Black Sheep Handweavers Guild

This is a list of textile-related events occurring in the San Francisco Bay area and/or of special interest to guild members. Or if I feel like including them.

If you have events that you would like added, please send email to: Rosemary Brock.

Black Sheep Events

5/14, 7:00 pm: May Guild meeting. Check programs for more information
6/12, 7:00 pm: March Guild Board meeting to be held at Rachels.
6/19, 7:00 pm: June meeting. Check programs for more information

Ongoing Bay Area Events

: First Monday
7-9pm, upstairs, above www.carolinahomespun.com, 455 Lisbon Street, San Francisco
: Spinning Mondays
Cece Paape holds “Spinning Mondays” in Menlo Park.
: First Thursday for Spinners
7-9pm, upstairs, above www.carolinahomespun.com, 455 Lisbon Street, San Francisco
: Third Thursday Sock Night
7-9pm, upstairs, above www.carolinahomespun.com, 455 Lisbon Street, San Francisco
: Third Sunday
Hannelore Cole has 3rd Sunday spinning sessions at her Mountain View studio.

Current (Mostly) Bay Area Events

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5/14:17: "Basic Felting Techniques for 3-D Objects" with Lisa Klakulak
Participants will learn the properties of wool as related to the felting process, a plethora of techniques and their appropriate application for creating specific types of 3-D objects. Beginning with making small pouches/clutches or containers employing form wrapping techniques, we will progress to creating 3-D sculptural forms using flat felting methods with resists. Hand held and/or shoulder strap bags will be demonstrated, however, participants are encouraged to use the learned techniques to create any type of 3-D sculptural form. Finishing techniques demonstrated will include embellishing with needle felting, hand stitching, free-motion machine embroidery, beading and stiffening. Coupeville Arts Center.
5/15:7/13/08: "Fashion Conscious: Designs that will change the world one garment at a time
UC Davis Design Center This exhibition explores sustainability and how it relates to the clothes we buy, from the ecological impact of eco-friendly textiles to the re-evaluation of industrial manufacturing.
5/16:18: "SHIBORI: UNUSUAL STITCHES AND ADVANCED WRAPPING" with Ana Lisa Hedstrom
Beginning with the basics of stitch resist and arashi shibori, we will shift our focus to the neglected techniques of Katano, Shirokage, and Chinese stitch resist. Advanced arashi techniques of hasu ami net and hagaromo angel wings will be explored. Contemporary application of shibori using the sewing machine and smocking pleater offers exciting possibilities. We will use Fiber MX dye in immersion and painting techniques. Beginners to advanced students are welcome. Mendocino Art Center.
5/18:20: "Felted and Embellished Jewelry" with Lisa Klakulak
Learn the properties of wool fleece to gain an understanding of how to manipulate this fiber through the felting process to create a variety of solid forms manifesting in refined body adornment. Techniques for creating beads, rings, buttons, pendants, and cords with incorporated clasps will be demonstrated and participants will be encouraged to explore and innovate! Felted wool offers a supple surface that can be easily embellished. Needle felting, hand stitching and beading will be demonstrated and participants will embellish and assemble components into eye-catching adornments for the body. Coupeville Arts Center.
5/23:27: "Japanese Patterns and Textures in Soy Wax" with Betsy Sterling Benjamin
The new washable soy-wax, coupled with the outstanding Japanese Rozome Masters’ batik techniques make this class a winner. Explore the textural and pattern possibilities of rokata (wax stencil), menfuse (wax surface), ro-etching (wax etching), ro-fubuki (wax snowstorm), ro-roller (rolled wax pattern) and shikibiki (wax trailing), on either silk or cotton fabric. The glorious bokashi shading technique will be covered as well as the direct-application yardage dyeing of the kimono industry. Bring your sewing machine, if you’d like, and start collaging or quilting your resist-dye pieces in class. For those with rozome experience, a stimulating 'workshop style' option is available with reviews of techniques, critiques, and individual support to move your work forward. The class will introduce the possibilities of rozome and soy wax, a non-petroleum, renewable source resist medium that supports American farmers. Coupeville Arts Center.
5/25:6/4: Italy textile tour
Textile tour to Unbria and Tuscany. Linda Kirsch
June 1st Saturday: Spinners Day at Retzlaff Winery
Treadles to Threads.
Through June: Treasures from a Trunk: California Pioneers’ Quilts and Textiles
The California Museum, Sacramento. For centuries, women were discouraged from becoming traditional artists but expressed their creativity through textiles, an art form both beautiful and useful. For women in the 1800’s a quilt could be like a diary. Much of what women packed for their journey to California consisted of their own handiwork: treasured quilts, best dresses, baby gowns, and other needlecraft. The meticulous stitches and the fabrics used give visitors a glimpse into the long-ago lives of California women. A few of the treasures on display include a baby coverlet made by Tamsen Donner (who perished in 1847 en route to CA with the Donner Party); a catalog of stitches – a sampler of diverse skills; a quilted petticoat and much more.
6/2:5: "Shibori Patterns using Fiber Reactive Dyes" with Joan Morris
Shibori is the 1500 year old Japanese dye process whereby cloth is shaped by pinching, pleating, stitching, wrapping or folding, and securing in those shapes by knotting, binding or clamping. Dyes are then applied to the textile while it is in these forms. The cloth visually registers the 3 dimensional form used to create the patterns after it has been released from its shaping. Using fiber reactive dyes, beginners and intermediate students will create samples with techniques that include folding and clamping and stitch variations to create brilliant, clear patterns on cotton, linen, hemp and silk. Working with variations of pole wrapping, we'll produce beautiful striped designs. As time permits, the discharge process will be discussed. Coupeville Arts Center.
6/6:7: The Battle of Line vs. Shape" with Ann Johnston
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, McGraw-Hill, and her website. Coupeville Arts Center.
through 6/8: Core Memory/Peripheral Vision
Core Memory / Peripheral Vision features the work of eight of the most renowned digital Jacquard artists working today. These artists don’t celebrate technology with their digitally enhanced textiles; rather, they harness the technology to create mostly large scale explorations of the very personal: family and nature. From Lia Cook’s intricately textured self and family portraits to Bhakti Ziek’s painterly works that create a sense of three-dimensions with their merging of text and natural images, this exhibition shows a range of personal and artistic responses to developments in woven digital technology.
Digital Jacquard looms don’t weave for the artist; this is still primarily done by hand. These looms do enable artists to render any digital image in their weaving by providing a much finer-grained control of individual warp threads of the loom than can be managed by traditional weaving and human memory. Each thread is a separate element enabling unlimited possibilities for design and patterning. Core Memory / Peripheral Visions showcases interpretations of this provocative new technology in the skilled hands of talented fiber artists.
Many people believe that the original Jacquard loom’s use of punch cards for the storage and input of data influenced the early development of the computer. Charles Babbage himself owned a portrait of Jacquard that was created on a Jacquard loom, suggesting that the weaver’s work influenced his thinking.
Included artists: Louise Lemieux Berube, Cathy Bolding, Lia Cook, Victor De La Rosa, Sheila O’Hara, Lisa Lee Peterson, Cynthia Schira, Bhakti Ziek. The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.
through 6/8: Pixels & Pieces
Pixels & Pieces is a selection of historical one-patch quilts from the Museum’s permanent collection. Constructed of a single repeated shape, these remarkable quilts are in fact an early use of pixelation to create visual images. The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.
through 6/8: Knitter’s Tapestry by Daniela K. Rosner and Kimiko Ryokai
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through 6/8: Advanced Geometry: Gloria Hansen
Advanced Geometry: Gloria Hansen is a selection of art quilts by a self-described computer nerd and one of the world’s foremost experts on computer-generated quilt design. Hansen’s gorgeously and intricately designed and executed art quilts definitely feel of-the-moment but also owe a debt of gratitude to the Op-Art of the 1960s. Hansen has mastered the use of bold geometry and concentric lines to achieve surprising beauty at the same time fooling your eye into seeing vibration, depth and motion. The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.
6/8:9: "Quilting Hand Dyed Fabrics" with Ann Johnston
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 create new kinds of textures and patterns on the fabric. 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. Coupeville Arts Center.
6/9:13: "BEGINNING AND ADVANCED NAVAJO WEAVING" with Sarah Natani
Learn how to warp a Navajo loom and weave a small rug using the Navajo vertical interlocking method. Advanced students will be introduced to diagonal weave. Traditional beliefs concerning when, where, and how to weave, ceremonies associated with weaving, and Navajo customs will be shared including the Navajo weaving creation story and weaving etiquette. Materials fee: $110. Mendocino Art Center.
6/20:23: "Home Interiors: Felted Cobweb Curtains" with Chris A. White
During this four day workshop, we’ll design and felt a beautiful pair of lacy cobweb curtains for a special room in your home. Options include valences, café curtains (lower half), or two longer panels for doors, showers or long windows. Learning to make strong, consistently even cobweb felt requires patience and by the end of the class, you’ll possess the skill to make cobweb felt that will stand the test of time and be of high enough quality for the retail market. We’ll make cobweb by hand as well as with the help of grounded, water-safe palm sanders (ear protection is required for this noisy portion of the class). Students should have prior experience in wet felting. Coupeville Arts Center.
6/20:22: Black Sheep Gathering
www.blacksheepgathering.org. Eugene OR
6/21 & 28: "Beginning Tatting: Basics and Beyond" and Wendy Gilmore
Tatting is possibly the easiest lace making technique, but one of the most difficult to learn from written instructions alone. We will discover the key move that creates the basic stitch, thus bridging the gulf between frustration and fascination with the tatting shuttle. Students will learn the correct ways of loading the shuttle, holding and manipulating shuttle and thread to make the basic stitch as well as picots, chains, Josephine knots, and joins. We will also cover reading charts and, if time permits, 2-shuttle tatting techniques. At the end of the class you will have completed a simple but delicate motif involving all these stitches. Lacis.
6/21:22: "OPEN TWINED WHOLE SHOOT BASKETRY" with Carol Hart
Learn how to make a whole shoot basket, tray or sculptural piece using open twining techniques employed by tribal weavers around the world. Local plant materials suitable for our project and their significance, cultivation and management for basket weaving will be discussed, as well as basic cordage making skills. A materials kit will be provided for the class. Included are primarily home grown, cultivated basket willows. Wild gathered shoots and orchard cuttings might be included for variation in color and texture. These materials have been carefully selected, cut, washed and sorted in advance for kits by the instructor. Pre-cut and individually bundled commercial plant cordage is also included in the kit. Mendocino Art Center.
6/21:27: "ROZOME" with Betsy Sterling Benjamin
This master’s level intensive seven-day class in the techniques of Japanese batik or rozome on silk will utilize traditional resist materials as well as soy wax. Designed for advanced students on a professional level, the class will further individual skills and design abilities. Stimulating wax drawing exercises and assignments will further contemporary adaptations of individual work as well as demonstrations, slides, videos of process and techniques. Individual help and development will be focused on in the workshop-style class with both group and individual critiques. This is an advanced-level class and permission of the instructor is necessary for enrollment. Mendocino Art Center.
6/24:27: "Coloring and Three Dimensional Shaping with Disperse Dyes" with Lisa Grey
Explore the exceptional ability of disperse dye to color and pattern today’s versatile synthetics. Participants will design expressive personal surfaces covering a wide range of possibilities from subtle to intense color, and painterly to abstract design while using and combining various mark making, painting, printing, stamping, collage, and fusing techniques. In addition, students will experiment with the unique heat shaping properties of polyester. Permanent shapes will be applied to the cloth through pleating, gathering and knotting over objects. Learn to love polyester in all its permutations with distinctly unique coloring properties. Coupeville Arts Center.
6/28, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM: "Golden Waterfalls, Windblown Pines: The Story of Kimono" with Betsy Sterling Benjamin
Betsy Sterling Benjamin is an internationally recognized silk artist, a researcher, and the author of The World of Rozome: Wax Resist Textiles of Japan. She spent 18 years living in Japan and teaching at the college level and is currently on the faculty of Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. The de Young Museum.
6/28:30: "Experimental Printmaking with Disperse Dyes" with Lisa Grey
Make unusual prints by transfer printing disperse dyes onto paper. Participants will create monoprints using a heat press and several types of printmaking papers while experimenting with various ways to alter or enhance the imagery including underpainting, fusing fabrics, screenprinting, layering, collage and surface texturing both before and after printing on the paper. This technique is highly experimental and intriguing in its possibilities with applications for framed artwork, artist books and dimensional work. Coupeville Arts Center.
6/28:7/2: "BATIK - THE OLD AND THE NEW" with Agus Ismoyo and Nia Fliam
In this workshop we will look at the ancient technique of batik found in Java, Indonesia and at the ways it can be utilized in contemporary creative expression. We will explore the fundamentals of hand batik by using a tiny spouted tool called the 'canting', we will draw with molten wax. With cap batik, we will print wax with finally crafted copper stamps. Then this waxed cloth will be immersed in dyes and the process continued. Historically, since the inception of the cap batik technique in the mid 19th century, cap has been seen as rather a notch below handmade batik. In its original form it was used to expedite the batik process as well as to assure the symmetrical production of the geometric motifs. But in fact the technique of cap has equally important advantages as an art medium and serves as a graphic format for the batik technique. With this technique multitudes of visual effects can be achieved which are unique unto the cap medium itself. Cap batik can go hand and hand with drawn batik or as an artistic medium of its own. ] Mendocino Art Center.
through 6/08: Treasures from a Trunk: California Pioneers’ Quilts and Textiles
For centuries, women were discouraged from becoming traditional artists but expressed their creativity through textiles, an art form both beautiful and useful. For women in the 1800’s a quilt could be like a diary. Much of what women packed for their journey to California consisted of their own handiwork: treasured quilts, best dresses, baby gowns, and other needlecraft. The meticulous stitches and the fabrics used give visitors a glimpse into the long-ago lives of California women. A few of the treasures on display include a baby coverlet made by Tamsen Donner (who perished in 1847 en route to CA with the Donner Party); a catalog of stitches – a sampler of diverse skills; a quilted petticoat and much more. The California Museum for History, Women, & the Arts.
7/9:13: "IKAT: CONTINUED TECHNIQUES & CONVERSATIONS" with Mary Zicafoose
Continue building on the precise and sequential steps for creating innovative weft-faced ikat tapestries and rugs, with an emphasis on more advance imagery achieved through multiple wraps and dye baths. We will push the envelope to create more lyrical and complex stories and images in woven cloth with greater technical depth in design, wrapping strategies and overdye. Mendocino Art Center.
7/11:13: "DESIGN FOR SCREEN PRINTING RESIST ON SILK" with Susan Louise Moyer
Learn how to design for screen-printing a resist on silk. As an artist interested in producing multiple scarves, pillows, yardage, etc., you will learn how to do multiple resist prints of your popular designs. Screen printing the resist speeds up the production process leaving more time for creative painting. Immediately after the design workshop, the class will move to Lolli Jacobsen's studio (July 14-16) to learn how the various resist designs you just created can be applied to screens via a photo emulsion process. Once a design has been screen printed in multiples, the artist can create one of a kind pieces by using different painting techniques, such as line-building, ombre, salt texture, shading, discharge, etc., all varying the same basic design. Class meets at the instructor's studio in Fort Bragg. Mendocino Art Center.
7/14:16: "SCREEN PRINTING ON FABRICS" with Lolli Jacobsen
Learn how various designs are made ready for and applied to screens using the versatile photo emulsion process. This workshop, open to all, but also highly recommended for silk painters who want hands on experience making and using a screen for printing a resist onto silk. For the production artist, printing the resist will make it easier to create multiples, for example, scarves, pillows and yardage. Also learn how to create the effect of virtually any type of graphic design, drawing, actual object, or photograph without elaborate equipment. Single as well as multi-color printing (3 to 5 yard "strike off" yardage, scarves, T-shirts, etc.) with paints and/or fiber reactive dyes are all possible in Lolli's fully equipped Fort Bragg Fabric Studio. The class is open to students of all skill levels. This workshop meets at the instructor's Fort Bragg studio. Mendocino Art Center.
7/18:20: "ONE OF A KIND & RESIST PRINTING ON SILK" with Susan Louise Moyer
Now that you have learned how a resist design can be screen printed in multiples, explore ways to make each print a one of a kind piece. Various painting techniques and materials, such as line building, ombre, salt and alcohol texture, shading, blending, discharge, decorative resists, screened textures and color harmonies can be used to vary the same basic design. Varying the techniques will make painting multiples of the same design more challenging and fun. A print table, steamer, dyes and resists will be available for this workshop. Bring the screens and printed silk that you made in Lolli's Studio. Mendocino Art Center.
7/21:24: "Beyond Kimonos: Color Rice Paste Resist on Silk" with Akemi Nakano Cohn
Discover the contemporary application of Japanese rice paste techniques for simultaneous color and resist. Students will experience the entire process of color rice paste resist printing from making the rice paste, coloring the rice paste, and stamping or stenciling it onto silk. Students will be encouraged to tap into their creative expressions while learning the techniques of pattern design; katagami (stencil cutting and application); color recipes’ stamps and tsutsu (similar to pastry cone). Coupeville Arts Center.
7/23:27: "TRADITIONAL YORUBA BATIK, ADIRE & TIE-DYE" with Gasali Onireke Adeyemo
Batik is the process of creating designs on fabric using foam rubber and wax. Adire is the process of creating designs on fabric using chicken feathers and cassava paste (or yucca). Tie-dye is the process of using raffia to tie fabric and then dye. After creating the fabrics the fabric is dyed. The designs we use have special meaning in the Yoruba culture. Mendocino Art Center.
7/27:30: "Simple Screen Printing with Various Mediums" with Wendy Huhn
The focus of this “hands on” workshop is to introduce and take the unknown element out of screen printing. Four techniques will be covered in depth and will include: direct wax, contact /freezer paper, screen filler and drawing fluid. We will be working with dyes and thiox, and foil. A Puff Base extender respirator is required. The techniques will be taught step-by-step so that you are comfortable and understand each one. There will be time to print and experiment, troubleshoot and play. Coupeville Arts Center.
7/28:8/3: Golden Gate Fiber Institute Summer Intensive Program
Golden Gate Fiber Institute.
7/30:8/3: "TAPESTRY: ART FORM OF ITS OWN" with Silvia Heyden
In tapestry weaving there is no background to weave, no paper, no canvas, only open warp threads. In addition, the weaver has to build up one thread on top of the other and a good part of it will disappear when the warp gets turned up. Therefore, the tapestry weavers design on paper first to overcome the difficulty of the medium. I think of it differently: basic weave-able forms unfold into a composition through repetition and variation. Such tapestries have their own rhythm and will continue moving when hanging on the wall. I would like to inspire tapestry weavers of today to find out why our medium has such a unique life of its own. Mendocino Art Center.
8/1:5: Vat Dye Discharge Printing: Imagery without Drawing "Know How" with Laura Sims
Vat dye discharge is an exciting surface design process that will be used to create personalized imagery. A corn dextrin discharge paste mixed with vat dye will be applied to cotton, rayon and/or silk* by stamping, painting and mono-printing methods. When the fabric is steamed students will see the magic happen…the original color will be removed and simultaneously replaced with new color. Students will have an opportunity to convert favorite impressions of photographed scenes, patterns in nature and ideas from the imagination into permanent images on fabric. It is good to know that with some simple tools and a few tricks of the trade anyone can draw. * NOTE: Cotton, rayon and silk must be colored with a fiber reactive dye (ex. Procion MX, F and H dye, Remazol liquid dye or acid dye) in order to be discharged. Coupeville Arts Center.
through 8/2: BEYOND THE PATTERN: Fantasy Set Loose
Beyond the covering of the body for warmth or modesty, the embellishments and accessories that express the uniqueness, personality, and spirit of the wearer, using all the elements of creation from beads to threads to imagination. Lacis.
8/6:10: "THREE-END BLOCK WEAVE FOR RUGS" with Jason Collingwood
Starting with simple two color designs, students will move on to add additional colors and employ different techniques all of which expand the design possibilities. Special emphasis will be placed on Shaft Switching, every one being able to adapt their looms in class to try out this exciting technique. The class will include numerous tips for weaving successful rugs and will conclude with a look at rug finishes. Mendocino Art Center.
8/14:16: "Mud Cloth (Bogolanfini Modified)" with Judy Dominic
The strikingly simple white design on black background cloth represents the serious artistic manner of telling the stories of village life in Mali, Africa. Learn about the traditional method of bogolanfini, dying cotton cloth with mud, as well as how that process can be modified to work outside of Mali. During the workshop you will create your own story designs using local muds on cotton and/or other natural fiber cloth. Connect with the earth and gain an appreciation of the people and culture of Mali. Coupeville Arts Center.
8/16:9/7: Santa Cruz Art League Fourth Annual Fiber Art Exhibit
Reception: August 23, 3 to 5pm, SCAL.
8/20:24: "BEGINNING & INTERMEDIATE WEAVING" with Lolli Jacobsen
This class will cover everything a beginner needs to know from choosing materials and weave structures to warping a loom, weaving and finishing. Students will receive individual attention in working with a variety of loom controlled and weaver-controlled patterns and techniques. Students can choose to weave samplers or work on an individual project such as a scarf, placemats, napkins, runners or pillows, etc. This is an ideal refresher course for more advanced weavers to expand and learn new skills. Mendocino Art Center.
8/24:27: "Felting Art…. from the Start : Felting Forum" with Tammy Deck
Explore this fun, unusual process that by-passes knitting and sewing by capitalizing on the natural attributes of wool to turn yarn and un-spun fiber into unique art fabrics and sculptural objects during this energetic 4-day workshop. No previous felting experience necessary….no knitting or sewing skills required. Students will start with a basic flat felt technique and proceed to learn about resists by felting a purse. Next is the Free-Hand Felt Lace method to create a scarf and dimensional felted flowers. Day three explores the laminated felting method (a/k/a Nuno Felt), which is felting through hand painted silk chiffon, for a second scarf and finishing up on day four with the felting of hats and learning to sculpt them on hat blocks.
Sunday: Each student will design and make a flat felt piece (suited to the use of cut and sew designs for hats, purses, pillow fronts and other accessory items). Then, we will make a purse using a “resist” method, including several color and pattern techniques for 3-dimensional items. NOTE: NO KNITTING in this process.
Monday: Each student will learn the “free hand” felting technique of creating a lacey scarf or fabric that may be cut and sewn into other design items at a later time. In the afternoon we will explore 3 dimensional, sculptural felting by creating whimsical felted flowers utilizing felting needles for assembly. Finished pieces may be wearable works all by themselves, used to adorn other fiber work or in the creation of sculptures.
Tuesday: Traditional wool felt is generally thick, stiff and sculptural. Students will now be taught to use smaller quantities of wool and the process that encourages the fibers to pass through and bind to a Silk Chiffon fabric (also referred to as Nuno Felt) to create unique and surprisingly durable, ‘drape-able’ felt fabrics applicable to art wear clothing, interior decorating fabrics and hat design work. Students will explore color and design direction in the application of wool and metallic yarns together with colored wool roving onto a pre-hand-painted silk chiffon base in the creation of a scarf.
Wednesday: Each student will design and make a felted hat on a three-dimensional form. This is not a knit and shrink technique! Various surface design elements will be inlaid within the structure. Hat Blocking will also be covered. Coupeville Arts Center.
9/10:13: "Dyeing to Discharge" with Carol Soderlund
Discover the possibilities of discharge-- the removal of color from dyed cloth. First we will apply base color and then selectively remove and replace the color using immersion with stitched and pole wrap techniques various resist techniques, as well as stencil, screen printing, and block printing. Students will work toward a vocabulary of personal mark making, using complex layered imagery and color. Fabric samples showing specific dye colors and how they discharge will be produced for both cotton and silk. We will work with both oxidative (bleach) reductive (Thiourea dioxide) discharges. Previous experience with Procion dyes is helpful, but not required. Safe studio practices are emphasized. Coupeville Arts Center.
9/16:19: "Katazome-Japanese Stencil Making And Dyeing" with Karen Miller
Traditional Japanese stencil dyeing is a fabulous technique for producing patterned fabric without a lot of elaborate equipment. We will learn to make a paper stencil, to design repeat patterns and register them properly. We will explore a myriad of non-Japanese design sources as well as natural forms as we design original stencils. We will learn traditional Japanese pigment dyeing, and discuss many other ways to use the finished stencils. Emphasis will be on helping students develop their own unique approach to designing both stencils and fabrics, and broadening the definition of katazome to include dyes and familiar techniques (indigo dyeing and nassen, colored dyes in rice paste resist). Coupeville Arts Center.
9/25:27: "Felting Needle Watercolor Inlay Technique" with Patricia Spark
This is a new workshop developed by Pat to help even non-drawers make quite realistic images. By doing a series of samplers, students are led through these methods and on the last day will begin (and possibly finish) their own design with confidence. The methods have been so successful with students that Pat has even written a book about it: The Watercolor Felt Workbook. This technique can be likened to using wool to paint the felt like we use watercolors to work on paper. With this method of inlaid design, the design elements are added after the background is partially made, using a felting needle. After the designs are applied, the felt is then finished by the normal, wet method so that the fabric is strong and the surface is secure. This class is for all levels, but knowledge of hand carding is helpful. Coupeville Arts Center.
10/3:6: "Contemporary Marbling" with Elin Noble
Develop imagery that is far away from traditional marbled patterns, using some traditional and some unusual products, and all water based. Combine fluidity of line, pattern and color in nonconformist ways resulting in abstract, cellular, aquatic, cosmic, and even geological types of imagery. Experience the magic of this ancient process with a contemporary twist and learn why and how different products are used and when to use them. We'll cover, color mixing, paints, fabric and paper selections, and preparation, simple, inexpensive and effective set-up, tricks and some time saving ways to do larger projects all through lively and humorous discussions. Coupeville Arts Center.
10/4:11: Spinning and Weaving Week
Spinning and Weaving Association offers a variety of things to help introduce spinning and weaving to others at their site
10/10:12: "Short Row Noro Vest or Cardigan" with Nancie Wiseman
In this workshop you will produce a vest or a sweater using Noro yarns, working entirely in short rows from side to side. The dye process and color way of Noro yarns is perfect for making large and small areas of color while producing a one-of-a kind garment. No two will ever be the same. You will work solely in garter stitch. You will write your own pattern for this design, taking measurements and stitch gauge to come up with the cast on number and shaping of the garment. A worksheet is provided to make this easy and fun. There will be a refresher course on short rows before we start the garment so you don’t need to know them before you come to class. Lots of knitting will be accomplished on several pieces to get a good start on the garment and finishing. Coupeville Arts Center.
10/18:20: "Advanced/Intermediate Japanese Stencil Cutting" with John Marshall
Students with a basic knowledge of Japanese stencils will be taken on a tour of the possibilities offered by both traditional and contemporary stenciling. The first day will be spent teaching advanced and innovative methods of carving stencils, including complex repeats. The second day will be spent with an abundance of samples as participants are challenged to truly learn to see the techniques involved in designing masterworks, and how to incorporate these stencil concepts into their own art pieces. On the third day we will be working with the acrylic lacquering method first developed by John, as we finish up the stencils carved in class. The rest of the day will be spent with techniques of non-linear repeats and three-dimensional layering. Coupeville Arts Center.
10/21:23: "Japanese Katazome and Hand Painting: A Marriage Of Natural Dyes" with John Marshall Taking advantage of the stenciling techniques covered in the Advanced Japanese Stencil Cutting Class, participants will be shown how to plan and combine stencils with a range of silk painting techniques. Only natural dyes will be used in the class, but techniques may also be modified slightly for use with synthetic dyes. Pre-requisites: It is strongly recommended for students to have some experience with Japanese rice-paste resist techniques. No experience with natural dyes is required. The materials fee will include the use of traditional stencils and equipment as well as consumables such as natural dyes and silks. Students are not required to bring any supplies. Coupeville Arts Center.
10/24: Personal Consultations with John Marshall
Here is a great opportunity to spend an hour of private consultation with John Marshall. John will be happy to critique your designs, offer technical suggestions, or just talk about your goals for your artistic career. Come spend an hour one-on-one with John, learning at the elbow of the master. LIMIT 6 1-hour appointments. Coupeville Arts Center.
4/24:27/09: CNCH 2009
From Hand to Hand - Passing On Our Fiber Traditions 3 days in the town of Sonoma with classes within easy walking distance of Sonoma Plaza. CNCH.

Classes and Lectures

Alameda Art Center: Alameda, CA
AVL: Chico, CA, 800.626.9615.
Baulines Craft Guild: PO Box 150158, San Rafael, CA 94915, 415.458.3535
The Bead Shop: 158 University, Palo Alto, CA 94301, 650.328,7925
Cabrillo College: Art Department. 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95001, 831.427.0181.
California College of the Arts: Textile Arts Department. 5212 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94618], 510.597.3703.
California Contemporary Craft Association: PO Box 2060 Sausalito, CA 94966, 415.458.3535.
Canada College: Fashion Design Department. 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., Redwood City, CA 94061, 650.306.3370.
The Caning Shop: 926 Gilman Street, Berkeley, 510.527.5010.
City College of San Francisco: Consumer Arts & Sciences Department. 1860 Hayes Street at Masonic, San Francisco, CA 94117, 415.239.3588.
College of Marin: Art Department. Kentfield, CA 94904, 415.485.9480.
College of the Redwoods, Mendocino Coast Branch: Art Department. 1211 Del Mar Drive, Fort Bragg, CA 95437, 707.962.2662.
College of the Redwoods, Eureka Campus: Visual and Performing Arts Department. 7351 Tompkins Hill Road, Eureka, CA 95501, 707.476.4300, ext. 4902.
Columbia College: Community Education. 11600 Columbia College Dr., Sonora, CA 95370, 209.588.5144.
Coupeville Arts Center: Box 171, Coupeville, WA 98239, 360.678.3396. Fiber Forum Workshops on Whidbey Island feature many, many well-known teachers and offer an unforgettable cac@whidbey.net
Custom Handweavers: Hanilore Cole at (415) 967-0831 or e-mail webemit@worldnet.att.net.
Dharma Trading Company: San Raphael, CA. Even though their class list doesn't list them, I understand they offer classes on knitting and other non-dyeing classes.
Design Alliance Programs: UC Davis, Department of Environmental Design, 916/752-6150
Evergreen Valley College: Family and Consumer Studies Department. 3095 Yerba Buena Road, San Jose, CA 95135, 408.274.7900 ext. 6611
The Golden Fleece: 303 Potrero Street (Old Sash Mill), Santa Cruz, CA 95060, 831.426.1425.
Hartnell College: Fine Arts Department. 156 Homestead Ave., Salinas, CA 93901, 831.755.6905.
Hues & Views: Basha Quilici. 930 Redwood Hwy., Mill Valley, CA 94941, 415.383.1280 Classes taught in traditional and primative style rug hooking. Call for information. Email: hvinterior@aol.com
The Ink People Center for the Arts: 411 12th St., Eureka, CA 95501, 707.442.8413.
Knitting Arts: 14554 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA, 408.867.5010
Lacis: Clases on lace, embroidery, Berkeley, CA 510.548.5241
Lofty Lou's: 585 Main Street, Placerville, CA 95667, 530.642.2270.
Mendocino Art Center: PO Box 765, Mendocino, CA 95460, 800.653.3328 or 707.937.5818.
Monterey Peninsula College: Art Department. 980 Fremont St., Monterey, CA 93940, 831.646.4200.
Nancy Jackson - Timshel Tapestry Studio: 10 Buena Vista Avenue, Vallejo, CA 94590, 707.554.4128.
Pacific Textile Art Center: PO Box 2598, Ft. Bragg, CA 95437, 707.964.5279.
Peggy Ostercamp: PO Box 1148, Sausalito, CA 94966, 415.925.8666.
Richmand Art Center: 2540 Barrett Ave., Civic Center Plaza, Richmond, CA 94804, 510.620.6776
Rug Hut: 350 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell, CA 95008, 408.354.9316.
San Francisco Center for the Book
San Francisco State University: Art Department. 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA 94132, 415.338.2113.
San Jose State University: School of Art and Design. One Washington Square, San Jose 95192, 408.924.4320.
SCRAP: San Francisco
Stitch Lounge: San Francisco
Textile Arts Council
UC Davis: Design Program, Department of Environmental Design. One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, 530.752.6223

Events to be Added

If you have events that you would like added to this list, please send email to: Rosemary Brock.