Blogging back in business at July 2011

Hi everyone...

It has been a long time since I have attended to this blog , with MANY events and happenings in my life over the past couple of years. I am always sad when time gets in the way of my having fun communicating with friends, so please watch this blog and my new adventure - the FIBREARTS ALLIANCE Canada blog... and you can get there from here!

The next Textile Design Diploma Program course at St. Lawrence College begins in August and is one of the full credit courses that many of our area students enjoy throughout the year. Dates are August 6-8 (dyeing all weekend) and August 20-22 (painting all weekend). The course is entitled "Creating Fabrics with Dyes and Pigments" and is open for registration to anyone - beginners to advanced, all welcome! Register at http://www.Sl.on.ca

Click on Part Time Studies, Kingston Campus, Creative Arts and register online or by calling the college at 613-544-5400, ext. 60.

For two long weekends in August our students will enjoy learning everything they have ever wanted to know about the use and advantages of home based dyeing using PROCION MX dyes and the joy of fabric embellishment using several brabds of fabric paints including Setacolor, Dyna Flo, various brands of acrylics including Golden Fluids and Artists fabric paints, Walnut inks and so much more.

For the fibre enthusiast, this course brings many new techniques and skills to take your fabric work to an all new level. Original fabrics are so much fun to use and are available in no store or shop.

Come enjoy the fun! The course is a "GO" and will run in Room 12050. second floor in the Link to the Administrative Building. Classes run 9am-5pm each day and we are fanous for the fun and friendships enjoyed by all.

Hope to see you there!

Summer Trips, and fall OPTIONS: Fun all around.

As summer winds down and we are looking forward to Fall 2009, the many options for continuing our studies and moving forward in our Textile Arts and Fibre exploration abound. This fall, St. Lawrence College will be offering several courses in the Textile Design Program as I mentioned earlier in my last post. Today I have the e-address for the Pdf. files of the fall St. Lawrence College Part-Time Studies catalogue:

http://www.sl.on.ca/parttime/documents/CE-Kingston.pdf

You can download and print off the sheets that apply to our Program (see page 16 of the catalogue) or wait until August 15th when the online catalogue is available without the download.

I am headed off soon for a visit to the New England Quilt Museum and a display of the beautiful MASSACHUSETTS QUILTS: Our Common Wealth exhibition running in Lowell, MA now through September 19th. At the same time, ART QUILTS LOWELL exhibition is mounted at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, as is the display of Art Quilts at the Whistler Art Gallery in Lowell. Quilts are all the rage for the weekend of August 7-9th. Looking forward to a visit at the Shelburne Museum in South Burlington, VT as well and some sightseeing along the Atlantic seaboard while in the state of Massachusetts... I have twin nephews and a beautiful 4 yr. old niece I have not met who live near Boston - so hoping to catch up with them as well.

Don't forget that QUILTS BY THE TAY Quilt Show of the Lanark Quilters Guild is on this coming weekend, August 7-9th in Perth at the High School. Take friends.

Also, this fall you will be able to see a wonderful display of Textile, Needlearts and Thread work by the Ottawa area STUDIO INSPIRATIONS Group entitled" TNT - Textile, Needle, Thread" at the Brockville Museum, 5 Henry Street, Brockville, ON from October 2-30, 2009. Mon-Sat 10-5 pm and Sun 1-5 until October 11th. After Oct. 12th, Mon-Fri 10-4:30 pm. Opening Reception is October 3rd, 2009 2-4 pm.

Have fun with your fibre friends this summer. I am sure looking forward to our second weekend of CREATING FABRICS WITH DYES AND PIGMENTS Aug 15-17th at St. Lawrence. can't wait to see the final results of the dye work done last month and have the chance to share some sun printing, COLOUR VIE paint work and try some new techniques with stamps and print work with my students.

Hoping to see all of you soon and at ST. LAWRENCE COLLEGE this fall...

Bethany

How time flies...Here we are at the last week of July!

Beautiful morning and it is hard to believe that we are entering the last week of July 2010. This was a vacation week for me and after a great weekend with students at St. Lawrence College dyeing fabrics and playing a bit with screen printing, the days just seemed to fly by. A quick trip across the lake to see the Along the River's Edge exhibit at the Handweaving Museum in Clayton, NY, and having a quick trip to visit the Quinte Quilters Guild Exhibit at the John Parrott Gallery at the Belleville Public Library (an amazing two rooms filled with terrific traditional and art quilts), stopping in Picton to visit Rose Haven Farms Store (beautiful yarns, luscious fibres of all kinds for felting enthusiasts, books galore and some terrific coming classes) new location on Main Street in downtown Picton...it was a home based rest and relaxation week.

Some reminders for all of you about coming events:

The Odessa Antiques Show is scheduled for Sunday August 9th - 8 am-5 pm. $8 admission - plan a full day to walk through this outstanding exhibition of all things old and collectible. Many vendors will take credit cards and cheques, but I find I can negotiate a bit with CASH! This is always a favourite summer pass time... and if you have $20, you can go on the Saturday afternoon and get a head start on your buying before the big crowds arrive. I love the Sunday, and watching to see what others are collecting is as good as having things go home with me. I go specifically to see what the value of the things I have has grown or deteriorated with the economy.

That same weekend, August 7-9th, 2010, the LANARK QUILTERS GUILD is sharing their best of the best quilts at their Show and Sale QUILTS BY THE TAY at the High School just outside of and before you get to Perth (taking the route to Perth from Westport is such a beautiful ride). The Show will include a huge Merchants Mall, tea room, some great special attractions including an exhibition of quilts by Instructors who have shared courses with their Guild ( I will have a quilt in the exhibit), a collected exhibit of work by renowned quilt artists from across Canada and a Saturday workshop by Ottawa area Art Quilter, KAREN GOETZINGER. Please visit the Guild website for more information at:

http://lanarkcountyquiltersguild.wordpress.com/shows-sales/

Another great venue for you to visit now through the end of August is THREADWORKS 2007 "PASSIONS" exhibit at the Mississippi Mills Textile Museum (through August 30th) in Almonte along with the CONNECTIONS GROUP Art Show... both well worth the trip to Almonte. Admission is $2.50 I believe. And while you are in Almonte, visit Textile Traditions (terrific knitting and quilting supplies) and The Quilters Quarters ( dedicated to quilting, but there is also a nice selection of hand dyed wool for the rug hookers and wool art enthusiast). There is a terrific Second Hand/Vintage Clothing Store on the main street of Almonte that has huge treats for you. And plan to eat at one of the great local restaurants - be sure to take a car load of friends. This is the month to visit Almonte for lots of great reasons. Visit the Mississippi Mills Textile Museum website for more information, hours and directions. mark your calendar for FIBREFEST in Almonte at the Museum in September - information also on their website.

I will be back at St. Lawrence College the weekend of August 15-17th for a full three days of PAINTING fun with the students in our Creating Fabrics with Dyes and Pigments course. Fifteen students participating and the resulting work will be seen at all types of venues this fall. Great fun.

Just a reminder that we will have two courses in the Textile Design Program at St. Lawrence College this fall:

CRAFT TO BUSINESS runs two weekends: Sept 26/27th and November 28/29th. This is a course that will provide students the opportunity to explore the selling of their work using standard business opportunities like a Sole Proprietorship, a store front, Gallery Sales and Exhibitions and sale of work through word of mouth and online stores like ETSY. Whether you want to consider this as an opportunity or actually prepare for a business start up while developing your Artists Statement, Business Plan, Business Cards, Stationery, Hang Tags and filing the appropriate business forms with Revenue Canada, this is great practice, and a required component of the Textile Design Program for graduation.

TEXTILE ART: History, Diversity and Technique is scheduled to run on Thursday evenings, September 17th-December 3rd. This 12-week course will offer students the opportunity to learn many bits of very interesting textile history, share the study of specific areas of the world that are, as in the past, influencing the textiles of our world today. Each student will be able to follow the Course Instructor's model for study, and concentrate on one specific area of interest. A short submission to the class, a written "study paper" and the making of a small piece of art influenced by their chosen area of interest is required. THIS COURSE WILL BE FUN... different, interesting and the opportunity to share with friends all that YOU love about fabrics. This course is also a required component of the Textile Arts Diploma Program.

Information/Registration is available the first week of August 2009 on the College's CONTINUING EDUCATION, Part-time Studies, Kingston Campus website listings at SL.on.ca

Have a fun filled summer and make sure you are calling and inviting your friends to go along on your travel adventures. I know I miss hearing from friends old and new as summer activities get into full swing. Hope to hear from many of you who might be having exhibits and especially news of those who are exhibiting at the Women's Art Festival in August!

Bethany

CREATING FABRICS WITH DYES AND PIGMENTS

As an American in Canada, I can't help but be thinking about all of the family and friends back home today and am hoping they are all able to particpate and celebrate their Independence on this July 4th Holiday. I am particulary thinking about all of the US Forces serving overseas in many areas that can be dangerous and send my thoughts their way.

I have been packing for the great weekends coming at St. Lawrence College here in Kingston as part of the Spring Term course CREATING FABRICS WITH DYES AND PIGMENTS scheduled for two long weekends July 18-20th and August 15-17th at St. Lawrence College, Kingston, ON Campus. This course offers a terrific opportunity for new and returning fibre enthusiasts to create beautiful, original hand-dyed and hand-painted fabric for use in their quilts, art projects and garments.

Please visit the college's Continuing Education, Spring Term, Part Time Studies course listings online for full details by entering http://www.sl.on.ca/ into your search engine. Click on Kingston Campus, Part-Time Studies, Spring Term, Textile/Creative Arts and view the course descriptions. Registration is easy online or call 613-544-5400, ext. 60 Monday-Friday to register. The Course fee is right at $198.63 (with special discounts for our over 60 students) - the most reasonable fee for a 6-day course of any of the college programs in the province. Many of the courses are a five day format and Haliburton's Summer School of the Arts courses are about $275 while Algonquin College in Ottawa courses are $363 this year. St. Lawrence College is an affordable alternative for those who want to study Fibre Arts and have the opportunity to create beautiful new work. And please do bring along a friend...it is always more fun with close friends, though you will always make terrific new fibre arts connections during our creative weekends at SLC.

The two weekend format of our course offers students the opportunity to share their fun while not having to take a full week off from their work, or affecting family time in a huge way. The first weekend, July 18-20th, will be totally devoted to the dyeing process, including Low Water Immersion Dyeing, Dye Painting, Discharge dyeing with Discharge Paste and more. Students will create a palette of beautifully coloured cloth using Procion MX dyes and learn all of the easy and home based dyeing processes that they can take back to their own studios. Creative folding, Shibori and stitched/tied effects will be a part of the course activities. In August, students will return to the classroom August 15-17th for the FABRIC PAINTING component of the course - three days of paint work on the surface of their hand dyed fabrics, rust dyeing, some basic screen print work, stamping and more.

Hoping some of you who read this post will explore the St. Lawrence College website, and join the 12 students registered to date and come experience the excitement of seeing your coloured fabrics emerge from the dye pots the weekend of July 18-20th. This is an excellent opportunity to create multi-coloured fabric surfaces and add paint effects that will ensure that your next year of fibre arts creations are all original and especially important to you. And we always have lots of fun.... just what summer time studies weekends are all about. There is room at the Residence for students who need a place to stay while at the college and Kingston is all about fun during the summer. Come Play.

Have a great weekend. Keep a request for SUNSHINE in your thoughts.

Great Workshop Day - Thanks Everyone

Last Thursday, June 25th, twenty-three amazing and wonderful friends converged at the Odessa Fairgrounds Hall for the PLAY DATE planned for painting and screen printing time together. The morning was spent getting screens ready and sharing some demos of basic screen printing on fabric. Everyone seemed very interested and excited about the possibilities! Some of the participants had never experienced any screen printing and were a bit confused about why anyone would want to "muck up" a screen with thickened dyes, and lay on bits of bubble wrap and torn plastic netting and then WAIT several days for all of it to dry before being able to print. After my printing demo with a dried screen I had brought along for sharing, the "strike-off" prints were an exciting "picture" of what happens when dyes applied to a screen, resists added including netting, bubble wrap and small bits of laid embellishments like string, buttons, pop can tabs and more can result in a wonderful "deconstructed" print with every pass of the squeegee. Several students got right to work painting and stamping and creating small pieces of fabric samples that can be beaded, machine and hand stitched and others tried sun printing with laid resist. The day was a bit windy and very hot, so results were mixed.

Sharing lunch is always the best part of any of the play days and the NETWORKING with old and new friends is a real treat. Many of us are just too busy to get together for stitching and just plain old FUN! This was an excellent opportunity to be laid back, enjoy each others company, pick up some new skills and just PLAY! The various treats and entrees that were prepared by friends were all delicious and a terrific mix of salads, sausage rolls, quiche, and so many wonderful desserts - thanks to each of the participants for their efforts and for the opportunity to sit down and visit for an hour and catch up on all of the summer's plans and activities.

Many of the stitchers were creating work that could be part of a new series, or experimenting with some colour play that will be included in a project specifically dedicated to summer work. Others brought their sewing machines and had a good day of stitching blocks, machine quilting playtime or finishing a UFO that has been languishing in the closet. That is what these play dates are all about! I loved watching the constant chatter and close friends making time for each other once again, renewing close ties and making plans for more summer gatherings.

I hope to share another play date this fall with a TRADITIONAL theme...plan to bring your quilt plans, fabric stash and let's work on creating a terrifc family quilt project (bed quilt, baby quilt, reproduction wall quilt, miniature or garment)...calm, easy stitching that will result in a family treasure to love. More to follow... stay tuned for details.

Again, thanks for a wonderful day. And to the students who came to the play day and then went on to class at St. Lawrence College with me for the evening - HUGE thanks for enduring a long day of creative play. Jenn, your help was very much appreciated....... Watch for more news about upcoming classes at St. Lawrence College in the next few days. AND I will be tring to keep the blog updated at least once a week this summer as a good place to check in for details about what is happening locally and across the Province. Have a great summer ladies!

NEWS FLASH:

Beth Abbott is teaching her SILK FUSION AND MORE course at Haliburton School for the Arts starting July 6-10th. With a class of at least 14 students, this will surely be an exciting week of fabric creation, colour play and more. Beth is an awesome Instructor and so organized in her presentations, this will be an excellent opportunity for her students to learn everything they want to know about working with silk - painting, dyeing, silk paper making and so much more. It is not too late to register, and you can call Haliburton's Registration office at 1-866-353-6464 to register. Have fun, Beth....

art with LOOSE THREADS, hosted by Catharina Breedyk-Law, Pat Lemaire and Wendo Van Essen this fall October 23-25th at the OPINICON HOTEL RESORT promises to be an outstanding weekend of techniques exploration including stamp construction, stamping, soluble stabilizing, free form knitting, tailoring techniques for quilters and needle felting plus so much more... Plan to spend three wonderful days exploring fibre arts and new skills with Cathy, Pat and Wendo and enjoy the wonderful Opinicon resort experience (amazing meals). Please visit Cathy's website for more information or visit her blog at www.catharinablog.blogspot.com

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT IT IS SUMMER 2009

I have been away from blogging since Thanksgiving last fall... 2008! It is so hard to believe that time just flies when you are having fun. The fact that I have been very busy working Full Time and instructing courses at St. Lawrence College (most recently TEXTILE DESIGN, SURFACE DESIGN AND STITCH and currently COLOUR: The Quilt Artist's Way) here in Kingston means that I have had little time to sit and write.

Yesterday was the first day of summer 2009, and today the weather is a bit more like summer - a light northerly breeze, sunny skies with just the occasional light fluffy cloud drifting past and yes, sunshine!!! We are all suffering from "gray skies disease" - that awful feeling that just seems to permeate the community when all we see is GREY... and when the days are rainy in Kingston, the skies are grey, water is grey, streets are grey and all of the "old stones" (the heritage buildings and homes throughout the city) are grey. So please help me wish for more SUNNY days.

This Thursday, June 25th, I am hosting a terrific PLAY DATE for friends at the Odessa Fairgrounds Hall from 9:30 am-4 pm...and we will be playing with Fabric Paints, some Silk Screening demonstrations and play time and carving stamps. About 18 friends from across eastern Ontario are attending and it should be an awesome day of chatter, play time and creativity. Stay tuned for announcements of MORE play dates in months to come.

I am also launching a brand new "network" for fibre arts enthusiasts in Canada - and yes, it is open to ALL fibre arts enthusiasts, no matter your chosen medium. The focus of the group will be a consistently helpful sharing of ideas, techniques, announcements of upcoming Shows and Exhibitions and the sharing of techniques and resources. This type of information is invaluable to all fibre artists, so please do visit the brand new Blog site for the FIBRE ARTS ALLIANCE - CANADA starting next week, Monday June 29th.

Membership in the Alliance is covered by a membership fee of $30 annually and entitles the members to access to posting on the blog as a group member, a quarterly NEWSLETTER and a semi-annual meeting in a location to be announced. Small regional groups will hold their own "parlour meetings" on a regular basis which will include play time with friends, travel to shows or exhibitions and LUNCH...a very important part of every gathering.

Please stay tuned now for regular updates and check in on both this blog and that of the new FIBRE ARTS ALLIANCE, CANADA. The web address is:

http://fibreartsalliance.blogspot.com

Enjoy your summer and stay in touch.

Bethany

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend everyone!!

Can YOU believe that it is THANKSGIVING weekend? I am sitting here after a hard day at work - retail is getting tough now with all of the impact that the economic trends have taken... we are blessed to be here in Canada where the economic health of our Country has not yet been severely crippled by the US troubles, though I can surely see that many of my friends and colleagues are trimming back, not travelling quite so much, and being cautious about expenditures. I will be working both Sunday and Monday of the Holiday weekend and straight through until Wednesday and then have four glorious fall days OFF! So Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who will be home enjoying family - think of me and have a turkey sandwich for me, too!

I am afraid the registrations for my dearest FIBREWORKS KINGSTON Weekend Workshops are just trickling in and we need to support Fibreworks and Hilary Scanlon's mission to bring the best and brightest Instructors for us to study with if this important academic and creativity series is to be there for us in years to come. This coming weekend is the exciting workshop with KIT VINCENT, Brockville Area Designer and Fibre Artist and I for one cannot wait to have 12 concentrated study hours with Kit ... and yes, I know that many of you will be heading off to the Creative Festival in Toronto for a good dose of shopping, but if you are NOT - please consider spending this next weekend with Kit. I have added an example of her beautiful work "RIVER'S EDGE" at the top right header on this blog and it will stay there to inspire you, perhaps to come spend the weekend of October 17-19th with Kit and see this quilter's work in person. River's Edge is a beautiful and moving contemporary composition which Kit created with her own hand-dyed fabrics. I love the colour, the movement and the intentional focus on the portrayal of the water, the shoreline, and the colours of the Thousand Islands in Summer...beautiful. Kit has recently sent this quilt off to be included in a wonderful Exhibition in Columbus, Ohio, only one of a very few stellar examples of the best Art Quilts in North America. Kit will be teaching at QUILT TAHOE in November - and you could have the opportunity to study with her FIRST!!! Contact Donna Hamilton, Fibreworks Associate Coordinator and Registrar at fibreworks@cogeco.ca for more information and to register for the QUILTS BY DESIGN workshop with Kit.

The students in the Design for Textiles course at St. Lawrence College have been gathering in our favourite Room 12050 for four weeks now, with some great experimentation in design work being demonstrated by this small group of outstanding friends and students (10)... Three new students have joined in on the classroom fun, while three others work hard to complete their Textile Design Diploma requirements. This past week we saw some amazing efforts in creating cut-work squares - working from the inside out in positive/negative explorations. Creative paint work with COLOUR VIE paints have given the students some play time, and we have even done some discharge work with Lysol "Bathroom Cleaner with Bleach" as the discharge agent - a product which was a great discovery at the Jane Dunnewold full week workshop Margaret Morris, Sandy Garner and I attended in June 2008. Try using a small amount of the bathroom cleaner in a squeeze bottle with a metal writing tip for adding great text to your discharge work... or use a sponge brush to add a light layer to your favourite stamps...use a rubber banded brayer to roll on a layer of the bleach product across your work, or use Shibori technique to fold your fabrics for special effects and use a sponge brush to dab on the bleach cleaner, or dip edges directly into the product... JUST WATCH YOUR FABRIC carefully... this product "develops" onto the black cotton or rayon very quickly and you can "lose your design" very fast if you are not watching! Sponging, stenciling and dripping the cleaner onto your fabric are just a few more ways to use this unusual product for fabric art. Consider joining us in the January - April term for more design play. Watch for the Winter term Course listings online at Sl.on.ca and come enjoy 12 weeks of good fun with friends.

When you have a chance this weekend, take a few minutes and spend them with our own Kingston area Fibre Artist, PHILLIDA HARGREAVES, at her newly launched website at http://www.phillidahargreaves.ca/ Phillida has designed a wonderful gallery based site that will help you navigate through her beautiful new work including her amazing Fossil Series, Trees Series and Ice Series. Please do make time to visit and have a good look through the site, the opportunities Phillida offers you to add her outstanding and dynamic work to your personal Fibre Art Collection and for news of upcoming events where you can see Phillida's quilts and embroideries. I particularly love her Moss pieces and find the irregular shapes, the hugely focused attention to realistic design and colour collaboration and her unique and beautiful mounded embroidery stitches inspirational and very, very special. Explore the site and be sure to see Phillida's work next in the Kingston Fibre Artist's exhibition during the month of November at the John M. Parrott Gallery, Belleville Public Library. Email me for a copy of the invitation or scroll down and see it below in another entry here on my blog.

Hoping that you will have time this weekend for some time off. Curl up in front of a first fall fire to watch a good movie with family and friends, catch some of your favorite sports teams (I am watching the Boston RED SOX as they pursue a 2008 trip to the World Series - they will win their series against the Rays this next week and then the excitement begins for sure!) Needless to say I am a huge New England Patriots fan and as always, Red Sox baseball keeps me watching fall TV broadcasts and listening to the radio whenever I can. Have a great weekend and make time for stitching.

One last thought - just in case you have room for one ART-Focused free weekend in November - please consider committing that weekend as that of November 14-16th and dedicate your creative design personal time to CATHY BREEDYK LAW , who will be the guest Lecturer/Instructor for FIBREWORKS KINGSTON's second Weekend Workshops Series for 2008-09 and will bring her innate playful quilt design style into the classroom for one exciting weekend. Find a friend or two and come play! This weekend will offer you the opportunity to use up all of those bright and funky fabrics in your stash and take an opportunity to design a new original design for a quilt that can be well on it's way to "exhibition ready" status at the end of two days with this dynamic Instructor. Cathy will also be sharing her exciting framing technique with her students, and you don't want to miss out on that! Hope you will join in on the fun.