Current Workshops - Lesley Riley
Now booking the following in-person Workshops for Fall 2023 through 2024
Fragment Fabric Collage
(3 or 6 hr)
A fun and liberating way to create with your fabric stash. The charm and appeal of Fragments comes from the spontaneous way they are created – there is no measuring, no cutting mistakes and no piecing. With fabric, you have an almost endless variety of color and pattern to choose from that can spark ideas and led you to discover a whole new way of looking at and using your fabric. By ignoring all the old rules and letting unexpected combinations in color, pattern and scale occur, you can bring a freshness and magic to your quilts. I share my #1 secret for combining fabrics.
If you don’t have a large fabric stash, the beauty of making Fragments is that you only need little scraps or fragments of even the most delectable cloth - thrift shops, your own closet, basement or attic and your friends are goldmines. I'll be bringing some of my stash to share. I have a lot!
Adding photos and text will be demonstrated and discussed and you'll be given a chance to do a TAP (Transfer Artist Paper) transfer. Lesley will provide a selection of quotes and images you can use to guide your creation(s).
Individual attention will be given to each student with an emphasis on combining fabrics to create eye-catching design and stunning works of fiber art. You will leave with a stack of ready-to-sew collages. There's potential to create a small quilt with the easy finishing methods I'll demonstrate and share. Beginners are welcome and encouraged in all of my classes.
Photo Memory Quilt Jumpstart
(6 hrs)
You've been holding onto that memory for a long time. Let's jumpstart your memory quilt in this 1-day hands-on overview of the basics. In this class you will learn:
- How to edit and improve your old photos using your phone or tablet
- Receive thorough instruction on TAP image transfers
- How and why I arrive at my fabric and design decisions
- Learn about composition, scale, balance and color
- Discover how to use image, words and fabric to tell and enhance a story
- Get all my insider tips and tricks
- Have fun playing with your fabric
Bring a photograph you would like to work with, a selection of fabrics, embellishments and ephemera you're considering.
Photo Memory Quilt - Storytelling in Fabric
(3-5 days)
Memory is a personal, ethereal, formless thing, drifting like clouds, in our heads, heart and soul. Visual memory is something recalled and seen in your mind's eye - actual events, people, places and things. Photos, trinkets, letters, ephemera, textiles, and more, are meaningful objects connected to a memory. Most importantly, a memory is a story. Search through those boxes, scrapbooks, and envelopes. Ransack the cupboards, drawers and attic. Gather, reminisce, daydream, remember. All these memories you have been holding onto for so long have been waiting for this moment to arrive.
You will discover how to get inspired, develop your ideas and learn a variety of methods and techniques to turn your vision into reality. We will start by getting clear on the who, what, why or where of your memory quilt. I will walk you through the how and where of gathering or finding photos; repairing or enhancing them, and how to turn the blah into beautiful through the creative use of apps. All my thoughts and know-how on fabric and how it relates to and enhances storytelling will be shared.
Composition and design can make or break a memory quilt, so you'll get a primer (or refresher) on these key elements and principles. Throughout the workshop time and attention will be given to each student. You will experience how all of this comes together as I guide you through the steps from start to finish.
Sewing machine required.
Memento Package
(3 or 6 hours)
A Memento Package is mixed media faux package of sorts, made to look like something old, worn and treasured. It is a way to preserve the memory of a person, place, event or feeling. Using a paper bag, paint, a photo, fabric, paper, mica and metal scraps, embellishments and optional text, you will learn how to evoke and enhance that memory. Hidden message can be included in the "sealed" memory. No sewing required.
A selection of images will be provided for you to transfer onto fabric with TAP Transfer Artist Paper.
Fabric Bound
(6 hours)
Create an ever expanding, handmade from scratch book, bound by fabric, adorned by fabric covers with pages neatly tied up in a bow.
Blank pages await your art, journaling and/or collage. We will get started on your pages in the afternoon. Several techniques will be shown and shared, including image transfer, color washes, painting with household items, monoprinting, collage and more.
You will leave with a beautifully bound book, a plethora of inspiration and ideas, including a good start on your pages
Alternative Color - Patinas and More
(3 or 6 hours)
There are more sources of color than tubes of paint, pans of watercolor, pastels, pencils and more. You likely already have some of them in your home. You will discover those and new sources of color in this experimental workshop.
You will leave with a stack of samples and ideas for further exploration
Image+Text=Textile
(1-3 days)
Images and photographs, text as design, as line, as poetry. They hook and reel us into art, to books, to life. This class is an exploration of image and text as it applies to surface design – primarily, but not limited to quilts and fabric collage. (All the techniques covered can be used on paper and canvas). In the morning you will paint and color fabric as well as explore direct application and transferring of TEXT onto fabric along with image transfer on fabric using TAP Transfer Artist Paper. Techniques will include TAP transfers, resists, and syringe writing.
In the afternoon we will use your newly created fabric to create Fragment Fabric Collage textiles, a fun and liberating way to create. The charm and appeal of Fragments comes from the spontaneous way they are created that can spark ideas and led you to discover a whole new way of looking at fabric. If you don’t have a large fabric stash, the beauty of making Fragments is that you only need little scraps or fragments of even the most delectible cloth.
Individual attention will be given to each student with an emphasis on combining techniques to create eye-catching design and stunning works of art. This class welcomes artists from different backgrounds who want to learn how to work with fabric, text and image. No sewing/quilting experience required. Some art or design background is helpful, but not required.
The Poetry of Quilting
(3-5 days)
Poetry and quilting have much in common – words and fabric gathered and placed to create a specific emotional response. In this class we will explore the poetry, not of language, but of textiles and quilting. Come with an open mind and an open heart and spend 3-5 peaceful days exploring the other side of quilting. We're going to forget about technique for a while and take a more intuitive approach. By ignoring the rules, you'll cast aside your doubts and tap into the luminous place within where quilting poetry resides.
To assist you in this journey to the soul, we'll use image, music, poetry and moving quotations to inspire small fabric fragment collaged quilts.
On Day 1 we will start by getting acquainted with each other and more importantly, with yourself. You'll play with words, colors, fabric and images and learn how to enhance and manipulate photos to create evocative images for fabric. In the afternoon we will print your images and you will begin to create a small expressive work that can be a starting point for a larger quilt to follow, or the beginning of a series.
Day 2 will be spent throwing caution to the wind and creating freely from the soul. Under Lesley's guidance, you will learn how to create an interesting composition and employ fabric and image to create mood and meaning.
On day 3, (or optional days 4 and 5) you will complete two or more small works and have a personal collection of ideas and inspiration for future quilts. We will close on the last day with a celebratory group sharing of work and lessons learned.
This class can be taken with or without a sewing machine. You can fuse, hand quilt, work entirely on the machine, or use a combination, depending on your interests and skills.
Cyanotype Basics
(6 hour - May to October)*
Cyanotype is a very simple photographic process which has been used for over 150 years. This cameraless contact printing process also goes by the name sunprinting and blueprints. It works on paper, fabric and other natural fibers.
In the morning, you will learn the how to mix the chemicals, prepare your fabrics and papers, select items to print, and prepare the print "sandwich". The afternoon will be spent making/exposing prints. The day will wrap up with a discussion and evaluation of your prints and the possibilities of the process going forward. You'll leave with a stack of prints, a big smile and a whirling head full of possibilities.
Wet-Cyanotype - Pushing the Boundaries of Cameraless Photography
(2-5 days May-October)*
Serendipity is my middle name. I would rather create 100 random, happy accidents than one piece with a perfectly planned and achieved outcome. It is very liberating to make something that is, for the most part, out of your control. It releases the angst that can come with artmaking and kicks your inner critic's butt out the door. Plus, the absolute simplicity of cyanotype’s nearly fail-safe technique and chemistry practically guarantees that you will create many successful prints within a short time.
Of course there are some methods, means and materials that you need to know about to get the results that you lust over. That's where I come in. In this 3-day workshop, we will start with the basics of cyanotype printing and quickly move onto the many variables that make wet-cyanotype printing so magically delicious. You will learn all my methods, tips, tricks and best practices. The methods I share with you are what works for me, my end goals and intentions for wet-cyan printing and is a jumping off point for you to do your own explorations, investigations and experimentations. The process is very easy, and you really cannot go wrong.
(P.S. Process can be addictive.)
*Cyanotype workshops give the best results when held in warm, sunny weather. Exposure times, and especially wet-cyan results, take longer and can be less "dramatic" in cloudy or cooler temperatures. Access to sunny outdoor space, (preferably with tables) for print exposure and sinks and/or dishpans and water for rinsing prints is REQUIRED.