[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Text and Flowers

Tilleke Schwarz

$225 includes 30 lab fee

October 4, 5,  - Class Limit 14

Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Marking linen with initials (monograms) has a long tradition. In order to practice, girls used to stitch a sampler with different sizes of alphabets. In contemporary art (graffiti, folk art, collage) texts still play an important role. In this workshop we will practice letters and texts in different techniques (traditional and free-style) to make a contemporary sampler. 

Tilleke will demonstrate her favorite technique (couching) and show the different ways it can be used. 

We will also practice counted thread stitches (cross stitch). Tilleke will bring some traditional patterns for lettering as samples. 

The second day we will add some flowers. Flowers can be formed completely in stitch but appliqué gives great results too and is much faster. The class will cover both techniques. 

The workshop will have an emphasis on hand embroidery, but it is perfectly all right to incorporate any other (textile) technique or bring your own sewing machine. 

Tilleke joins us from the Netherlands.

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Telling Your Own Story

Tilleke Schwarz

$295 includes 40 lab fee

October 1,2,3,  - Class Limit 14

Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

The focus of this workshop is design, allowing students to design a new work in their own style in which they can express themselves and tell their own story. 

The workshop will open with exercises in mixed media and collage. These fast techniques on paper allow students to experiment and to try out new ideas—even without accomplished drawing skills. Students will enjoy the adventure of designing while working, resulting in inspiration for a new work. 

Demonstrations will include Tilleke’s favourite embroidery techniques. While students will focus on hand embroidery, it is perfectly all right to incorporate any other (textile) technique or bring your own sewing machine. 

Hand-stitching is fun but time-consuming; students should not expect to finish a new work in the workshop. The aim is to leave with plenty of new ideas and a start for a new work on cloth.

Tilleke joins us from the Netherlands.

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Hand Hooked Rugs

Michelle Sirois-Silver

$195 includes 65 lab fee

September 29, 30,  - Class Limit 15

Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

The original hooked rugs were a matter of thrift. Yet they left a legacy rich in personal history and storytelling.

In this two-day workshop students learn the basic rug-hooking and finishing techniques needed to make their own hand-hooked rugs and accessories. The class will hand hook fabric strips onto a linen backing.

Each student receives one-on-one attention from the instructor. Students may select from one of three designs provided by the instructor or are welcome to create their own design. They will leave the workshop with a completed, hand-hooked, 20 cm x 20 cm sampler. Topics covered in the workshop include fabric selection, backing, the sourcing of supplies, and the history of hand-hooked rugs in Canada.

This two-day workshop is ideal for those who are beginners as well as those who are relatively new to the craft and may want to refresh their skills.

Instructor Bio

Michelle Sirois-Silver is a McGown-certified instructor who teaches rug-hooking workshops on design and colour planning in Canada and the United States.

Her work has been exhibited at fibreEssence, Contemporary Craft in BC, Surface Design Traveling Exhibition, FibreWorks Gallery, Convergence, Gibsons Fibre Arts Festival, and the Silk Purse Arts Centre. She has a Creative Arts Diploma from Vanier College, a BA Specialization in Communications from Concordia University, and a Public Relations Certificate from the University of Toronto. She studied colour theory with Michele Wipplinger and at BC Open University. Ms. Sirois-Silver first began teaching rug-hooking in 1998 and formed Big Dog Hooked Rug Designs in 2004. 

www.michellesirois-silver.com

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Indigo - The Organic Vat  

Michel Garcia

$250 includes 50 lab fee

October 2,3,  - Class Limit 16

Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

Dyers can spend years mastering the quirks and personality of a specific indigo dye vat. Indigo has a reputation for being the master of the dyer and sometimes it keeps its magic to itself.  

Michel Garcia comes to the vat with a fresh perspective. A background in botany and chemistry and an intense knowledge of colourants combine with his eagerness to share information. During this workshop, some new possibilities for making a natural vat will be presented using henna, dates, figs, pears, or grapes as reagents. Students will be able to easily establish a fast natural vat that can be used to dye any natural fibre. 

The natural or organic vat can be fed and maintained with many things. The vat can also be maintained and revitalized through natural ingredients. Students will gain an appreciation of the mechanics of the vat and move beyond any single recipe. They will leave with a thorough knowledge of the indigo process and will be able to select the appropriate vat to match their technique.

Michel arrives from France to teach this workshop.

Instructor 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.

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Secrets of the Dye Garden

Michel Garcia

$395 includes 75 lab fee

September 29, 30, October 1 - Class Limit 16

Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

For dyers, this is our most talked-about workshop. Michel Garcia’s deep knowledge of dye chemistry is communicated in metaphor, humour, and wit. Students learn not only what happens with dyes but why. 

A founder of the Botanical Garden of Dye Plants in Lauris, France, Michel returns each year to share the results of his most recent research. Students can expect a fast-paced workshop packed with ideas, concepts, samples, and demonstrations.

Students will be exposed to a wide range of natural dye knowledge from mordant types to families of tannins to water chemistry. Michel brings the latest research and discoveries from his own experimental studio to share with students.

As the class progresses, students will begin to see all the threads come together—for example, how thickening techniques for dyes can also be used with mordants, how the dye matter gives up its colour, and why it fixes to the cloth (or doesn’t). 

Students with prior experience with natural dyes will benefit the most from this class.

Instructor 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.. 

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop The Creative Studio (offered twice)

Natalie Grambow

$295 includes 65 lab fee

First class - September 26, 27, 28,  - Class Limit 14

Second class - November 21, 22, 23 - Class Limit 14

Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Due to intense demand the Creative Studio has been expanded to a three-day workshop.

This workshop is one of our most inspiring and creative, so much so that we have students who have taken it more than once. Students come to answer the question: How can creativity be tapped, mined, or made to flow when we need it most? In this original workshop, students will travel on an exploratory adventure, discovering techniques and letting go of assumptions that may hold them back.

The class will provide a wealth of images, sounds, and sensory inspirations. These will be combined with a variety of studies exploring the elements and principles of creative design. Such ideas as balance, symmetry, harmony, contrast, and unity will provide a toolbox that may be opened to understand both what we like about an artwork and what we want to work toward in our own work.

Using collage, image deconstruction, mono-printing, writing, and drawing, students will learn to narrate their stories incorporating personal references and applying design principles. Students will leave the workshop with a creative journal, the beginning of their ongoing artistic journey, as well as a series of small textile art pieces.

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 exhibited her textile art installations in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and the Sunshine Coast. She  has also developed a line of naturally dyed and printed fabrics and has been commissioned by such clients as the city of North Vancouver. Currently living in Roberts Creek, BC, she continues her art practice and studies from her studio. 

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Shibori - Splash Colour

Jane Callender

$295 includes 50 lab fee

September 27, 28 - Class Limit 15

Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

The aim of the workshop is to create an exciting range of indigo “splash colour” shibori fabrics which when combined through appliqué and quilting will create multi-layered surfaces for decorative purses, bags, and pouches.  

Designing within the constraints of a flat cloth destined for a three-dimensional form (such as a bag) poses unique design challenges. We will be working shibori specifically to suit shape and refine shibori skills.

Students will explore bound, reserved, cylinder wrap, itajime, and stitched indigo resist. Participants will use cotton and silk of different weights and textures and employ plain and dip-dyeing of jacquards and brocades. 

The focus of the workshop will be shibori.  Appliqué and quilting techniques will be demonstrated for completion of the bag at home.  

Jane Callender joins us from the UK.

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Shibori  - Variation and Echo

Jane Callender

$395 includes 75 lab fee

September 24, 25, 26 - Class Limit 15

Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

Shibori is like music. Variations and echoes can be used to build a theme that has power and beauty.

In this workshop, traditional indigo shibori resists are  manipulated and combined to echo patterns and create sculptural and textural effects in the cloth itself. 

One of our approaches will be to work shibori on surfaces we have created. Traditional stitched formats will be re-defined, motifs developed, and the complete range of resist techniques explored—stitching, binding, itajime, and bo maki (pole-wound). These techniques will be used in isolation, in combination, and with selective dyeing processes.  

Participants can expect to produce innovative samples that explore the special relationship between indigo and the complimentary dyes through selective dyeing processes. They will also control the tonal variation of indigo and bring changes to established shibori stitch techniques. 

We will be working with natural fabrics such as silk, cotton, linen, and polyester. Some sewing prep work will be needed before the class begins. Shibori experience is advantageous. 

Jane Callender joins us from the UK. 

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop The Art of Embroidery

Bonnie Adie

$250 includes 55 lab fee

September 23, 24, 25 - Class Limit 14

Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

This very popular workshop has been expanded to three full days.

Are you a textile enthusiast wanting to add stitch for embellishment? If so, this is the workshop you won’t want to miss. The stitches you’ll learn are those known across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. They have passed between families and persisted for generations.

This fast-paced workshop will introduce a long list of traditional embroidery stitches. As the class progresses, emphasis will shift to variations and combinations of these stitches with experimentation leading to a means of personal expression. For those interested in shisha mirror work, we will study the art of attaching mirrors to fabric with thread.

Threads will be available in a variety of weights and textures. A variety of background materials will also be available to try. The class will make small samples that can be placed in a book along with documentation for future reference. Students will leave the workshop with the confidence to add embellishment to their work and to create textures and patterns allowing for self-expression in thread.

Instructor Bio

Bonnie Adie is inspired by the dialogue between traditional and contemporary embroidery techniques. She is also captivated by the potential dynamics of thread textures and backgrounds. Bonnie has completed the City and Guilds of London Creative Embroidery and Design course presented by Julia Caprara and the Opus School of Textiles as well as several courses with national and international tutors.

Her work has been exhibited in various galleries in British Columbia, England, and the United States. She is involved with the North Shore Needle Arts Guild and the Vancouver Guild of Fibre Arts and assisted in forming Arrowsmith Needle Arts. Bonnie is also a past member and treasurer of fibreEssence.

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Feltmaking - Beyond the Basics

Rene Evans

$250 includes 85 lab fee

September 22, 23,  - Class Limit 14

Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

Feltmaking is growing in popularity. As felting methods advance, they are often combined with other textile techniques. 

In this workshop students will learn how felt can be pleated and resist-dyed like fine silk using shibori techniques, how gossamer felts can be made lighter and lighter, how felt is sculptured into three-dimensional forms that incorporate multiple layers, and how the boundaries of felt are being challenged.

Students will also have a hands-on opportunity to explore the many new aspects of feltmaking. Emphasis will be placed on creating images and colour on the felted surface and creating textures in the finished felt. 

Students will use rovings and pre-felts, as well learn how to incorporate other textile structures such as weaving, knitting, or crochet into their feltmaking. Several of the pieces will be dyed during the workshop. The use of multiple resists to create sculptural or wearable pieces will be discussed. Each day as students learn new techniques, they will complete two or more small projects. 

Some previous feltmaking experience or a prior basic felt workshop is required.

Instructor Bio:

Rene Evans was born and educated in New Zealand. Rene Corder Evans has always had a love for fine wools, but it was not until she returned to weaving in 1995 that she developed a deep love and appreciation for the art of felt making. In 1996 she was introduced to the Fashion Design Program at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), graduating with a Diploma of Fashion Design in 1999. From 2001 to 2012 Rene was a Textile Instructor within the Fashion Design Program at UFV. She divided her time between creating one-of-a-kind wearable art pieces, teaching weaving at the university level, and her career as a business administrator, enjoying the challenges of all three. In 2012 Rene retired and now she spends time in New Zealand and Canada and is finding more time for textile arts.

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Introduction to Dyes

Natalie Grambow

$295 includes 85 lab fee

September 19, 20, 21,  - Class Limit 14

Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

This intensive three-day workshop is the perfect entry into the fascinating art of achieving colour on fabric. It is designed to be a clear and thorough introduction to the (sometimes intimidating) world of dye types and procedures.

Through a series of complete hands-on projects, students will be guided through the dye process and will gain an understanding of scouring, assists, and resists. They will also learn the advantages and strengths of the different dye types such as fibre-reactive, acid, and natural dyes. A key component of this workshop will survey the different types of fabrics, and special consideration will be given to the understanding of natural fibres. 

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 exhibited her textile art installations in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and the Sunshine Coast. She  has also developed a line of naturally dyed and printed fabrics and has been commissioned by such clients as the city of North Vancouver. Currently living in Roberts Creek, BC, she continues her art practice and studies from her studio. 

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Restored and Remixed

Michael Brennand-Wood

$295 includes 45 lab fee

September 21, 22 - Class Limit 14

Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Restoration, recycling, and remaking are the cornerstones of any textile practice. The trade of textiles inevitably resulted in the assimilation of motifs, patterns, and imagery—at times re-configured and re-imagined into the most unusual of contexts.

For this workshop participants will elect to bring, choose, or be given an existing textile artifact. They will then begin the process of remaking the original object or image so that it evolves into something different and unexpected.

Decisions may well be shaped by the artist’s desire to  work from a transgressive or loving perspective. One must decide whether to destroy, alter, or substantiate the original intention and meaning of a work.

Participants may present a sequence of experimentation that articulates their thinking and thought processes. Michael is interested in the strategies and critical analysis students employ over the two days. Additional processes may encompass photography, text, drawing, or collage. 

Critique and group discussion are an important component of the course. Participants need to be open-minded and willing to experiment with concept and media. They will be encouraged to develop original solutions in relation to the core aims of the workshop; this is not a technical or prescriptive course.  

Teaching will largely be on a one-to-one basis. The workshop will close with a group discussion to share results and set a personal agenda for the student’s home studio.

This workshop is a special opportunity to work directly with Michael Brennand-Wood, an internationally acclaimed artist, curator, and speaker from the UK. 

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop The Architecture of Ideas

Michael Brennand-Wood

$150 includes 20 lab fee

Sept 20 - Class Limit 14

Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

How do we build an idea? What is the foundation? What do we build with? And how do we know when the process is unstable ... or complete?  

As makers (in textiles or any other media), we construct with materials, but equally we can build a concept. The Architecture of Ideas is a stand-alone workshop with a specific focus on how to build on an idea. 

The goal will be to work with a new confidence in the conceptual realm. Participants will be empowered to evolve personal, creative strategies for the origination and development of ideas.

Students will select from an extensive series of visual and conceptual references. They will then be encouraged to configure, to contextualize, and to add or subtract imagery. Threads and patterns of thought will be presented, discussed, and critiqued via a rolling program of dialogue and critique.

This workshop will provide a rare opportunity to work closely with accomplished UK artist and curator, Michael Brennand-Wood in an intimate classroom environment.

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Overlays

Michael Brennand-Wood

$295 includes 45 lab fee

September 18, 19 - Class Limit 14

Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Layering is an important aspect of both history and archeology. We build and we erase, we add and subtract, continually evolving new meanings and insights. By moving these ideas of accretion and removal into the textile world, students will gain new strategies to create and modify their work.

Each participant will create a personal two-dimensional laminate of imagery, incorporating tensioned layers of cloth with collage, stitch, paint, and other mixed media. Once assembled each layer will be selectively cut back to reveal layers of information and meaning. 

Frames will be provided along with opaque and translucent fabrics in differing weights. 

Participants will bring objects or found elements that can be inserted within layers of suspended cloth. Objects may be stones, toys, natural or mechanized parts, books, pages, photos, tools, new or old components, anything that might be creatively veiled and covered with fabric.

Imagery might be obscured, erased, overlaid, cut, veiled, or removed through techniques of cut work, appliqué, shadow quilting, darning, mending, or gathering.

Critique and group discussion will be an important component of this course. Participants need to be open-minded and willing to experiment with concepts and media. They will be encouraged to develop original solutions in relation to the core aims of the workshop; this is not a technical or prescriptive course.  

Emphasis will be placed on the investigation and research of personal imagery and the development of related technical innovation, ideas that can be developed at a later stage. 

Teaching will largely be on a one-to-one basis. At the close of the workshop, Michael would like to have a group evaluation to discuss what has been achieved. The purpose of this final session is to share outcomes and to set a personal agenda to be continued and developed back in  your home studios.

This workshop is a special opportunity to work directly with Michael Brennand-Wood, an internationally acclaimed artist, curator, and speaker from the UK. 

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Feltmaking

Rene Evans

$250 includes 85 lab fee

September 17, 18,  - Class Limit 14

Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

Felt is one of the oldest known forms of manipulated fibre. Felting appears coincidental with animal husbandry and produces a range of items from clothing and toys to sculpture, tents, and even industrial tools. Often an art and tradition of nomadic peoples, felting is making a worldwide resurgence and is gaining recognition.

In this two-day, project-oriented workshop, students will explore the many aspects of felt, from three-dimensional hats, boots, and bags to warm felt coats and lightweight, gossamer “nuno” felts. Students will learn basic feltmaking techniques by creating a sample binder of felts of different weights and felts from different wool fibres. They will select a final project which can be a three-dimensional project (such as a hat, bag, boots), flat felt yardage, or “nuno” yardage (such as scarf or vest fronts). The techniques learned in the workshop can be applied to all felted projects.

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop One Pot Palette - Plant Fibres

Danielle Bush & Sophena Kwon

$250 includes 85 lab fee

September 15, 16 - Class Limit 14

Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

No palette can match the harmony and subtle beauty of natural dyes. In this workshop we will explore that potential using the One Pot Palette, a technique that conserves water, dye material, and space.

Students will work with cotton, hemp, and linen yarns. With plant fibres, we will learn the magical potential of using mordants and tannins before dyeing. We will also look at the different effects that can be achieved by adding mordants and tannins after dyeing. While working through a palette, students will also learn how to achieve tone on tone and colour gradations.

The class will cover the fundamental principals of natural dye use as well as the tools and techniques to intuitively work through their own one pot palette. 

Students will leave the workshop with a generous stash of yarns in different plant fibres that can be used toward  a future project. 

Instructor Bios:

Danielle Bush is on staff at Maiwa Supply and one of our 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.

Sophena Kwon has grown up with Maiwa as a family business. In 2009 she studied with Michel Garcia in France, in 2010 and 2011 she assisted with the natural dye workshops in Peru and India. In 2012 she co-taught with Charllotte Kwon at the Penland School of Crafts and in 2013 she assisted in natural dye troubleshooting at the Living Blue Cooperative in Bangladesh. In addition to her natural dye work she is also a skilled clothing designer and photographer.

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop One Pot Palette - Animal Fibres

Danielle Bush & Sophena Kwon

$250 includes 85 lab fee

September 13, 14 - Class Limit 14

Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

Are you an apartment dyer? Working with natural dyes in a tiny studio? Or are you looking for a way to conserve water, dye matter, and mordants? The One Pot Palette is for any of these, and for anyone who wants to lay down natural colour on yarns.

In this workshop, students will work with an assortment of silks as well as wools from different sheep breeds. There are a variety of clever techniques (both additive and subtractive) to get a range of very different colours out of a single dyepot.  Students will learn the fundamental principals of natural dyes as well as the tools and techniques to intuitively work through their own one pot palette. 

Students will leave the workshop with a generous stash of yarns in different animal fibres that can be used to complete a future project. 

Instructor Bios:

Danielle Bush is on staff at Maiwa Supply and one of our 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.

Sophena Kwon has grown up with Maiwa as a family business. In 2009 she studied with Michel Garcia in France, in 2010 and 2011 she assisted with the natural dye workshops in Peru and India. In 2012 she co-taught with Charllotte Kwon at the Penland School of Crafts and in 2013 she assisted in natural dye troubleshooting at the Living Blue Cooperative in Bangladesh. In addition to her natural dye work she is also a skilled clothing designer and photographer.

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop The Stitch that Tells a Story (offered twice0

Janet Bolton

$295 includes 50 lab fee

First Class - September 14, 15 - Class Limit 15

Second Class - September 16, 17 - Class Limit 15

Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Cloth and stitch combine with a deceptive simplicity in this workshop taught by UK textile artist Janet Bolton. 

Famous for her evocative textile pictures that convey the feeling of storybook illustrations, Janet aims to give each student the confidence to work directly with the fabrics at hand. That is, with an idea in mind, the student will select textures and colour combinations from available fabrics rather than working out a composition in another medium (painting or drawing) and then attempting to transpose that concept into fabric.

The class will discuss compositional ideas, subject matter, and the choice of suitable materials both old and new. Students will explore the idea of allowing the composition to develop and change as the work progresses, emphasizing the wonderful freedom and directness this way of working allows—right to the very last stitch. Janet will demonstrate “needle turning” techniques used to finalize the shape of the different components, the placing of those components, and the use of thread as a drawn line.

Janet will bring originals of her own work and a selection of pieces at different stages of development. She will also have various pieces that in her opinion have not been successful; these have led to many an interesting discussion!

The actual techniques are very simple: hand sewing at all stages. Each student will be given as much individual help as they need, particularly at the early compositional stage. After the general introduction, the whole emphasis will be on individual tuition.

The workshop will include advice on presentation of work, including framing, and will end with a group discussion on the works produced.

[2014 Symposium registration opens June 23 at 10am.]

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Narrative Textiles

Janet Bolton

$195 includes 35 lab fee

September 13 - Class Limit 15

Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

This workshop is a comprehensive introduction to UK textile artist Janet Bolton’s direct way of working. The freedom that characterizes this technique permits students to explore their own likes and dislikes and find their own voices.

Although there will not be time to completely finish a piece, all necessary aspects, including presenting and framing the work, will be covered.

The workshop will start with a short slide show of Janet Bolton’s work. From there the class will discuss inspiration from the choice of suitable subject matter to the idea of allowing the work to change throughout its construction. The result is a way of working that is exciting to the last stitch.

Practical demonstrations of constructional methods, simple cutting of shapes, placing, and “needle turning” techniques augment the workshop.

All work is sewn by hand. Students will receive personal help throughout the workshop; this individual help is most important as there are no rules, no “correct” way of working. There is no right or wrong.

The class will finish with a group discussion of the pieces. Students will leave the class with an exciting work in progress, confident that they can complete the piece.

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Natural Dyes

Charllotte Kwon

$495 includes $120 lab fee

September 9, 10, 11, 12 - Class Limit 16

Maiwa East: 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver BC

What magic does the dyer use to coax colour from nature? Throughout the world this knowledge was guarded carefully, and learning the art often involved elaborate ceremonies and traditions. To this day, natural dyeing retains the same air of mystery and exotic intrigue that has compelled artists and craftspeople for centuries. 

Charllotte Kwon’s passionate study of natural dyeing techniques has led her to visit and work with cultures around the world. In this workshop she shares her vast knowledge of natural dye history and use. In addition Charllotte offers insight into her own in-studio processes and demonstrates how to get the most from a range of dyes and fabrics. The student will obtain a good technical understanding of the mordanting processes and the varied uses of such dyes as indigo, cochineal, madder, fustic, and many others. Gorgeous Turkey reds, indigo blues, and Indian yellows are just a few of the colours achieved as students work on cotton, silks, wools, and linen.

The full spectrum of more than 80 rich colours dyed in class will form a source book for each student. These books are a great inspiration and reference for years to come. Students will also complete several natural-dye projects. A variety of shibori techniques will be used and then dyed with natural indigo.

This popular class has now been expanded to four full days. 

This is a practical workshop with many vats and some lifting. As we like to put it: if you can get your suitcase on an international flight—you should be fine.

Instructor Bio

Charllotte Kwon is the owner of Maiwa Handprints Ltd. and the director of the Maiwa Foundation. Through Maiwa, Charllotte also runs a textile archive and research library located on Granville Island. Under her direction Maiwa has produced four documentary films and a number of print publications. She also guides Maiwa’s substantial web presence.

Charllotte travels extensively each year to research handcraft and to supplement her natural-dye research. Always looking to extend natural dye use, she also teaches dyeing workshops with artisans around the world and has planned a series of natural dye master classes to bring exceptional practising artisans together.

2014 Maiwa Textile Symposium

Workshop Creative Map Making

Valerie Goodwin

$495 includes 65 lab fee

September 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,  - Class Limit 14

Maiwa Loft: Above the Net Loft, Granville Is. Vancouver BC

Cross-fertilization between disciplines can enrich how an artist approaches her work. This workshop will focus on the basic principles of graphic composition used by many architects. Students will learn to create rich and complex arrangements using principles of scale, merging, layering/overlapping, ranking, and framing. 

Beginning with a series of quick exercises, students will gain a grounding in the fundamentals of composition and begin employing the elements and principles of design. 

Valerie Goodwin will work closely with students, guiding them to more advanced explorations that afford opportunities to experiment and invent. Valerie is well known for creating a flexible environment of encouragement, order, and inspiration. 

Building on these creative foundations, students will tap into the right and left sides of the brain to design a thoughtful and imaginative composition from a distinctive perspective. Each student will create a cartographic art quilt that tells the story of a particular place.

Valerie Goodwin joins us from the USA.