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the MAIWA JOURNAL

Registration opens June 24th at 10am.

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Lecture The Sylvan Spirit
Lorraine Roy



7:45 (Doors open at 7:30) $15.00
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Net Loft: Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Sometimes a tree is so much more than just a tree. 

Join Lorraine Roy for a figurative walk in the woods: a survey of the ways that trees offer inspiration in both life and art. Her years of research into cultural, symbolic, and spiritual aspects will show how different cultures, present and past, have created a rich mythology around this arboreal object.

This living image is also fundamental to Lorraine’s own practice of layered fabric collage. From the beginning of her career, trees have provided both motif and motivation. Formally trained in agriculture and horticulture, Lorraine draws from a number of sources in her designing: biology, botany, environmental research, mythology, early and modern culture, literature, and spiritual writings.

This lecture will be illustrated with images from her own extensive body of work. Lorraine will also explain her artistic process whereby she is able to collage fabrics and threads in a painterly way.

Lorraine joins us from Ontario.


Monday, April 29, 2013 No comments
Registration opens June 24th at 10am.

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Lecture Journeys and Traces - Art and Life Through Katagami
Akemi Nakano Cohn



7:45 (Doors open at 7:30) $15.00
Tuesday October 15, 2013
Net Loft: Granville Is. Vancouver BC

At first there were shoji. The white, rice-paper room dividers. Akemi recalls growing up in a traditional Japanese family in Yokohama, Japan, where images were formed on the shoji as trees and birds cast their shadows on the white paper.

It was the beginning of her life in art.

For ten years Akemi studied Katazome – a traditional rice paste resist printing technique – under Master Haru Izumi. Then, in 1985, she emigrated to the United States. The cultural shift inspired new work and new ways of working. 

Always thoughtful and contemplative, Akemi has said, “When using katagami cut-out stencil paper, I remark on the empty shape left behind after cutting. This ‘negative space’ indicates the trace of its existence. Negative space is evidence of a memory. My work is an attempt to understand memory through this process and inner observation. I am interested in observing a condition of adaptation and memory among plants, animals, and humans in their environment.”

Like completing a circle, her art work has returned to the traditional Japanese Katazome that she learned in her early career.  She is returning to her origins, but with a richer, more mature vision.

Akemi has pursued an extensive series of international exhibitions and commissions. She is a master of the Nassen technique, which adds a dye to the rice paste to create both colour and resist simultaneously. She joins us from her home in Chicago.


Monday, April 29, 2013 No comments
Registration opens June 24th at 10am.

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Lecture The Plainweave Thread
Rachel Meginnes



7:45 (Doors open at 7:30) - $15.00
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Net Loft: Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Rachel Meginnes believes that even the most simple methods offer infinite possibilities. 

Her fascination with textiles began in high school and she trained as a weaver. Although no longer working directly at the loom, Rachel has kept many of her weaving processes alive in her current studio practice. As a dedicated maker, she accepts and encourages a need to work hands-on with her materials and
enjoys the solitude that comes from producing such methodical work. Her original love for the plainweave structure has never ceased. Indeed, ideas inspired by the pure simplicity of plainweave have become something of a philosophy that runs throughout her work.

Join artist Rachel Meginnes in a thorough investigation of artistic process and her own personal growth as a maker in the world of fibre arts.

As a traditionally trained artist who has moved towards non-traditional processes and materials, Rachel will discuss her path from craftsperson to designer to artist. See her process evolve through a series of slides illustrating the history of her work.

Rachel is currently a resident artist at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. She has traveled throughout the world studying textiles. Rachel earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in Fibers at the University of Washington in 2005. 


Monday, April 29, 2013 No comments
Registration opens June 24th at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Lecture Life is Cloth
Hiroshi Saito



7:45 (Doors open at 7:30) $15.00
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Net Loft: Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Join internationally renowned textile artist Hiroshi Saito for a walk through his life in cloth.

Hiroshi was born in 1947 in Yokohama (near Tokyo). For many years he was a silk dyer, colouring cloth to be used in traditional kimonos. Each day he would dye up to 10 bolts of fabric exactly the same colour. At age 35 he decided that there was more to life and he began experimenting with handwoven cottons. The cotton from Thailand, Peru, Mali, India, and China appealed to him because of its warm, human quality. His extensive knowledge of traditional dyeing techniques is now used in the production of materials and clothing for contemporary Japanese dance and music companies.

Hiroshi Saito also works on large installations, including one he performed in the renowned Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. He is also well known for “Nozome,” an outdoor activity in which he supervises groups of up to 100 people dyeing 20 m lengths of cloth.

Hiroshi says he loves to travel and to leave his mark. “Most people take photos when they travel,” he says, “but when I find a place I really like, I’m going to commemorate it by dyeing cloth there.”

Hiroshi joins us from Japan.



Monday, April 29, 2013 No comments

Registration opens June 24 at 10am.

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Lecture Down the Mountain - Indigo and Silk Farming in a Japanese Village 
Bryan Whitehead



7:45 (Doors open at 7:30) $15.00
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Net Loft: Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Originally from Vancouver, Bryan Whitehead now lives in a small mountain village in Japan. On the shady side of the slope in a house perched on a ledge reached only by a narrow twisting road, Bryan has a small silk and indigo farm. With traditional tools he reels the silk before spinning and weaving on an antique loom.

In his lecture, Bryan will explain how he comes to lead this quiet, magical life. 

His story begins with his arrival in 1989, just in time to witness the last years of the traditional silk farming in the area. As an  amateur cultural anthropologist, he spent the better part of twenty years learning from local Japanese farmers. They taught him the skills of silk farming, cocoon thread reeling, kimono weaving, natural dyeing, and the various indigo processes. Now he is the last silk farmer in the area.  

“I try to look around my surroundings very closely, and I attempt to recreate sort of an emotional landscape of the colours, lighting, and textures in the silk I produce myself.”

Bryan is now sharing the cultural knowledge he so carefully collected. His ancient farmhouse is well known in Japan as a centre for the workshops he gives on these subjects.  Some of Bryan Whitehead’s recent work will be available for sale at his lecture. 


Monday, April 29, 2013 No comments
Registration opens June 24th at 10am.

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Lecture Song of the Cloth
Jason Pollen



7;45 (Doors open at 7:30) $15.00
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Net Loft: Granville Is. Vancouver BC

This lecture is a joyful dance through the world of fibre art and surface design: a deep dive into sources of inspiration that have motivated artists and designers through the ages. 

Join Jason Pollen and discover the musicality inherent in the visual language of textiles. Sequences and rhythm are the fundamentals; the mark, colour, and thread are the unique components. Listen to the pulse and flow, the harmony and cacophony of fibre-focused work.

Jason exhibits his fabric constructions internationally. He has designed textiles for dozens of fashion and home furnishings firms and regularly collaborates as scenic designer for the Kansas City Ballet. He was named Fellow by the American Crafts Council in 2006 and is President Emeritus of the Surface Design Association.

Jason received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in painting at the City College of New York. He was on the faculties of the Royal College of Art in London, Parsons School of Design, and Pratt Institute before serving as chair of the fibre department at Kansas City Art Institute. Jason now lives in Kansas City.



Monday, April 29, 2013 No comments
Registration opens on June 24 at 10am.

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Lecture The Peripatetic Alchemist - Travels With a Dyepot 
India Flint



7:45 (Doors open at 7:30) $15.00
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Net Loft: Granville Is. Vancouver BC

In 2008, with the publication of her first book, Eco Colour: Botanical Dyes for Beautiful Textiles, India Flint brought a radical new perspective to an ancient practice. She rethought the entire dye process.  Her book forcefully and eloquently champions ecologically sustainable plant-based printing processes to give colour to cloth. When it first arrived on the scene, Eco Colour was both an eye-opener and a game-changer.

While India Flint’s practice is focussed firmly on the use of plant dyes, it embraces cloth, paper, and felt and is expressed in works for the wall as well as pieces for the body including costume for contemporary dance theatre. She is known for the highly distinctive ecoprint and has made a commitment to using bio-regional colour—meaning that dyes are extracted from windfall plants wherever she happens to be. Join India Flint for an hour of storytelling and slides. India has also hinted that at the end of the lecture she may have something  of a surprise up her eucalyptus-patterned sleeve.

India joins us from Australia.



Monday, April 29, 2013 No comments
Registration opens June 24th at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Lecture Unravelling Political Knitting
Adrienne Sloane



7:45pm (Doors open at 7:30) - $15.00
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Net Loft: Granville Is. Vancouver BC

From the famous tricoteuse Mme. Defarge (in A Tale of Two Cities) to contemporary yarn bombers, knitters have long been incorporating the political into their stitches.   

As artists, sculptural knitters are offering a visceral response to such contemporary issues as war, climate change, and species preservation. At the same time these makers are bringing knitting back into the public sphere.

This presentation will begin with a look at the historic origins of political knitting and move through the varied responses to wartime in America. Adrienne will include an overview of current trends with particular attention to recent youth-driven knit activism: yarn bombing or yarn graffiti. These politically motivated installations attempt to beautify public spaces while adding a touch of the handmade to industrialized environments.  

Adrienne will also present a survey of her own imagery and explain the challenge and success of using sculptural knitting to speak to political issues. 

BIO

Adrienne Sloane, a Boston-based artist, has exhibited nationally for over 20 years. Her work has been published in Fiberarts Magazine, American Craft, the Surface Design Journal, the Crafts Report, and Fiberarts Design Book Six. With a degree in anthropology, she has married her passion for textiles with one for travel by consulting on knitting projects in Peru and Bolivia. Knitting both by hand and by machine, she is mindful of the historical context of her medium. www.adriennesloane.com.


Monday, April 29, 2013 No comments
Registration opens June 24 at 10am.

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
There’s a Plant I’d Like You to Meet, New Organic Dye Methods
Michel Garcia




7:45 pm (doors open at 7:30) - $15.00 
Thursday, September 12, 2103
Net Loft: Granville Is. Vancouver BC

In 2013, Michel Garcia returns from France to report on new discoveries in the world of natural dyes and techniques.

Michel has spent recent years travelling the world and attempting to unravel the secrets of indigenous dye knowledge. Many strange practices produce unusual colours. He will share  stories and the fruits of his research in this lecture. Among the highlights are biomordants: plants which accumulate alum in their leaves. This development is one of the most exciting to hit the world of natural dyes.

Well versed in both botany and chemistry, a curious investigator of dyestuff and dye procedures, Mr. Garcia has been asked to troubleshoot and fine-tune natural dye works all over the world. 

A French national born in Morocco, Michel Garcia was nineteen when he first discovered natural dyes. Since then he has followed his love of both plants and pigments. In 1998 he formed the association Couleur Garance (Madder Colour). The association hoped to connect young ecologically sensitive artisans with the substantial expertise of an older generation of dyers. Under his direction, Couleur Garance produced over twenty monographs on natural dyes and dye plants.

This talk will be fascinating both for experts and those who are new to natural dyes.


Bio

Michel Garcia is a French national born in Morocco. He was nineteen when he first discovered natural dyes. Since then he has followed his love of both plants and pigments. In 1998 he formed the association Couleur Garance (Madder Colour). The association hoped to connect young ecologically sensitive artisans with the substantial expertise of an older generation of dyers. Under his direction, Couleur Garance produced over twenty monographs on natural dyes and dye plants.

In 2002 Michel founded the Botanical Garden of Dye Plants at the Château de Lauris. In 2003 an international forum and market for natural dyes was added. A year later a resource centre was established.

In 2006 Michel handed over leadership of Couleur Garance so that he could further pursue his interest in colour and dye techniques. He has published three titles on natural dyes showing the range of shades available and how to obtain them.

Michel teaches and advises internationally on natural colours and dyes.. 
Monday, April 29, 2013 No comments
Over the past few days we have seen an incredible mobilization of craftspeople and artists. All are concerned over the cuts to arts funding at the post-secondary level and in particular cut to the textile arts programs at Capilano University.

Students have begun shrouding public works of art in black fabric as a sign of protest.

There is an online petition HERE which has already grown rapidly.

A facebook page has been started:
https://www.facebook.com/CapUArtEviction

and a web site gives additional information
http://savecapstudioarts.webs.com/


Vancouver's news media have picked up the story and have ran the following features:

NorthShore News
Programs fall under the axe at Capilano U

CBC News
Programs cut as Capilano University faces $1.3M shortfall

Vancouver Sun
Capilano University plans program cuts to balance budget

If you have an opinion on the cuts to the textile arts programs here is a list of politicians to contact:

North Vancouver Seymour Mla- Jane Thornthwaite – BC Liberal Party
E-Mail: jane.thornthwaite.mla@leg.bc.ca

North Vancouver Lonsdale Mla - Naomi Yamamoto – BC Liberal Party
E-Mail: naomi.yamamoto.mla@leg.bc.ca

West Vancouver Capilano Mla - Ralph Sultan – BC Liberal Party
E-Mail: ralph.sultan.mla@leg.bc.ca

West Vancouver Garibaldi Mla - Joan Mcintyre – BC Liberal Party
E-Mail: joan.mcintyre.mla@leg.bc.ca

Minister of Education: Honourable Don Mcrae
E-Mail: educ.minister@gov.bc.ca

Our thanks to Jennifer Love, BC Representative for the Surface Design Association, for keeping us in the loop and sending on much of this information.


Saturday, April 27, 2013 No comments
Registration Opens June 24 at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Pot of Gold - Rainbow Dyeing in a Dyepot
Carol Soderlund



$250 includes 60 lab fee
November 7,8 2013 - Class Limit 16
Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

Pot of Gold dyeing refers to the rainbow in a dyepot! If you have shied away from dyeing before because of time or space constraints, this method is for you. Less dye, less water, less mess makes it all so easy. In this two-day class you will dye more than 36 pieces of gorgeous, multi-coloured cotton and some tonal solids. Explore the unlimited possibilities of low-water techniques, including crystalline marking, faux batik with fabric paint, folded and clamped resists, over-dyeing, and mark-making techniques. 

Whether you are a beginner with Procion MX dye or an experienced dyer, this class will get your juices flowing. You will leave class with a clear understanding of fibre-reactive dyes and how to build pattern, layer colour, and choose value, all in a small space. Carol will provide you with a multitude of recipes. 

The techniques taught are all different from those covered in True Colours: Developing a Personal Palette, so feel free to take both classes if you wish! 

Carol joins us from New York.


Instructor Bio

Carol Soderlund’s works have been exhibited nationally and internationally since 1985 in such venues as Visions and American Quilting Society shows and have received numerous awards, including Best of Show at the 1989 International Quilt Festival and Best Use of Color at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Exhibition 2000. She has taught colour, fabric dyeing, colour-mixing techniques, and quilting throughout North America and is currently working on a book on these subjects. 

“My work is primarily driven by a passion for colour interactions, the illusions they create, the luminosity they can bring to a surface. I love creating my own palette of fabric through painting, dyeing, and other surface design processes including discharge, shibori, stamping, screening, and foiling. My goal in design is to have a piece that intrigues the viewer at first glance and then continues to reveal surprises upon every inspection.”  www.carolsoderlund.com
Thursday, April 25, 2013 No comments
Registration Opens June 24 at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
True Colours - Developing a Personal Palette
Carol Soderlund



$325 includes 75 lab fee
November 4, 5, 6, 2013 - Class Limit 16
Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

For the dyer, the many choices of available colours can lead to confusion and disappointment in colour outcomes. This class will help students choose the pure colour that is suitable for developing a personal palette. Carol has dyed over 80 individual palettes which she will share with you through slide presentations, discussions, and hands-on dyeing. Brilliant yellows, passionate purples, rich reds, astounding blues, and soothing greens as well as the many necessary neutrals will be achieved through mixing using Procion MX dyes.

This class will focus on developing skill in intuitive colour-mixing based primarily on training the eye and understanding the relationship between colours. Students will come to an understanding of warm and cool contrasts and will learn how to choose a personal palette of pure reds, yellows, and blues from which all hues can be mixed. In addition the class will learn not only how to dye saturated, brilliant colours and avoid mud, but also how to create interesting complex neutrals (Bring on the mud puddles!). And they will learn how to shade from value to value and hue to hue.
Students will dye from 8 to 10 yards of cotton using low-water immersion techniques. On the first day, we will develop concepts through lecture and discussion and do some exercises to get familiar with the pure hues. On the days following, we will dye yardage using low-water immersion techniques, resulting in both solid-coloured and multi-coloured cloth, and explore the possibilities of layering colour to enrich the palette.

This class is suitable for all levels of experience, for both those who have had Carol’s class Colour Mixing for Dyers and those who have not.


Instructor Bio

Carol Soderlund’s works have been exhibited nationally and internationally since 1985 in such venues as Visions and American Quilting Society shows and have received numerous awards, including Best of Show at the 1989 International Quilt Festival and Best Use of Color at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Exhibition 2000. She has taught colour, fabric dyeing, colour-mixing techniques, and quilting throughout North America and is currently working on a book on these subjects. 

“My work is primarily driven by a passion for colour interactions, the illusions they create, the luminosity they can bring to a surface. I love creating my own palette of fabric through painting, dyeing, and other surface design processes including discharge, shibori, stamping, screening, and foiling. My goal in design is to have a piece that intrigues the viewer at first glance and then continues to reveal surprises upon every inspection.”  www.carolsoderlund.com
Thursday, April 25, 2013 No comments
Registration Opens June 24 at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Phototransfer for Textiles
Natalie Grambow



$195 includes 60 lab fee
November 2, 3, 2013 - Class Limit 14
Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

This two-day workshop will focus on a number of transfer processes that allow students to incorporate photo imagery into their work.

Students will learn methods for the transfer of both black-and-white and colour imagery onto cloth. These include transparent marker, iron-on, solvent, and gel-medium transfers. Students will also learn how to layer, collage, and transfer photocopied images of drawings, text, and photos onto cloth. The final piece will be embellished by hand embroidering, stencilling, and/or blockprinting to create a unique work that exhibits a layered complexity. 

Students are encouraged to bring a folder of personal imagery or text that they would like to incorporate into their work. Photocopies brought by the student should be fresh (one day old) and from a toner-based machine. An array of inspirational source material will also be on hand.


Instructor Bio

Natalie Grambow has an extensive background in design, teaching, and textile arts. An accredited Interior Designer, she spent many years in Ottawa working within the architectural design field and teaching Design Theory. Natalie’s first deep exploration of textiles began during her Visual Arts/Photography studies at the University of Ottawa when she experimented with non-silver techniques of transferring photographic imagery onto cloth. She subsequently studied at the École d’Impression Textile à Montréal and later travelled to Asia and Latin America where she spent six months learning to weave with local Mayan weavers in Guatemala. Shortly after completing the Textile Arts program at Capilano College in 2001, she was awarded the BC Craft Association’s Award of Excellence. Natalie has developed a line of naturally dyed and printed fabrics and has been commissioned by such clients as the city of North Vancouver (to present an artist’s vision of North Vancouver on fabric). 
Thursday, April 25, 2013 No comments
Registration Opens June 24 at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Bookbinding - The Artists Book
Gaye Hansen



$295 includes 70 lab fee
October 31, November 1, 2, 2013 - Class Limit 12
Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

One of our most popular classes—the demand for professional bookbinding instruction has been overwhelming. As more people have seen the exquisite books created in these classes, interest has grown considerably.

Both of Gaye’s bookbinding courses include fundamental binding techniques such as Japanese stab binding, corner treatments, the pamphlet stitch, the use of book cloth, and signature procedures.

As the workshop progresses, students will be taken through the steps of making a 6” x 7” hardcover book using more advanced techniques: cloth covers, sewn signatures, interleaf pages, hinges, linen tapes, and headbands. The books become personalized through add-in techniques such as sewn-in envelopes, specialty papers, blockprinting, insertions, and pockets. A wide variety of handmade and commercial papers will be used for the final project.


Instructor Bio

Gaye Hansen is the maker of books of exceptional beauty that contain intriguing wonders. She has an extensive background in bookbinding and the textile arts and has taught our popular bookbinding courses for the last eight years. She is also a master weaver who has taught weaving workshops for over 30 years. In 2002 she was chair of the Convergence Conference of the Hand Weavers Guilds of America. She has also been active with the Vancouver Weavers and Spinners Guild and is author of five best-selling Canadian cookbooks.
Thursday, April 25, 2013 No comments
Registration Opens June 24 at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Bookbinding - Ancient to Modern
Gaye Hansen



$295 includes 70 lab fee
October 28, 29, 30, 2013 - Class Limit 12
Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

This new class is an overview of bookbinding techniques and basic procedures. Students are introduced to the book arts in a casual and practical three-day format.

Both of Gaye’s bookbinding courses include fundamental binding techniques such as Japanese stab binding, corner treatments, the pamphlet stitch, the use of book cloth, and signature procedures.

Students will learn how to make an accordion book and simple effective origami books. They will progress to full instruction on a simple hard-covered journal including sewn signatures and the application of end papers and spine cloth.

The main focus of the third day is the  technique of Coptic or open-spine bookbinding, the oldest known book format. Students will learn about traditional techniques: hard covers, linen threads, cloth covers, end papers, and variations.

Throughout the three days students are exposed to a wide range of materials, equipment, and techniques including the use of decorative papers, mounting film, text pages, book cloth, etc. Time is set aside for learning through visual examples, demonstrations, personal instruction, text books, and web resources to maximize exposure to the ancient but reviving creative field of hand bookbinding.



Instructor Bio

Gaye Hansen is the maker of books of exceptional beauty that contain intriguing wonders. She has an extensive background in bookbinding and the textile arts and has taught our popular bookbinding courses for the last eight years. She is also a master weaver who has taught weaving workshops for over 30 years. In 2002 she was chair of the Convergence Conference of the Hand Weavers Guilds of America. She has also been active with the Vancouver Weavers and Spinners Guild and is author of five best-selling Canadian cookbooks.
Thursday, April 25, 2013 No comments
Registration Opens June 24 at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Natural Dyes - Print and Pattern
A Babchuk and D Bush



$395 includes 80 lab fee
October 29, 30, 31,November 1,  2013 - Class Limit 16
Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

This is one of our most popular natural dye classes. Study the art of preparing natural dyes, tannins, and mordants so that they can be used for direct application. 

The ability to mix and thicken natural dyes opens up many possibilities for creating designs on fabric that are simply not possible with immersion dyeing. 

This class will unlock the power of ancient methods that have given traditional craftspeople the capability of delivering pattern and colour on fabric. A wide array of variations are also possible through the combinations of different mordants, tannins, dyes, overdyes, and dyebaths. Students will learn how these variations can shift the final colour. These useful techniques are like dye magic: one dyestuff yields an impressive range of shades.

The workshop will combine direct application with appropriate patterning techniques such as block printing, stencilling, screen printing, shibori, and wax resist. The wonder of natural dyes will be enhanced by our choice of print material: natural fibres such as silks and cotton


Instructor Bios

Anne Babchuk has been a resident instructor for the Maiwa Textile Workshops for the past 18 years. She has taught classes in a wide range of traditional and contemporary surface design processes. Some specialties are: natural dyeing and printing, indigo dyeing, shibori, blockprinting, and precision dyeing.

Anne studied fine art at Okanagan University. To fund her education she started her own home-based textile business. She feels her greatest education has come through working for Maiwa Handprints, taking workshops from world-class instructors, and travelling.

Currently she archives and maintains the Maiwa Textile Collection and Library. She is also a trustee of the Maiwa Foundation and co-ordinator for the Maiwa Textile Symposium.

Danielle Bush is on staff at Maiwa Supply and one of our newest instructors. Her career in textiles began with sewing and fashion studies at the University of the Fraser Valley. Upon completing courses in design, drawing, drafting, and construction, she was accepted to Maiwa Handprints to do a week-long practicum in the textile collection. In her words: “It changed my life.” 

A veteran assistant for numerous workshops, Danielle is also the Maiwa sample dyer. In 2009 Danielle represented Maiwa at the ISS (shibori conference) held in France, and in 2011 she was a facilitator for the Maiwa Natural Dye Master Class taught by Michel Garcia in Bengal, India. Showing a natural understanding and aptitude for dye techniques, Danielle is a welcome addition to our roster of instructors.

Thursday, April 25, 2013 No comments
Registration Opens June 24 at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
African Mudprinting
Michele Wipplinger



$295 includes 85 lab fee
October 26, 27, 28, 2013 - Class Limit 16
Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

Learn creative mark-making using simple mud slurries. These powerful earth colours come from locations as diverse as Italy, Greece, and your own back yard. After the muds, ochres will be applied as a second layer. These brighten the painted mudcloth and give it a lively sense of light.

The mud colour range used in the workshop will include: bogolan black, bronze green, dark violet grey, rouge de Provence, and Mojave brown. Explore the different depths of shade and hue created using an extensive variety of mud combinations.

Students will also work with a range of coloured tannins. The tannins work in concert with the oxides in the mud to fix the colour on the cloth. Variation of mud and tannin create a field for the artist to explore. As a final step, the technique of discharge will be taught.

During the workshop each participant will have the opportunity to paint their cloth using traditional tools (metal Binye and a twig from nature) and an assortment of brushes and antique Afghan wood blocks. 

Michele joins us from Seattle.


Instructor Bio

Michele Wipplinger is president of Earthues Inc., an international colour and design consulting company specializing in ecology and the artisan. She has over 30 years’ experience in the field of natural design and ecological process, with an emphasis on natural dyes. She lectures worldwide and creates an exclusive line of silk shawls hand-painted with natural dyes.

Michele has been a consultant in Nepal for the development of colour and natural-dye processes for the Tibetan hand-woven carpet industry. She has developed products and consulted on colour for Aveda, Origins, Martha Stewart Living, Esprit, Terra Verde, and Nature Conservancy. Michele is on the Executive Board of Directors for Colour Marketing Group and received the United Nations award for her environmental stewardship on the development of an ecological natural-dye process for the American textile industry.  www.earthues.com

Thursday, April 25, 2013 No comments
Registration Opens June 24 at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
The Living Landscape
Lorraine Roy



$350 includes 85 lab fee
October 25, 26, 27, 2013 - Class Limit 14
Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Whether realistic or invented, natural landscapes offer exciting creative options. Although each landscape design requires a unique approach, a few basic guidelines help simplify the process of moving from drawing or photo to finished textile. 

Using collage with nets*, simple machine appliqué, and machine embroidery as our techniques, we will look at ways to lay out a complete landscape design from start to finish, experiment with texture and colour for sky, earth, and water, and discuss ways to incorporate rocks, trees, celestial bodies, and other elements. 

Participants are encouraged to bring their own ideas for designs and will receive plenty of individual guidance.

Participants can expect to create a number of samples and one or more finished surfaces that can be completed or mounted at home. Ideas for framing and finishing will be demonstrated.

Participants must have a working knowledge of free-motion stitchery. Each must bring a sewing machine equipped with a darning or embroidery foot.

* Collage with Nets:
I begin with a plain fabric ground. On this surface I drop hundreds of bits of cut fabric and thread until I reach a depth and texture that pleases me. I then pin transparent netting on top (usually nylon tulle) to hold everything in place. The layers are then machine-stitched together. This new fabric is now ready for further surface work.


Instructor Bio

Lorraine writes of herself “My science education and my love of fabric set the stage for a unique art career. As I became proficient, I devoted more and more time to my art until, just over twenty five years ago, it became a full time occupation. Not surprisingly, most of my imagery was, and is, inspired by trees. Trees are classic symbols of our connection with the natural world. And what better medium than fabric, itself a plant or animal product, to capture and reflect the attributes of nature? My latest imagery combines realism and abstraction, providing ample room for interpretation and sensual pleasure. Nothing brings me more joy than to coax order and beauty out of a messy jumble of materials. I like to think that my art imitates life.”
Monday, April 22, 2013 No comments
Registration Opens June 24 at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Tree of Life - Creativity and Design
Lorraine Roy



$250 includes 60 lab fee
October 23, 24, 2013 - Class Limit 14
Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Few life forms have inspired as many stories, mythologies, and legends as our giant companions. As the oldest living creatures, they bring to mind security, shelter, and connections to our past, yet they harbour mysteries as well. 

In this workshop students will examine all aspects of the tree, from the scientific to the fanciful, to create designs that reflect a personal symbolism.

The “Tree of Life” theme is very close to Lorraine’s heart. Using collage with nets*, simple machine appliqué, and machine embroidery as our techniques, we will work with all the components of a design that features trees: background, foreground, and main subject.

In order to hit the ground running, partipants will be asked to collect information about their favourite tree to prepare for the workshop.

Participants can expect to create a number of samples and one or more finished surfaces that can be completed or mounted at home. Ideas for framing and finishing will be demonstrated.

Participants must have a working knowledge of free-motion stitchery. Each must bring a sewing machine equipped with a darning or embroidery foot.

* Collage with Nets:
I begin with a plain fabric ground. On this surface I drop hundreds of bits of cut fabric and thread until I reach a depth and texture that pleases me. I then pin transparent netting on top (usually nylon tulle) to hold everything in place. The layers are then machine-stitched together. This new fabric is now ready for further surface work.


Instructor Bio

Lorraine writes of herself “My science education and my love of fabric set the stage for a unique art career. As I became proficient, I devoted more and more time to my art until, just over twenty five years ago, it became a full time occupation. Not surprisingly, most of my imagery was, and is, inspired by trees. Trees are classic symbols of our connection with the natural world. And what better medium than fabric, itself a plant or animal product, to capture and reflect the attributes of nature? My latest imagery combines realism and abstraction, providing ample room for interpretation and sensual pleasure. Nothing brings me more joy than to coax order and beauty out of a messy jumble of materials. I like to think that my art imitates life.”
Monday, April 22, 2013 No comments
Registration Opens June 24 at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Expressive Dye Painting and Printing
Sue Benner



$595 includes 100 lab fee
October 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 2013 - Class Limit 14
Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

Sue Benner is well known for her large-format textile works which combine a painterly approach with a love of colour and fabric. This year she returns from Dallas, Texas, to give this much anticipated class.

Bold and expressive use of Procion MX dyes is the goal of this workshop. Sue teaches her layered painterly approach using direct application, mono-printing, and variations on mark-making techniques. Emphasis is placed on developing sophisticated colour combinations, using interesting tools, and adding touches of metallic and opaque fabric paints. Sue will share helpful hints, technical information, and the variations that have made her own work so successful.  

Make your marks, brush your strokes, and record it all on fabric.


Instructor Bio

Sue Benner is an innovator in her field, creating original dyed and painted fabrics which she combines with recycled textiles to form fields of structured pattern, vivid beauty, and riotous variation.

Sue’s artwork is in many private, corporate, and institutional collections. She also lectures and teaches workshops nationally and internationally in the fields of surface design, textile collage, fused quilt construction, and artistic inspiration. Her work has been juried into Quilt National seven times, and she served as a juror in 2009.

www.suebenner.com


Monday, April 22, 2013 No comments
Registration Opens June 24 at 10am

2013 Maiwa Textile Symposium
Between the Colours - Creative Resist
Natalie Grambow



$195 includes 60 lab fee
October 19, 20, 2013 - Class Limit 14
Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

This very popular workshop has returned. Here students will obtain a comprehensive understanding of resists: what advantage each might have, what effects can be obtained, and what the proper techniques are for manipulating fabric, colour, and resist. This course is an ideal introduction to resist as a vital element of surface design.

The class will work with fibre-reactive dyes, fabric paints, discharge agents, and water-based paste resists including flour paste, potato starch, corn dextrin, and devore. Students will also study a variety of pre-made resists such as wax emulsion, Presist, Sabra-silk, gutta, glue gels, and puff pigments (to create puckered effects).

Finally, students will study hot wax resist and a range of shibori resists including pole-wrapping clamped resist and stitch-bound resist. Students will leave the workshop with many samples showing a variety of techniques and effects. A final project will also be completed.



Instructor Bio

Natalie Grambow has an extensive background in design, teaching, and textile arts. An accredited Interior Designer, she spent many years in Ottawa working within the architectural design field and teaching Design Theory. Natalie’s first deep exploration of textiles began during her Visual Arts/Photography studies at the University of Ottawa when she experimented with non-silver techniques of transferring photographic imagery onto cloth. She subsequently studied at the École d’Impression Textile à Montréal and later travelled to Asia and Latin America where she spent six months learning to weave with local Mayan weavers in Guatemala. Shortly after completing the Textile Arts program at Capilano College in 2001, she was awarded the BC Craft Association’s Award of Excellence. Natalie has developed a line of naturally dyed and printed fabrics and has been commissioned by such clients as the city of North Vancouver (to present an artist’s vision of North Vancouver on fabric). 
Monday, April 22, 2013 No comments
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      • LECTURE Lorraine Roy
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      • WORKSHOP Pot of Gold - Rainbow Dyeing in a Dyepot
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