LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS
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Ann's workshops offer information that is not widely available about applying dye directly on fabric. They provide the opportunity to learn "hands-on" techniques that some are hesitant to try by themselves. Procion MX dyes are washable and will not leave a surface texture on the fabric, so they are particularly appropriate for quilters. They can be put on wet or dry cotton, silk, viscose rayon, or linen by painting, stamping, or printing, and using a variety of low-water immersion techniques. The techniques are easy to do in a small space, requiring neither heat or steam to fix the colors. The classes are described here as they are most often taught, for all levels of ability. When there is an experienced group, a longer period of time, or a facility that allows more advanced techniques, the workshop will change accordingly.
Some of Ann's newer classes combine dyeing with quilt design while others focus on design concepts in relation to quilt construction and hand-dyedfabric. The workshop size is limited to 20 students, unless otherwise arranged, so everyone will receive plenty of direct instruction in doing the work. Ann also offers half-day and full-day seminars for larger groups. These consist of teacher demonstrations, lecture and slide presentations, with fabric and/or quilt showings.
For more information about the dyeing recipes and designing quilts, and the great variety of possible results, refer to Ann's books: Color By Design: Paint and Print with Dye, 2001; The Quilter's Design Book, 2000; Color By Accident: Low-Water Immersion Dyeing, 1997; and Dye Painting! 1992. Contact Ann for slides, references, and scheduling.
• Workshops:
Dye classes: (20 students maximum)
> INTRO TO DYE PAINTING, 2-3 days
> DYE PAINTING PLUS, 3-4 days
> DYE PAINTING WITH PRECISION, 2-5 days
> CREATE YOUR OWN YARDAGE, 5-10 days
> COLOR BY ACCIDENT, 2 days
> COLOR BY ACCIDENT PLUS, 3 days
> DYED TO CLAMP, 3-5 days
> STAMPING WITH DYES, 5 days
> ONE-OF-A-KIND PRINTS ON FABRIC, 5 days
> RHYTHM AND PATTERN WITH DYES, 5-10 days
> LAYERS OF COLORS WITH WATER SOLUBLE RESISTS, 5-10 days
> DYE AND DESIGN IN BLACK AND WHITE, 5 days
Design classes, some with dyeing: (20 students maximum)
> PAINT ON PIECES, 5-10 days
> DESIGNING WITH HAND-DYED FABRIC, 4-5 days
> QUILTING HAND DYED FABRIC, 2 days
> DESIGN ELEMENTS FOR QUILTERS, 2 days
> MAKING DESIGN DECISIONS FOR QUILTS, 5-10 days
> THE BATTLE OF LINE VS. SHAPE, 2 days
• Lectures:
Lectures are 45 minutes to 1 hour
> DESIGN SOURCES RE-VIEWED
> DESIGN JOURNEY
> HAND-DYED FABRIC EXPLAINED
> LINE VS. SHAPE
> TEXTURE AND RELIEF FOR QUILTERS
• Seminars:
Seminars are half or full day (slides, lecture, demonstration, discussion)
POUR ON THE DYE (low-water immersion dyeing)
MAKE YOUR OWN MARK (dye painting)
STAMPING WITH DYE (printing with dye)
MONOPRINTING WITH DYE (one-of-a-kind printing, large and small scale)
WATER-SOLUBLE RESISTS (for dye-painting techniques)
BASIC DESIGN CONCEPTS FOR QUILTERS (demonstration, slides and lecture)
Workshop classroom requirements and supplies
All classes are taught indoors in a variety of facilities. Ann prefers to have at least 6 feet of table space per student, a sink with hot and cold water, and good light. For an extended class in which students dye greater amounts of yardage, larger tables and more sink space is necessary. A more detailed list of classroom needs will be sent when the class is arranged.
When Ann provides dyes, fabric, handouts and/or special tools for use in class, a materials fee will be assessed for each student. In most classes, students need only bring things such as paper towels, rubber gloves, simple tools, and plastic containers. Exact supply lists and materials fees will be sent when the class is arranged. Alternative arrangements can be made for supplies, depending on and availability and student interests. For classes outside the United States, availability of supplies will be researched for each class and arrangements will be made to have everything, either purchased locally or shipped to the class.
• INTRO TO DYE PAINTING (2-3 days)
Fiber-reactive dyes are washable and will not leave a surface texture on the fabric, so they are particularly appropriate for the quilter. They can be applied directly to fabric in a process that works well in a small space without needing heat or steam treatment. A full array of colors can be mixed with the three primaries, and its flow on the fabric can be controlled without using wax or other resists. This workshop will go over all the basics about these dyes: characteristics, recipes, and sources. Ann will lecture and demonstrate, but most of the students' time will be spent applying dye to fabric. The focus will be on color mixing and creating a sampler of techniques, learning to control the dye without resist in thick as well as thin mixtures. Students will plan colors for and dye paint a variety of fabrics that might be used in future projects. Each student will be able to work at his or her level of experience and ability.
• DYE PAINTING PLUS (3-4 days)
Same as above class, with recipes and demonstration of low-water immersion dyeing.
• DYE PAINTING WITH PRECISION (2-5 days)
Students will paint dyes on cotton and silk in this class and learn how to use the dyes in a medium to thin consistency with the emphasis on control of detail and shading. We will practice mixing exact colors and values and paint a sampler of various precision painting techniques that work best with this painting medium. The students will then paint designs of their own choice on blocks or on a whole cloth quilt depending on the length of the class.
• CREATE YOUR OWN YARDAGE (5-10 days)
Students will do a few brief exercises to get comfortable with the medium, mixing the colors, and practicing most of the possible applications including: painting, stamping, rolling or printing with thick and thin dyes on wet and dry fabric. They will be encouraged to explore color and pattern, and to make their own decisions. The focus of the class will be on learning by doing while trying as many ways as possible to apply the dye to the fabric. Students will produce yardage in related color ways and patterns. This class sometimes includes one morning of round-robin dyeing.
• COLOR BY ACCIDENT (2 days)
This class will provide the opportunity to create one-of-a-kind textures and variegated color mixtures on fabric with simple, flexible recipes. These low-water immersion dye recipes have been adapted by Ann to use the same dye concentrates used for dye painting and printing. The process allows for dyeing fabric in large quantities with less dye, less water, less weight, and fewer buckets than the standard immersion dye recipes. The class will review the standard recipe for immersion dyeing, learn the purposes of each ingredient in the process and try several variations of low-water immersion dyeing, including some that are not in the book. Students will begin to explore the unlimited possibilities of creating Color by Accident.
• COLOR BY ACCIDENT PLUS (3 days)
Same class as above, with the introduction of printing with thickened dyes.
• DYED TO CLAMP (3-5 days)
This class will expand the possibilities of low-water immersion dyeing as described in Ann's book Color By Accident. Basic information and exercises will be given, then students will be introduced to designing by mechanically resisting the penetration of the dye into parts of the fabric. Endless variables of repeat patterns are possible using folds, stitching, and clamps. The process will give students the opportunity to observe the individual characteristics of the various single-chemical colors available in Procion MX colors and they will learn how those characteristics impact the final results. As we fold, wrinkle and clamp, dye and over dye, we will be producing wonderful one-of-a-kind fabrics and learning how to make many more.
• STAMPING WITH DYES (5 days)
The focus of this introductory class is stamping on fabric using fiber-reactive dyes. It is designed to help students learn how designs on fabric can be repeated with variations on a theme. After students have sampled various stamping tools, they each will design blocks of their own and explore some of their many possible combinations. Students will learn what happens to the colors and the designs as they are rearranged on the fabric, making decisions as the design are created. Students will also add background colors using various painting techniques and/or low-water immersion dyeing. The goal of the class is for the students to develop a personal style and approach to the dyeing process. Ann will gear the technical information to the needs of the individuals in the class.
• ONE-OF-A-KIND PRINTS ON FABRIC (5 days)
The focus of the class is monoprinting, the creation of prints that cannot be reproduced. Students will be introduced to how to use thickened dyes and the tools that are most effective for monoprints. Both small and large scale techniques will be demonstrated and discussed, and the students will try them. Then each will chose a particular size print and it's appropriate tools to concentrate on for the remainder of the class. Each student will produce a quantity of prints according to their individual interests in subject, design, and color, which will all be related to each other in scale and design.
• RHYTHM AND PATTERN WITH DYES (5-10 days)
All students should have some previous dye experience.
All varieties of printing techniques will be discussed or demonstrated in this workshop. The focus will be to increase each student's knowledge of surface design applications with dye in addition to enhanced understanding of the principles of design. Students will combine printing and immersion dyeing techniques to create original repeat designs which will be analyzed both individually and in groups. The outcome for each student will be numerous yards of fantastic fabric and a long list of more dyeing and design ideas to try ASAP.
• LAYERS OF COLOR WITH WATER-SOLUBLE RESIST (5-10 days)
All students should have some previous dye experience.
This class concentrates on the variables possible when fabric is dyed in layers, both wet and dry surfaces and thick and thin colors. Students will try all the possibilities and learn how to decide which approach to take and which recipe to use to get their desired results. Each piece of fabric will be dyed several times at least, including students' own previously dyed fabric brought to class. As many surface application techniques as possible will be demonstrated, but students will chose their own focus, subject, design, colors. Water soluble resists will be demonstrated, explained and available for students to use in class.
• DYE AND DESIGN IN BLACK AND WHITE (5 days)
All students should have some previous dye experience.
The focus of this class is applying black dye on fabric. We'll sample a variety of different Procion MX black mixes, painting and immersion dyeing on cotton and silk to create swatches for future reference. Students will also mix their own blacks from three primary colors. Students will practice as many printing techniques as possible using black dye on white fabric producing a lot of fabric with designs to evaluate and possibly overdye. The class will include water-soluble resists and clamping techniques to create negative white shapes on black grounds. An advanced group would spend some time on applying design principles to the resulting designs.
• PAINT ON PIECES (5-10 days, dye and design)
All students should have some previous dye experience.
Ann will teach both immersion and surface techniques with dyes that will expand possibilities for original quilt designs. In addition to dyeing on white fabric, students will overdye their own previously dyed fabric, quilt blocks or quilt tops and/or pieces brought to class already quilted. The class will include the use of water-soluble resists, mechanical resists and painting and printing with thickened dyes. In the 5-day class, sewing machines are optional. In the longer class, students will follow through on one or two quilt ideas, cutting, piecing, dyeing, and machine quilting when necessary to pursue the design. (Ann will adapt this class specifically for the particular group and facility, and decide if sewing machines will be used for class assignments.)
• DESIGNING WITH HAND-DYED FABRIC (4-5 days)
Students will bring several ideas and a lot of that hard-to-cut fabric to class. The class will begin with a few design exercises to open up the possibilities and will produce several small studies for future quilts. A longer class will focus on finishing a small quilt top based on the student's favorite subject.(Sewing machine required.)
• QUILTING HAND DYED FABRIC (2 days)
The focus of this class is how to respond to hand dyed fabrics using machine quilting and/or hand quilting to add dimension, texture, and meaning to the surface. Students will do exercises and projects that will encourage them to take advantage of the qualities of hand dyed fabrics. Ann will demonstrate, show samples and slides, and assign exercises to encourage the students to practice responding to textures and patterns in the fabric for their quilting decisions. Students must have experience in piecing and quilting by machine, but may have none with hand dyed fabric; each will work at his or her own level of design and color experience. (Sewing machine required.)
• DESIGN ELEMENTS FOR QUILTERS (2 days)
Ann will introduce the concepts of balance, unity and variety using examples from her own work. The basic design elements, line, shape, color, value, texture, and pattern will be introduced and emphasized through various exercises with paper and/or fabric. Students will do small projects, some of which are described in The Quilter's Book of Design. (Ann will adapt this class specifically for the particular group and facility, and decide if sewing machines will be used for class assignments.)
• MAKING DESIGN DECISIONS FOR QUILTS (5-10 days)
The goal of the class is experimentation with as many design processes as possible and practice with evaluating the results. Students will analyze how they design and make quilts in order to see how their construction methods and design approaches influence their work. They will be encouraged approach designing and constructing quilts as problem solving and to find solutions that they may not have used before. Design problems posed by the instructor will result in small compositions in fabric. Students will then use an idea for a quilt brought to class and pursue its many possible solutions via two or more different design approaches. This may include starting the quilt top or it may mean making several compositions on paper to work from after the class is over. Students will spend time evaluating design solutions both individually and in groups. An extended class will pursue the many quilting, painting and/or embellishment options possible after the top is finished.
• THE BATTLE OF LINE VS. SHAPE (2 days)
Students will sew a series of blocks or larger compositions based on their own photos, practicing isolating lines and shapes and exploring how the emphasis on one or the other can change the impact of an original design. In the process students will experiment with different construction techniques, including piecing, appliqué, couching, embroidery, and quilting, to see how they influence and offer the potential to change the final design. See The Quilter’s Book of Design.
• Lectures:
All of Ann's lectures are slide shows of her own work. They are always changing and developing as she finishes more quilts and learns more techniques. Ann is willing to organize a particular topic for a special occasion.
• DESIGN SOURCES RE-VIEWED
Where do quilt designs originate? In this presentation, Ann will show slides of the sources of the designs for many of her quilts and at the same time, show how learning different processes has broadened the design possibilities of her work. She has sorted the design sources into broad categories ranging from flowers, textiles, archaeology, geology to computer graphics. The lecture shows the wide range and variety of Ann’s work over the last 30 years, with of course, the influences of time and experience.
• DESIGN JOURNEY
Ann shows her newest work in the context of the collection of photographs she has taken in her world travels as well as very close to home. The photos are categorized, somewhat arbitrarily into the elements of design, line, shape, color, value, pattern and texture, and reveal the ongoing sources of inspiration for her art cloth and quilts, no longer so easily categorized. Ann uses examples of her earlier quilts that illustrate her uses of these elements of design. She illustrates the concepts of balance, unity and variety with her most recent work, revealing some of them to show the choices she made to accomplish her design goals.
• HAND-DYED FABRIC EXPLAINED
Ann will use slides to show and explain in detail all the fabric dyeing techniques she uses. She will refer to the use of hand-dyed fabrics as design elements in quilts, but the emphasis will be on how the fabric was dyed. She will bring a pile of fabric for the audience to examine and discuss. Many pieces of fabric are shown in The Quilter's Book of Design, and Color By Design, but the lecture will be continually updated with her most recent work.
• LINE VS. SHAPE
This lecture will use Ann’s quilts to illustrate the basic concepts of design and the tools used to achieve them. It’s a battle all the way, decisions, decisions, decisions. Ann’s premise is that being aware of the characteristics of line and shape for example will enable the quilter to view how decisions affect the final design. A very long series of quilts she calls “Its a Balancing Act” will give you an idea of how she has explored line and shape while pursuing the mystery of how balance is achieved or lost.
• TEXTURE AND RELIEF FOR QUILTERS
It's not done till it's quilted. That's Ann's problem and her fascination with quilts. She uses her own quilts going back over 30 years to show how the quilting adds pattern, texture, and most importantly dimension to a quilt top. This lecture explores the potential of both hand and machine quilting and the physical realities that accompany them.
Please contact Ann Johnston for scheduling and fee information.
