Few things can influence us in the way colour does. Working with our conscious desires or subtly playing off our deeper natures, colour can move our emotions and influence our thoughts.

This workshop will give students a theoretical and creative grounding in working with colour. Classical theories of colour put forth by Newton, Goethe, and Itten will be introduced. The language of colour will be covered, giving a grounding in harmony, value, saturation, and hue.

Students will be led through various exercises to help them observe the effects that colours have on each other, their relativity to the human eye, and the way they respond to different surfaces such as paper and cloth. Students will use various materials such as fabric paints, watercolours, colour crayons, pre-dyed fabric and fleece, and paint chips.

This workshop will provide the tools for students to investigate and analyze the effects of colour, create their own colourways and palettes using inspiration from different directed sources, and develop their senses to better appreciate and work with the chromatic world.

Natalie joins us from BC’s Sunshine Coast.

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.