploring Textiles course there this year, the latter of which just finished the last of it's 10 weekly sessions. The seeds of this course were planted some years ago and it's been so rewarding to be able to teach it and see how people responded. You can see the visual journey of the participant's inspiring and experimental work on my Gallery page.

The whole process has been a journey, from tweaking the layout and design of the course to delivering it for the first time. Although I had practised all the textiles disciplines within it, some I had never taught before and it was  exciting to prepare the visual and learning resources. Each week a different theme was explored, from Wax Resist to Feltmaking to Papermaking etc. I have a particular interest in Papermaking and have visited Paper Mills in Britain and France.

The Exploring Textiles course will be repeated in the Autumn, plus there will be a Part 2 for anyone who has just done the first one or has some Textiles experience. During August there will be an Exploring Textiles 3 day summer school, taking on board a selection of textiles techniques, including Monoprinting, Collage and Weaving. I always encourage an inquisitive and experimental approach, using a variety of materials. The making process is just as exciting as the end results and the creativity that unfolds in people is so inspiring to witness.

My husband Daniel had a hand in things with the preparation for the Exploring Textiles course, as he made all the amazing Deckle and Moulds for the Papermaking session and the looms for the Weaving session. He also had a go at some of the processes with me as I made my preparations.

Here's a peek at some behind the scenes shots.