the slow textiles blog

You just missed the amazing Celia Birtwell Illustration for Printing and Painting on Fabric workshop!

Following the success of our first nine workshops, here's the latest list.

Each workshop is about sewing, printing, learning and having fun.

All materials are supplied, however, you are encouraged to bring old fabrics for re-use and upcycling. A great source for such is http://www.chriscareyscollections.co.uk/aboutus.html. (The promotion of zero waste through social and cultural activity is one of our driving criteria).

Make sure you don't miss out! These are one-off events with top names from British textiles in attendance - never to be repeated again.

Everyone is welcome! Book here! STOP PRESS!! PROBLEM with Paypal Buttons, so send an email to emmaneuberg@mac.com to confirm your place. Thank you.

See below for further description and west London venue. If an "Add to Cart" button is not working, just try another one and type in the workshop title you require.

Coming up,

on November 7th 2009 from 13:30 til 16:15,

WORKSHOP 10:

1960s Applique Art - Taking Inspiration from British Textile Designer Christine Risley and 1960s Illustration -

with Print, Applique & Stitch on to Upcycled Fabric.

Christine Risley, print for wallpaper, c.1962,

with thanks to the Constance Howard Archive.

An introduction to evocative story-telling through fabric, line and thread. This workshop introduces the iconic work of British textile artists working in the 1950s and 60s. It traces the origin of their influences in fine art from 1920s and 30s Paris and elucidates how these evolved into a British textile story.

Drawing, applique and naive & digital print methods will be explored, in the workshop, to build upon this heritage.

Slow design will also be discussed in view of process, reflecting back and forth and 'making conscious' timelines and the building upon design histories, ie. that which we inherit.

One of the many outcomes: story-booking in cloth, a great route to 'extended life' materialisation.

Andy Warhol shoes, c.1959.

The last one for this historic first year,

on December 12th 2009 from 13:30 til 16:15,

WORKSHOP 11:

1950s Modernist Surfaces - Taking Inspiration from British Textile Designer Lucienne Day and X-ray Crystallography -

with Print, Applique & Stitch on to Upcycled Fabric.

Insulin atoms translated to textile, Robert Sevant, 1951.

This workshop introduces a space in which to reflect on the visual and semantic meaning of new technologies, textiles and the notion of futurist motifs for cultural dissemination.

In support of economic growth, designers of the 1950s were encouraged to interpret scientific data for aesthetic and cultural consumption. What do these textiles mean today, with their dated 'discoveries' printed in repeat?

Relevant today, with 'textile futures' an expanding field, this workshop allows a creative dialogue on cloth with the past's 'futurist hope', its motifs, scientific imperatives, consumerism and nostalgia.

Examples will be studied and derivative prints explored - on upcycled fabric and in Illustrator.

A nostalgia for old science or an exploration of the idea of the future printed yesterday?

This promises to be a unique, intelligent and thought-provoking workshop.

WORKSHOP 12:

February 6th 2010 - 13:30 til 16:15

Snickeregladje or Carpenter's Happiness: Scandinavian Folkloric Patterns with a view on Flora and Fauna -

with Print, Applique & Stitch on to Upcycled Fabric.

Folkloric paper cutout patterns, (Poland).

This workshop explores meanings of happiness originating in the craft tradition of Swedish "snickeregladje" - literal translation, carpenter's happiness - or fretwork.

Looking at Scandinavian folk motifs that permeated textile and paper traditions too, participants will practise designing similar motifs on paper (in acrylics) then develop and translate these into textile designs for applique and digital print.

An exciting workshop that explores the relationship between happiness and handiwork, design and emotion, the hands-on and the digital.