The Complex Cloth is a cloth layered through the application of  many procedures. This challenging and rewarding three-day workshop takes the artisan who has worked with individual methods into new territory where pattern, texture, colour, and technique all come together.

The workshop opens with a survey of the creative potential of a variety of methods. This overview includes culturally diverse samples from all over the world. The class will then dive into the hands-on use of oxides and tannins, combinations of dyes and discharge agents, the burn-out technique of devoré, surface design techniques such as silkscreen and blockprint, and finally manipulation techniques such as shibori.

Students will study how techniques may be used in combination to achieve special effects rather than explore individual techniques in detail. This class is specially formulated to give the student an opportunity to apply a range of processes in a relatively short time.

Students will finish the course with a sample book showcasing a variety of techniques and will work a bit of textile magic: transforming a silk scarf into a complex cloth.

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.