2011 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop

Bob Adams
$495 (Includes $60 Lab Fee) Five full days
October 26 - 30 (Wed - Sun)10am - 4pm
Maiwa East - 1310 Odlum Dr., Vancouver, Canada Class Limit 14

Bob Adams arrives from Lafayette, Indiana, to take students on an intense learning experience. This workshop is divided into two main sections covering discharge dyeing and quilting. During the first, participants will learn a variety of methods to safely discharge a colour on fabric along with the proper way to stop the destructive action. They will also learn where to use each method for the best results.


On the third day, students will clear away the chemicals and bring out the sewing machines. They will be guided through a series of exercises that will result in a student sample book to take home and refer to when needed. This thread showcase will give examples of how various threads look on different fabrics. Students will be able to see what thread combinations will make a quilted area stand out or fade into the background.

The workshop will focus on creatively exploring lines and mark-making. Students will learn how to transfer ideas onto the quilted surface with free-motion sewing techniques. These techniques will be developed on their own and then applied to the recently discharged fabrics to create new compositions.

This workshop requires a free-motion sewing machine.

Bob Adams

After a career as an art teacher, Bob now finds nothing more satisfying (or scary) than expressing himself on canvas or cloth... or teaching discharge, dye, and stitch processes across the USA and internationally. His work has been selected for many juried and invitational exhibitions – including four Quilt National shows.

Bob gained his BFA from Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana, and John Herron Art Institute in 1965. In 1969 he earned his MA from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

“When I first started, stitching was a way to attach pieces. Now the thread is a really integral part of my work. It makes a statement and it’s a serious part. I can’t do without it now whereas at first I tried to hide it because my sewing was so terrible. The minute I learned how to paint with dye and put the thread with it, I realized that’s what I’d been looking for. That’s the part that’s really stunning to me.”

Discharge techniques on black or hand-dyed cloth have now become a hallmark of his style, which over the years has moved away from the early inspirations of life drawing and landscape to a more abstract feel with an emphasis on colour and line.
www.bobadamsart.com