Indigo Shibori Workshop with April Sproule and Linda Hartshorn

Date: September 19, 20,21, 2008 (Friday,Saturday, and Sunday)

Place: Sproule Studios, 357 Main Street, Fortuna, CA 95540

Fee: $160.00 + $15.00 Supply Fee

Registration: April Sproule ,Phone: (707) 725-9124

E-mail: aprilsp@suddenlink.net

On the first day April will teach you the basic and intermediate techniques of shibori, the Japanese method of embellishing textiles and creating various patterns before dyeing. You will learn to create the various types of resist by folding, clamping, and wrapping your fabric. We will cover the arashi, itajime, and kumo styles of shibori as well as many others.

Indigo is a natural blue dye that is traditionally used in Japanese shibori. On the second and third days Linda will show you how to prepare the indigo vat and guide you through the process of dyeing your prepared fabrics. The great advantage to having two days to dye your fabric is that you will have a chance to see the finished results and continue working in the area that most interests you.

We had several dye vats going simultaneously. It was hard to wait to see the results.

This is an example of the Arashi shibori. i love the variation of the blues in this piece.

Here is one of the folded and clamped pieces that was dipped more than once.

This is just one of the many pieces that we did with hand stitching.

Here are just a few of the incredible fabrics the students created. The variety was astounding.

My Older Setacolor

Transparancies
Hand painted with Setacolor on silk. Flower is silk organza.


Detail of Transparancies. The quilting was fun on this one, and very challenging as far as deciding what to do.

Where the Ferns Touch the Sky: Hand painted with Setacolor on silk.

My Recent Setacolor Work

Matrix Opal I


Painted with Setacolor on 16mm silk crepe de chine. Size: 16'"x 20"











Rust I
Hand painted with Setacolor on 16mm silk. The metallic strips are painted wonder under that are fused on. Size: 12" x 15"
Rust II: Sold
Closeup. Hand painted with Setacolor on silk.


















Ferns III: The only one left in this series as the other two have sold.
Hand painted with Setacolor on silk.
Size: 12" x 15"
































Size: 12" x 17"

Painting and Printing with Setacolor Workshop

Here are some of the images of student's work here at my studio last summer and fall. I was very happy with the variety of results that people achieved. Setacolor is such a great medium to work with. I am posting student work first, and then mine.This was a piece by Molly Miles

Time and Place: Mendocino Art Center

April 19-20, 2008

800-653-3328

http://www.mendocinoartcenter.org/

Sproule Studios, Fortuna, CA

June 21-22, 2008

(707) 725-9124

http://www.sproulestudios.com/

This beautiful piece was by Lorna Saner.

This is a piece by Lynne Sarty.

Framing

It is nice to see something going up. My place was a giant mud hole all winter, but I actually think that was preferable to having months of dust.

Foundation

Just the foundation, a little under 1,000 square feet. The foundation was six feet deep on the back side, so it took a lot of fill and concrete. One day I stopped by on my way to my digital video production class, and there was a huge dumptruck stuck right in the middle of the foundation. They had to bring in a bigger truck to pull him out. I figured that was an opportune time for me to make my exit.

Starting to Look Like Something

Now the building is finally beginning to look like something. I really tried not to have any preconceived notions of what it would look like, or especially what it would be like inside. Planning things on paper is not the same as seeing them in person. The building is 24' x 40', with the clean stuff to be upstairs ( machine quilting, offfice, quilt storage), and the messy stuff will be taught downstairs (painting, dyeing, printing) . That ladder at the front of the building was my only way in or out until a week before the building was completely done. I think that it was just a ploy to keep me out of the way.

Sunrise

This is the view from my desk/office area upstairs in my studio. This Big Leaf Maple is huge. I love seeing the stucture of the branches exposed in winter. I am always sad to see the trees getting thier leaves in the spring.

While my house was being remodeled I had to sleep upstairs in the studio for four months. How could you possibly have a bad day when you wake up to this?

The Chinese Peony

This is what we were working on in our first workshop in the new studio. We learn to do the silk organza flower which is painted with Tsukineko inks and then burned. I also teach them to make the leaves using the needle lace technique. It is always fun to see the expression on everyone's face when they realize they really can do this quite easily.

First Workshop in New Space

This is just a view of the back of the building. We have full spectrum lighting which is a great help. I put in fixture with two ballusts so that you can turn on two bulbs or four at a time (that's for when I get really old and can't see at all). It pays to plan ahead.

Chinese Peony Workshop

This was our first workshop in the new space. We had twelve people that day, so it was pretty cozy.

Terrace in Progress

It took 800 pounds of exterior grout for this project. It is 10'x 20'. I didn't think that I was ever going to finish it.

It took me about 45 hours just to do the grout.

This is a closeup of the stones. The larger black ones are Mexican beach pebbles and the smaller balck ones are from India. It is sealed with a lacquer based concrete sealer to bring out the color of the stones.

Finished Terrace

This is my completed terrace area. What a relief to finally be done just in time for the painters. The tree in the center is a Dwarf Weeping Cypress.