Group Felting

9am to 12:30pm

Participants as a group will experience the felt-making techniques practiced and employed for the making of traditional Mongolian yurts. Wool will be layered on a bubble sheet to make a mat or mural, which will be rolled up and felted using the feet as well as other group felt-making techniques. 

Family Weaving / Parent – child

1pm to 4:30pm

Families, Children and all age groups are invited to participate and take home a weaving project.

Moon creatures

9am to 12:30pm

Families and groups will create small people or creatures out of wool using needle-felting techniques.

Fire and Fibre: Shamanic ceremony and offerings of the Huichol

9am to 12:30pm

We will learn about how spirituality and art are combined in a traditional culture, the Huichol Indians of Mexico. Using yarn, wax, and beads the Huichol fashion offerings to their gods. We will see how shamanism inspires their art, full of glowing colours and mythic creatures. Participants will learn to make a traditional prayer arrow and participate in a Huichol smudging ceremony.

Workshop leader Dr. Hope MacLean, is an anthropologist who has spent 20 years working with Huichol artists and shamans. She is author of the book Yarn Paintings of the Huichol, as well as several scholarly articles.

Feltmaking - Make a Moon

1pm to 4:30pm

a felt making workshop for all ages where participants would each create their own “moon” to take with them. This moon would begin with the foundation of a simple wet felted ball that they could then embellish with needle felting, stitching or beading. This moon could then be used as a focus for a meditation or strung with yarn and hung as a decoration. Ages 3 and up.

Marathon weaving to Forge, explore, experiment and unblock.

2 days, August 29-30

9am to 4:30pm

This workshop will present mixed weaving techniques, materials and modalities.

To forge ahead through the blocked or blahhs, experiment with new and non-traditional concepts and get in touch with your creativity.

Net-Working

9am to 4:30pm

Exercises with stockings to experiment and examine the materials and space:

The workshop-group will build a small network installation in an outdoor space.

Participants will experiment with the materials building shapes with wires, sticks and found objects and pull nylon stockings over them to get three dimensional sculptures, participants may also experiment with cutting holes in the material, stretching extremely, creating small nets etc… this is an exercise to find out what the material is “telling” us.

Nuno-Felting Techniques

9am to 4:30pm

This workshop will focus on Nuno Felting, a wet flat feltmaking technique. Participants will explore this technique while felting a nuno felt scarf or shawl- felted onto silk chiffon.

Transformation – New beginnings in tapestry techniques

9am to 4:30pm

Description:   Three-dimensional tapestry is created by lifting weaving from the flat, plain surfaces to heights and depths with sculptural or structured look.  There are many ways and ideas to expand a tapestry beyond the two-dimensional loom.

Here are some of the ideas that participants will be encouraged to experiment with:

1) Weaving a flat woven piece with openings.

2) Weaving using surface raising techniques - Sumacs and other knots - techniques helpful with:

          a) creating forms when warp will not be covered by weft,

          b) woven pieces with openings when the weft covers the warp.  

3) Transforming a two dimensional tapestry to a third dimension by attaching an additional warp and weaving of one or more extra pieces.

4) using or incorporating recyclable materials in your projects

Sculptural textiles

9am to 4:30pm

Create a piece of sculptural textile art.

Participants will be encouraged to experiment with the possibilities and effects using textile hardener resin, in three dimensions and on canvas base.

Knitting

6:30pm to 9:30pm

Basic Knitting techniques, lace stitches and 3 dimensional knitting will be explored.

Hand Quilting

9am to 4:30pm

To explore quilting as a meditation and creative art form. Using various fabrics, stitches and battings participants will learn to create textures, patterns, relief and images.

Printing on fabric with-out silk screen

9am to 4:30pm

Participants will learn to use oil paint and Mylar stencils to print permanently on fabric.

Participants will also learn to transfer photocopied images using oil of wintergreen.

Textile Screen Printing Workshop

9am to 4:30pm

This workshop is an introduction to traditional silkscreen printing while exploring different surface textures. We will discuss the environmental sustainability of textile printing using eco conscious materials and recycling.

Participants will learn to prepare the screen and create a unique stencil while being aware of pattern, design and colour. The process will introduce an age old process and participants will then take away a unique art work to display or wear.

Wool Transformation Techniques- Washing, Carding, Spinning with drop spindle and felting

9am to 4:30pm

Wool transformation techniques, participants will be initiated to the washing, drying, carding, spinning and çfelting of wool. Participants will have opportunities to experiment with the steps in transforming raw wool.

T-Shirt Printing Activity

1:30pm to 4:30pm

Print your own T.Shirt using a silkscreen and fabric inks.

Bring your own T-Shirt or fabric item, or purchase one on site.

T-Shirt Printing Activity

1:30pm to 4:30pm

Print your own T.Shirt using a silkscreen and fabric inks.

Bring your own T-Shirt or fabric item, or purchase one on site.

Community Textile Project

12 pm- 5pm

Learn how to guide a community textile project, incorporating hands on community participation and recycled materials in the creation of a woven piece of textile art.

This workshop will be held in the Agora of the Maison Du Citoyen, Gatineau, Qc.

Closed Vessel hat making

9am to 4:30pm

Using wet felt-making techniques participants will felt a large closed vessel piece that will be formed into a hat.

Doll making techniques

9am to 4:30pm

Incorporating the creative visualization, discussion and intuition and using beginning doll making techniques we will explore the process of doll making as a tool for spiritual healing and self expression.

Each participant will create a unique spirit doll to keep and journey with; some sewing experience would be helpful but not necessary.

Crazy Quilting and Embroidery Techniques

9:00am - 4:30pm

Learn the art of Crazy Quilting, which is an irregular, non-geometric patchwork quilting technique and is a great way to use up your fabric stash in wild and exciting projects. Traditionally Crazy Quilts were heavily adorned with Embroidery, lace, ribbons, buttons and beads- so we will cover several embroidery techniques as well.

Needle felting embellishments

9am to 4:30pm

Building on the closed vessel techniques, we will needle felt onto a small vessel.

Shibori Dying Techniques

9:00am - 4:30

Shibori Dying is the art of resist dying by folding, tying, wrapping, knotting and twisting the fabrics being dyed. Many different patterns and colour combinations can be achieved with beautiful results and a multitude of uses. This workshop is ideal for the textile artist wishing to create and use their own unique fabrics. (think Nuno felting onto a shibori dyed scarf, quilting with hand dyed fabrics.)

Explorations in tapestry weaving

9am to 4:30pm

This workshop is intended to explore the possibilities of tapestry weaving in various traditional techniques. The creativity explores the different materials interacting as a language.

Participants will develop individual exercises as samplers based on the analysis of structures of Nature.

Woven pieces will emerge from basic flat weave to 3-dimensional miniature structures.