MAIWA

EVENT Wrap Party and Auction

2012-05-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

WRAP PARTY and AUCTION

$10
Live music and dance,
food, refreshments, and auction

7:30 pm – Friday, October 26, 2012

NET LOFT, GRANVILLE ISLAND

The Maiwa Wrap Party is a night to remember. We put on a spread, bring in a live band, and let loose.

The highlight of the evening is the Maiwa Auction—it’s entertaining to watch and exhilarating to participate. On the block are complete outfits, carpets, furniture, and carefully assembled lots containing books, objects, and textiles. All proceeds go directly to the Maiwa Foundation.

EVENT Banjara Embroidery

2012-05-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

BANJARA EMBROIDERY

EXHIBIT AND LECTURE

$15
Exhibition and Lecture
with food and refreshments

Presentation 7:30 pm – Saturday, October 20, 2012

NET LOFT, GRANVILLE ISLAND

Join Jan Duclos, a French national who has lived most of his life in India, and Laxmi Duclos, a member of the Banjara community and traditional embroiderer, as they guide us through an exhibition of Banjara embroidery.

Jan and Laxmi together run the Surya’s Lambhani Women Welfare Trust (Surya’s Garden) in Hampi, India. It is one of the most vital co-operatives working with Banjara embroidery today. The group works with local craftspeople to preserve traditional needlework skills and designs.

Well known for bold colours and a forceful design sense, the Banjara (sometimes called Lambhani or Lambada) are thought to be descended from the Roma who migrated through the mountains of Afghanistan and settled in the deserts of Rajasthan.

Since the 14th century, the Banjaras have gradually traveled down to the south. They worked for the Moghuls transporting provisions and trading goods, traveling with large herds of thousands of bullocks and carts, buying and selling sugar, salt, grain, and perfumes. Their habit of living in isolated groups away from others, which was a characteristic of their nomadic days, still persists.

EVENT Blue Alchemy

2012-05-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

BLUE ALCHEMY

SCREENING with the DIRECTOR
at THE RIDGE THEATRE
3131 Arbutus Street, Vancouver

$15
Screening 7:30 pm – Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Join award-winning documentary filmmaker Mary Lance for the British Columbia Premiere of her latest work:

Blue Alchemy: Stories of Indigo

A feature-length documentary that explores the history, beauty, and importance of indigo, Blue Alchemy weaves together stories about textiles and culture with interviews from artists, artisans, and historians.

Mary Lance will give a short introduction to the film and lead a question and answer after the screening.

EVENT 結 Musubu: The Ties That Bind

2012-05-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

結 MUSUBU: THE TIES THAT BIND

EXHIBIT

No Charge - Please RSVP

Exhibition opening with Misao Iwamura and Chisako Hisamatsu
with food and refreshments

6–8 pm – Friday September 21

SILK WEAVING STUDIO, GRANVILLE ISLAND

A leading textile artist of Japan, Misao Iwamura has also been a mentor to weaver Chisako Hisamatsu. This exhibition will feature exquisite and innovative works from both artists.

Please RSVP to Maiwa (604) 669-3939 or Silk Weaving Studio (604) 687-7455

(Exhibition runs September 21–October 5, 2012)

EVENT The Art of Noren

2012-05-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

THE ART OF NOREN

EXHIBIT

No Charge - Please RSVP

Artist' Reception with Yoko and Kazuho Kano
with food and refreshments

6-8 pm –Friday, September 14, 2012

SILK WEAVING STUDIO, GRANVILLE ISLAND

Noren are the traditional Japanese cloth dividers that hang in doorways and windows.

Working with stitch resist and immersion dyeing, master noren artist Yoko Kano has worked on two major projects creating noren for the towns of Katsuyama and Naoshima, Japan. On display will be pieces showing both traditional and contemporary designs.

Please RSVP to Maiwa (604) 669-3939 or Silk Weaving Studio (604) 687-7455

(Exhibition runs September 8–19, 2012)

EVENT Living Blue

2012-05-20T16:33:00.000-07:00

LIVING BLUE

EXHIBIT AND LECTURE

$15
Exhibition and Lecture
with food and refreshments

Presentation 7:30 pm –Tuesday, September 11, 2012

NET LOFT, GRANVILLE ISLAND

Bangladesh is one of the most suitable regions for growing indigo. However, due to the colonial history of the crop and the subsequent rise of synthetic indigo, its potential has remained dormant. Now Living Blue, a project of the Nijera Cottage and Village Industries, has revived the famous crop. They are using it to add this distinctive blue to a range of exquisite textiles.

Village artisans combine a variety of traditional stitches with nui shibori on handspun, handwoven (khadi) cloth. The results are a range of quilts, shawls, and scarves that convey the feeling of well-loved cloth.

Join Anowarul Haq and Apurba Deb Roy from the Living Blue project as they take the audience on a guided tour of some of the most exciting textiles to come out of South Asia. There will be a discussion of the cooperative and how the Living Blue project is changing lives in Bangladesh.

Lecture on May 24th: Chris Berry - Stitch by Stitch

2012-05-16T17:54:00.002-07:00

Stitch by Stitch

Chris Berry

One of the most knowledgeable hands working in embroidery today,

Chris Berry is in high demand as an instructor, exhibitor, author and speaker.

This lecture will give a fascinating look at stitch and technique from 14th century Coptic Egypt up to British work in the eighteenth century.

Chris Berry is well known for her courses that teach the historic needlework of the Tudors and Stuarts. For over twenty years she has taught the City & Guilds advanced textile courses. For six years she was Chair of the UK Embroiderers Guild. Her recent 2011 exhibition in London, England used threadwork to explore ideas of a Venice in Peril.

Chris Berry joins us from the UK to deliver this lecture.

There will also be a Trunk Show & Sale of historic and contemporary embroidery from the Banjara community in India.

Join us:

7:30 pm

Thursday May 24th

Net Loft on Granville Island, Vancouver, Canada

TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE

or by phone 604 669 3939

LECTURE Joan Morris

2012-05-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

Joan Morris

New Hybrids from Ancient Tools

Thursday October 25

7:30 pm NET LOFT GRANVILLE ISLAND - $15

Joan Morris is one of the most innovative hands in the textile arts today. A master dyer at Dartmouth College’s theatre department, Morris is also co-inventor of a patented process for putting precious metals on cloth. Since 1983 she has been working in the ancient technique of shaped-resist. It is both time- and labour-intensive, but Morris has found it to have many qualities that can be played against printing, photography, photo-resist, metal work, and other forms of resist such as wax.

Join Joan Morris as she presents a three-decade-long journey through the frontiers of textile manipulation. This richly illustrated talk will explore theatric, cartographic, and painterly “canvases.” Joan will show some of the altered forms that result from merging personal and historical sources of inspiration with shaping and dyeing.

LECTURE Sibella Court

2012-05-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

Sibella Court

Still Life with Stylist

Wednesday October 17

7:30 pm NET LOFT GRANVILLE ISLAND - $15

Photo Chris Court

Join internationally renowned stylist, designer, and author Sibella Court for her Canadian debut. In this lecture Sibella will talk about the tradition of still life and how it has deeply influenced her ideas, her work, and ultimately her career.

The experience of still life in such artists as Caravaggio, Anne Vallayer-Coster, and Giorgio Morandi runs through art and culture to surface again in modern photography. Much more than a collection of things, for Sibella still life works within the symbolism of objects to generate feelings of place or atmosphere or to evoke the mood of an era.

Sibella will discuss her work with photographers and her process: source, arrange, and edit. She will describe her love of the “perfect” still life and explain how her work with objects—from a tabletop collection of scissors to a complete interior—is all, ultimately, expression of the same desires and intentions.

Sibella Court is an interior stylist and creative director: from vision and concept through to direction and creation. Her most recent spaces include El Loco, 30 Knots, Upstairs at the Beresford, MsG’s, York 75, Bistrode CBD, and Private Dining at Ivy.

After 10 years living and working in New York, she returned home to Sydney, Australia, to launch her brand and shop: The Society Inc. Her store is home to hardware, haberdashery, and treasures collected while adventuring into terrains less trodden.

In New York she has styled for Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Saks on Fifth Ave, Pottery Barn, Target, Anthropologie, and West Elm. Publications showing her work include Gourmet, Marie Claire, and Vogue Living. Her other projects include a nail polish line, hardware design, and a 110-colour paint range.

She has accumulated over twenty years of global inspiration from frequent trips to South East Asia, India, Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Central America, and Australia. She travels alone and with the Anthropologie inspiration team.

Sibella is also a best-selling author. Her award-winning titles include: Etcetera: Creating Beautiful Interiors with the Things You Love, The Stylist’s Guide to NYC and Nomad: A Global Approach to Interior Style. She has written extensively for publications such as CountryStyle, Grazia, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vogue Living.

LECTURE Barbara Shapiro

2012-05-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

Barbara Shapiro

Change is Good

Monday October 15

7:30 pm NET LOFT GRANVILLE ISLAND - $15

Join practising textile artist Barbara Shapiro for an engaging lecture on the connection between artistic challenge and progress. In her own words:

“Life does not sit still. And artists cannot sit still either. No matter how comfortable we become in our chosen medium, we must continually challenge ourselves to look deeper or farther or wider if we are to keep our vision fresh. As my good friend the acclaimed designer John Wheatman says, ‘A good house is never done.’ It is never static, and neither is the work of an artist. Through this presentation you will see how one San Francisco-based textile artist has taken artistic risks and embraced change.”

Barbara Shapiro has been creating textile art for decades. She combines a rich knowledge of historical and ethnic textiles with broad technical experience in weaving, dyeing, and basketry. After being involved in the San Francisco Art to Wear movement in the ’70s and ’80s, Barbara shifted her focus to textile art. She teaches frequent workshops and classes at San Francisco State University. A board member of the Textile Society of America, she also serves on the Textile Arts Council of the Fine Arts Museums of San Franscisco and is a docent at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art. For many years she has specialized in indigo dyeing and has taught many students the “Greener Indigo” formula that is safer and more ecological than common chemical formulas. She is a frequent contributor to textile publications, and her wall pieces and baskets have been widely exhibited throughout the USA and in Canada, France, England, Ireland, Japan, and Israel.

LECTURE Daniella Woolf

2012-05-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

Daniella Woolf

Crossing a Line: The Encaustic Studio

Thursday September 27

7:30 pm NET LOFT GRANVILLE ISLAND - $15

Join mixed-media artist Daniella Woolf as she speaks about her life and the evolution of her artwork.

Daniella’s journey starts in 1918 with a photo of her Russian immigrant grandparents outside their storefront in the Lower East Side of New York City. Her family migrated to LA where everyone found employment in the film industry. In her own words, she “swung like Tarzan from one medium to the next: from ceramics to jewellery, textiles, fiber, collage, furniture design, and finally encaustic.”

In 1971, she was in the right place at the right time to start graduate school, studying Textile Structures at UCLA. It was the time of the pivotal exhibition Deliberate Entanglements that brought together fibre artists from all over the world. Her career was set and for the next forty years she would create challenging and innovative works that explore the creative potential of different media.

Daniella Woolf holds an MA in Design with a specialty in Textile Structures from UCLA. Over her career she has worked in a variety of media, including fibre, collage, jewellery, installation, and most recently encaustic. She is a principal of Wax Works West, a school for the encaustic arts, in Califonia. She teaches in the western states for R&F Handmade Paints and globally for Wax Works West. She is a 2007 recipient of the Gail Rich Award for excellence in the arts in Santa Cruz and the 2008 Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship.

Her current work is exhibited nationally and internationally. She has a very popular teaching DVD, Encaustic with a Textile Sensibility, and a book which is a “gallery between pages” under the same title. Her newest publication, The Encaustic Studio: A Wax Workshop in Mixed-Media Art, will be published in May 2012 by Interweave Press. She blogs at Encausticopolis under the name Dotty Stripes.

LECTURE Carol Shinn

2012-05-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

Carol Shinn

The Photographic Stitch

Thursday September 20

7:30 pm NET LOFT GRANVILLE ISLAND - $15

At the age of eight, Carol Shinn knew she wanted to become an artist. Now she is the internationally recognized master of her own unique technique of using freestyle machine-stitching to create photo-realistic images. Her work does not use computer-assisted sewing to achieve its incredible effect.

Join Carol for an illustrated journey through her work. She will share her thoughts on how to develop ideas in a single medium and explain the process whereby her artwork gradually shifted to become an expression of her own world view. Carol will also talk about design considerations, colour, and the content implied by subject matter.

Carol Shinn is from Fort Collins, USA. Her BFA is from the University of Colorado and her MFA from Arizona State University. She has taught many workshops across the United States and held teaching positions at Arizona State University and Mesa Community College, Arizona. Her work has been in numerous books and magazines and is in many public and private collections including the Museum of Art and Design, NY, NY, and the Denver Art Museum. She was a prizewinner in the 2009 International Pfaff Embroidery Challenge. Carol is the author of Freestyle Machine Embroidery: Techniques and Inspiration of Fiber Art. www.carolshinn.com.

LECTURE Misao Iwamura

2012-05-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

Misao Iwamura

with Chisako Hisamatsu

A Life in Weaving

Tuesday September 18

7:30 pm NET LOFT GRANVILLE ISLAND - $15

Join master weaver and contemporary textile designer Misao Iwamura as she takes the audience on an illustrated tour of the weaving life.

Misao was brought up in Kyoto, Japan, a major centre for traditional textiles, and learned textile and graphic design at Kyoto Art and Craft School. She now lives just outside Kyoto, and from her studio she can see Mt. Hiei, which both inspires and delights her.

Misao worked for a textile manufacturer for many years designing fabrics and yarns. As a designer she had many ideas for weaving but no actual experience of hand-weaving technique. She wanted to understand the whole creative process from a spool of yarn to the finished fabric. Eventually she decided to leave the company and start weaving for herself in order to master the entire process.

In 1988 she built her own studio. Since then she has been able to freely design and create her own textiles. She has held a number of exhibitions in Japan, Bulgaria, Sweden, and the United States. Her textiles have been featured in various weaving textile magazines and on the Japanese television program Oshare Kobo.

From 1998 to 2010, Misao was a regular guest lecturer at the Kawashima Textile School in Kyoto, and she has been a member of the Japan Craft Design Association for ten years. Her book, Plain Weaving, was published by Bunka Shuppan Press in 2001.

Misao will be joined by her protégé, Chisako Hisamatsu. A gifted and exhibited artisan in her own right, Chisako is an associate at the Silk Weaving Studio on Granville Island. She presently lives in Japan.

LECTURE Yoko Kano

2012-05-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

Yoko Kano

with Kazuho Kano

Over the Threshold: The Noren Project

Thursday September 13

7:30 pm NET LOFT GRANVILLE ISLAND - $15

On the bank of the Shinjo river in the historic town of Katsuyama is the Hinoki gallery. Behind the cloth “noren” that hangs in the doorway, Yoko Kano runs a textile studio that has transformed this tiny Japanese town.

The noren in Katsuyama (Okayama Prefecture) are a collaboration between the local residents and Yoko Kano. Each individually crafted design contains a personal meaning for the people who work in the shop it decorates. “My work is to express their personalities as faithfully as I can in the cloth. It’s great to have a relationship with people I see every day where they can tell me exactly what they expect to see in their noren.”

On the shores of a small island, situated in the inland sea of Seto, sits the town of Naoshima (Kagawa Prefecture). It was here, in 2001, that Yoko Kano was invited to make noren for 14 private homes. The project sparked a revival in noren use and highlighted the relationship of textiles to the expression of an architectural and personal individuality. The noren also bring the art of dyeing and design into the mind of each person who walks through the town.

Join us for an illustrated walk as Yoko Kano and her daughter Kazuho explain the origins of the noren project, what it has meant for Katsuyama, and how the noren are made.

Yoko entered the University of Art and Design Joshibi in 1966 and graduated from the design courses in textiles. An accomplished dyer and weaver, Yoko made noren for commercial clients before beginning the noren project in Katsuyama and Nashima. She owns and operates the Hinoki Gallery

LECTURE Janet Bolton

2012-05-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

Janet Bolton

Following a Narrative Thread

Wednesday September 12

7:30 pm NET LOFT GRANVILLE ISLAND - $15

Janet Bolton’s lectures have a profound effect on people–be they seasoned makers or those who have never held a needle. Her impact is in part due to the strong connection between her life and imagery. Deceptively simple, Janet’s patchwork illustrations have led to an international reputation and a teaching schedule that criss-crosses the globe.

Join Janet as she presents a series of slides to illustrate her influences and development. She will show examples of works inspired by memory, visual experience, and imagination.

Looking back over her life, she will trace a thread that runs through her country childhood and the enthusiasms which still remain relevant to her working practice today.

Janet will also explore how, quite often, a particular piece of fabric has itself suggested a whole new theme of work and how some themes can be revisited time and time again in different ways.

Only working to please herself, Janet was delighted to discover that others were interested in her pieces. That interest is now large enough to allow her to work professionally full-time.

Janet Bolton composes textile pictures using the simplest of hand-sewing techniques. The placement of each element within the composition and the feeling this evokes are crucial to the success of each piece of work.

Janet has been on the Crafts Council Selected Index of Makers since 1985. Her work is in the British Council Collection, the Crafts Council Permanent Collection, the Embroiderers Guild Museum Collection, and many private collections.

All Together Now - Net Loft Night

2012-05-12T14:10:00.001-07:00

The Hot Potato Jazz Bandits in front of the Maiwa Store.

Merchants in Granville Island's NET LOFT celebrated a successful event on Wednesday as they all came together for Net Loft Night. Edible Canada (just across from the Net Loft) provided food and Liberty Wines provided wine. Live music filled the space. The Hot Potato Jazz Bandits and Jim Burnes both played generous sets.

Pierre from Liberty Wines oversees the selection.

Maiwa used the Event to launch a new Aranya collection. One of the techniques that this group is becoming known for is figurative shibori: creating whimsical patterns on cloth using this ancient resist method.

Figurative shibori work from Aranya

Not only a great celebration and a chance for intimate time with Net Loft merchants, funds were raised for Farm Folk City Folk and the Maiwa Foundation.

Thanks to everyone for another great event.

WORKSHOP Waxing Eloquent: Soy Wax Resist

2012-05-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

2012 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop. Registration opens June 25th at 10am

True Colours: Developing a Personal Palette

Carol Soderlund

$250 (includes $60 lab fee) class limit 16
November 9,10 (Fri, Sat) 10am–4pm
Maiwa East, 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver, Canada

Carol Soderlund is our most requested instructor. Students emerge from her courses with a depth of understanding that is solid and true. We’re proud to include this second course offering from Carol.

Environmentally friendly soy wax brings a modern twist to the ancient art of batik. Explore markmaking in free-flowing wax with simple tools such as inexpensive brushes, wood, or metal stampls, found objects, or blank silkscreens. Create depth in the cloth while layering colour on colour on cottons, silks, and sheer organza using Procion MX dyes.

The ease and fun of wax will encourage your playful side as you create fabulous visual textures and colour on cloth.

Instructor Bio

Carol Soderlund’s works have been exhibited nationally and internationally since 1985 in such venues as Visions and American Quilting Society shows and have received numerous awards, including Best of Show at the 1989 International Quilt Festival and Best Use of Color at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Exhibition 2000. She has taught colour, fabric dyeing, colour-mixing techniques, and quilting throughout North America and is currently working on a book on these subjects.

“My work is primarily driven by a passion for colour interactions, the illusions they create, the luminosity they can bring to a surface. I love creating my own palette of fabric through painting, dyeing, and other surface design processes including discharge, shibori, stamping, screening, and foiling. My goal in design is to have a piece that intrigues the viewer at first glance and then continues to reveal surprises upon every inspection.” www.carolsoderlund.com

WORKSHOP True Colours: Developing a Personal Palette

2012-05-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

2012 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop. Registration opens June 25th at 10am

True Colours: Developing a Personal Palette

Carol Soderlund

$325 (includes $75 lab fee) class limit 16
November 6-8 (Tue-Thu) 10am–4pm
Maiwa East, 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver, Canada

For the dyer, the many choices of available colours can lead to confusion and disappointment in colour outcomes. This class will help students choose the pure colour that is suitable for developing a personal palette. Carol has dyed over 80 individual palettes which she will share with you through slide presentations, discussions, and hands-on dyeing. Brilliant yellows, passionate purples, rich reds, astounding blues, and soothing greens as well as the many necessary neutrals will be achieved through mixing using Procion MX dyes.

This class will focus on developing skill in intuitive colour-mixing based primarily on training the eye and understanding the relationship between colours. Students will come to an understanding of warm and cool contrasts and will learn how to choose a personal palette of pure reds, yellows, and blues from which all hues can be mixed. In addition the class will learn not only how to dye saturated, brilliant colours and avoid mud, but also how to create interesting complex neutrals (Bring on the mud puddles!). And they will learn how to shade from value to value and hue to hue.

Students will dye from 8 to 10 yards of cotton using low-water immersion techniques. On the first day, we will develop concepts through lecture and discussion and do some exercises to get familiar with the pure hues. On the days following, we will dye yardage using low-water immersion techniques, resulting in both solid-coloured and multi-coloured cloth, and explore the possibilities of layering colour to enrich the palette.

This class is suitable for all levels of experience, for both those who have had Carol’s class Colour Mixing for Dyers and those who have not.

Instructor Bio

Carol Soderlund’s works have been exhibited nationally and internationally since 1985 in such venues as Visions and American Quilting Society shows and have received numerous awards, including Best of Show at the 1989 International Quilt Festival and Best Use of Color at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Exhibition 2000. She has taught colour, fabric dyeing, colour-mixing techniques, and quilting throughout North America and is currently working on a book on these subjects.

“My work is primarily driven by a passion for colour interactions, the illusions they create, the luminosity they can bring to a surface. I love creating my own palette of fabric through painting, dyeing, and other surface design processes including discharge, shibori, stamping, screening, and foiling. My goal in design is to have a piece that intrigues the viewer at first glance and then continues to reveal surprises upon every inspection.” www.carolsoderlund.com

WORKSHOP Phototransfer for Textiles

2012-05-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

2012 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop. Registration opens June 25th at 10am

Phototransfer for Textiles

Natalie Grambow

$195 (includes $60 lab fee) class limit 14
November 3, 4 (Sat, Sun) 10am-4pm
Maiwa East, 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver, Canada

This two-day workshop will focus on a number of transfer processes that allow students to incorporate photo imagery into their work.

Students will learn methods for the transfer of both black-and-white and colour imagery onto cloth. These include transparent marker, iron-on, solvent, and gel-medium transfers. Students will also learn how to layer, collage, and transfer photocopied images of drawings, text, and photos onto cloth. The final piece will be embellished by hand embroidering, stencilling, and/or blockprinting to create a unique work that exhibits a layered complexity.

Students are encouraged to bring a folder of personal imagery or text that they would like to incorporate into their work. Photocopies brought by the student should be fresh (one day old) and from a toner-based machine. An array of inspirational source material will also be on hand.

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 developed a line of naturally dyed and printed fabrics and has been commissioned by such clients as the city of North Vancouver (to present an artist’s vision of North Vancouver on fabric).

WORKSHOP The Photo Emulsion Screenprint

2012-05-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

2012 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop. Registration opens June 25th at 10am

The Photo Emulsion Screenprint

Anne Babchuk

$250 (includes $80 for lab fee and screen) class limit 14
November 1, 2 (Thu, Fri) 10am–4pm
Maiwa East, 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver, Canada

Screenprinting is an invaluable process for textile artists. The photo emulsion allows the artist to “expose” a screen, just like a photographic negative, giving great versatility in the types of images that can be used. It is also the perfect technique for doing multiples on cloth.

This two-day class takes the mystery out of the photo emulsion process. It provides a solid foundation for those considering a screen-printing business or for those using the screenprint as a design element in textile projects.

Each student will understand the steps necessary to prepare an image, adhere it to a high quality screen, and use that screen to print on fabric.

All printing will be done on 100% natural fibres using Setacolor fabric paint. Participants will learn to print materials such as T-shirts and yardage on a variety of textile weights (cotton, silk, linen). Using a variety of single-pull techniques, students will explore solid one-colour printing, repeating patterns, rainbow printing, and registration. Participants will also learn how to reclaim screens for a change of imagery.

Anne will explain the different approaches needed to use screen printing for natural dyes and synthetic dyes.

Instructor Bio

Anne Babchuk has been a resident instructor for the Maiwa Textile Workshops for the past 17 years. She has taught classes in a wide range of traditional and contemporary surface design processes. Some specialties are: natural dyeing and printing, indigo dyeing, shibori, block printing, and precision dyeing.

Anne studied fine art at Okanagan University. To fund her education she started her own home-based textile business. She feels her greatest education has come through working for Maiwa Handprints, taking workshops from world-class instructors, and travelling.

Currently she archives and maintains the Maiwa Textile Collection and Library. She is also a trustee of the Maiwa Foundation and co-ordinator for the Maiwa Textile Symposium.

WORKSHOP Needle Felting as an Art Medium

2012-05-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

2012 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop. Registration opens June 25th at 10am

Needle Felting as an Art Medium

Briony Jean Foy

$195 (includes $30 lab fee) class limit 14
November 3,4 (Sat, Sun) 10am–4pm
Maiwa Loft, Granville Island, Vancouver, Canada

Needle felting is a popular craft form, but the process can also result in expressive and sophisticated works of art. In this workshop students will create an original landscape, portrait, or abstract composition suitable for framing or presentation.

Students will be introduced to the basics of the needle-felting technique and elements of design theory. Whether you work entirely from your imagination or start out with inspirational images or photographs, you’ll learn how to break down the design in terms of composition, colour blending, perspective, and transparency.

The instructor will work with students individually to bring their compositions to life. As in painting or collage, students will build layers of colour, depth, and texture with yarns, rovings, and bits of handmade or commercial fabrics. The class will end with a discussion of finishing and presentation methods.

No experience necessary. This workshop is designed for students of all levels from beginners to more experienced artisans. It may be taken as an extension of Needle Felting: A New Adventure, but students should feel free to take either or both workshops.

Instructor Bio

Briony Jean Foy designs and creates one-of-a-kind woven and felted pieces in her studio in Madison, WI. She teaches weaving and gives workshops and private lessons across the USA and Canada. She has exhibited nationally and internationally and is the recipient of a Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award in recognition of her work in the visual arts. www.brionyfoy.com

WORKSHOP Needle Felting: A New Adventure

2012-05-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

2012 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop. Registration opens June 25th at 10am

Needle Felting: A New Adventure

Briony Jean Foy

$250 (includes $50 lab fee) class limit 14
October 31 - November 2 (Wed-Fri) 10am–4pm
Maiwa Loft, Granville Island, Vancouver, Canada

Learn a needle-felting process that is as simple and spontaneous as fingerpainting or drawing with a pencil. It’s even erasable until “set” by washing. Anyone who usually works with technical or material constraints will love the freedom and playfulness of this process.

Through hands-on exercises and illustrated lectures, students will learn about basic design elements, colour theory, and the nature and properties of fibres as they relate to needle-felting techniques.

Students will combine yarns and roving with handwoven, wet-felted, or purchased cloth. They will learn how to choose and combine materials to create complex fibre works with colour, depth, and texture. The class will not only experiment with techniques and materials to create samples, they will complete finished independent work as well.

Participants also discuss ways of adding this process to their existing work: painting, jewellery, ceramics, woodworking, quilting, collage, or any other medium. This workshop is designed for everyone from professional artists to novices who just want to explore their creative side.

Needle felting does not require expensive equipment or facilities. The process is portable, and the cost is entirely up to the artisan. Materials are readily accessible, and needle felting is a great way to use found and recycled materials. It is also a great way to experiment with small amounts of more expensive fabrics. Whether you are interested in form or function, concept or aesthetic, process or result, needle felting is addictive.

Instructor Bio

Briony Jean Foy designs and creates one-of-a-kind woven and felted pieces in her studio in Madison, WI. She teaches weaving and gives workshops and private lessons across the USA and Canada. She has exhibited nationally and internationally and is the recipient of a Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award in recognition of her work in the visual arts. www.brionyfoy.com

Launch of a New Aranya Collection - on Net Loft Night

2012-05-03T02:07:00.000-07:00

20% off everything

in the main Maiwa Store

During this special customer appreciation night in the Net Loft on Granville Island.
RVSP to maiwa at 604 669 3939 or maiwa@maiwa.com

We will use this event to launch the new collection from
The Aranya Natural Dye Project.
See some of the Aranya Scarves and Shawls,
or read an interview with two artisans from Aranya.

WORKSHOP Shaped Resist with Natural Dye Extracts

2012-04-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

2012 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop. Registration opens June 25th at 10am

Shaped Resist with Natural Dye Extracts

Joan Morris

$495 (includes $100 lab fee) class limit 16
October 26-30 (Fri-Tue) 10am–4pm
Maiwa East, 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver, Canada

Natural dye extracts are a versatile and sustainable way of dyeing and are convenient and safe to use. They produce a wide range of deep and subtle colours and work brilliantly with shibori.

The focus of this class is on creating wonderful, subtle colour using only natural dyes. By stitching, pleating, wrapping, binding, and then dyeing, exquisite patterns emerge. The patterns are the fabric’s memory of the shaping process.

Students will begin by preparing shibori with cottons and linens. These will be immersed in a natural indigo vat. Indigo has a rich and mysterious history—for thousands of years it has been an inspiration to artisans all over the world. Two indigo preparations will be taught: a cold synthetic vat and a natural vat used at higher temperatures.

Several different dye extracts (all inter-mixable) will be used to dye silk, wool, cotton, linen, and hemp. These include: madder, an extract from the madder root used for red, peach, and rust shades; osage, fustic, and cutch, extracts derived from hardwoods, which give yellows, ochres, and browns; and cochineal, an insect-based extract which produces fantastic magentas, pinks, and reds. The mordanting process will also be covered. Using only alum as our mordant, the class will shift colour with iron sulfate and vinegar. Students will learn safe ways of handling dyes and mordants.

This is a rare opportunity to work directly with textile artist Joan Morris. The instructor’s extensive collection of shaped-resist dyed textiles from around the world will be on hand as a resource.

WORKSHOP Hand-Hooked Rugs

2012-04-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

2012 Maiwa Textile Symposium Workshop. Registration opens June 25th at 10am

Hand-Hooked Rugs

Michelle Sirois-Silver

$195 (includes $65 lab fee) class limit 16
October 29, 30 (Mon, Tue) 10am–4pm
Maiwa Loft, Granville Island, Vancouver, Canada

The original hooked rugs were a matter of thrift. Yet they left a legacy rich in personal history and storytelling.

In this two-day workshop students learn the basic rug-hooking and finishing techniques needed to make their own hand-hooked rugs and accessories. The class will hand hook fabric strips onto a linen backing.

Each student receives one-on-one attention from the instructor. Students may select from one of three designs provided by the instructor or are welcome to create their own design. They will leave the workshop with a completed, hand-hooked, 20 cm x 20 cm sampler. Topics covered in the workshop include fabric selection, backing, the sourcing of supplies, and the history of hand-hooked rugs in Canada.

This two-day workshop is ideal for those who are beginners as well as those who are relatively new to the craft and may want to refresh their skills.

Instructor Bio

Michelle Sirois-Silver is a McGown-certified instructor and teaches rug-hooking workshops on design and colour planning in Canada and the United States.

Her work has been exhibited at fibreEssence, Contemporary Craft in BC, Surface Design Traveling Exhibition, FibreWorks Gallery, Convergence, Gibsons Fibre Arts Festival, and the Silk Purse Arts Centre. She has a Creative Arts Diploma from Vanier College, a BA Specialization in Communications from Concordia University, and a Public Relations Certificate from the University of Toronto. She studied colour theory with Michele Wipplinger and at BC Open University. Ms. Sirois-Silver first began teaching rug-hooking in 1998 and formed Big Dog Hooked Rug Designs in 2004. www.michellesirois-silver.com