Mixed Media Fabric Collage

Description

In this class you will create an original, one-of-a-kind, fabric collage, a vase of flowers that will never wilt. I will guide you step by step through the simple process of creating your composition, choosing a simple vase shape, selecting your color palette and the flower shapes you want to work with. Next you will be selecting fabrics that play well together to express your personal vision. I will offer you as little or as much guidance as you want moving forward through this process. Once you have selected your fabrics you will prepare them for collaging by applying a thin layer of iron on adhesive. Now the fun really begins! You get to play with scissors as you begin cutting shapes from your prepared fabric. You can choose to cut shapes instinctively for a loose more abstract look or if you are going for a more realistic look, I will share my personal, quick, and easy method of creating pattern pieces on the fly. This simple technique gives you more control when and where you need it. As you cut your pieces of fabric you get to play by arranging shapes, rearranging shapes, and repeating this process until your inner critic finally goes “yes”, I’ve nailed it. You will leave class with a finished collage. At this point, you can choose to leave it as is or add an additional layer of detail and texture with free motion stitching. Either way, you will have a vase of flowers that can be mounted to hang on the wall or turned into a pillow cover. Classes are 3 hours long. Materials provided include: sketch paper, tracing paper, pencil & eraser, scotch tape, selection of fabrics, variety of acrylic pens and pencils, iron on fabric adhesive, cutting mats - to share, rotary cutters – to share, irons and ironing boards – to share Please bring to class: 3 fat quarters of fabric that would make good flower petal or leaf colors and 1 fat quarter in a more neutral or contrasting fabric that would make a good background for your collage. They can be prints, batiks or solids. There will be an opportunity to exchange pieces of your fabric for fabric from other class participants to further extend your fabric choices. Additionally, you will have access to my fabric stash.