BLENDED ONLINE COURSE WITH OPTION TO JOIN LIVE SESSIONS

Series 3: Experimental Image Making

NEXT LIVE START DATE: WEDNESDAY 12th JUNE 2024 (Zoom details sent out with booking)

TIMES: 19:00 - 20:30 (Every Wednesday for 5 Weeks)

FEES: FULL COURSE £85

RELEASE DATE: The online content will be available from mid-April 2024

NB This course is available to anyone at any time. If you want to join in the live sessions, you can, but not obligatory. They are however fun and you get to ask questions to Nicola and connect with other like-minded attendees. The LIVE sessions are all recorded and uploaded to use as reference or to watch back, so don't worry if you can't make any of them.

Join Nicola Perren of Perren Studios for a new set of classes in the Drawing for Textiles series. The 3rd of the series will see us explore and expand our approaches to drawing based on a subject matter of your choosing. With an experimental approach to image-making we will explore materials, composition, creating drama and the secretive art of gouache paint. Finally, we will explore hand applique as a direct translation of our drawings and, as a drawing process in itself.

If you have completed the first two of the series, that is great. The 1^st one will have connected drawing to textiles very clearly, the 2^nd will have given you scope to expand your source materials and inspiration. While I recommend you do these, the 3^rd in the series will also work very well on its own.

With a focus on drawing, we will continue to question the properties of textile materials whilst generating a portfolio of drawings suitable for a new design collection and textile developments. Using experimentation, restriction, abstraction, play and sensory observation, we will aim to create a dynamic portfolio of work that reflects a personally chosen colour palette.

The course content will be launched in April and available online for you to access in your own time. There is also the opportunity to do a live session linked to each of the five units in the course on a Wednesday evening [12th June - 10th July, 7.00 – 8.30pm UK time]. The live session is great for asking questions, get further tips and insight and as most previous participants comment ‘it’s just great to have 1.5 hours put aside to just draw, play, have fun and relax each week’.

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Sometimes, we miss that vital stage between initial drawn studies or notes and the final designing process, the 3^rd in this series of Drawing for Textiles will be about exploring drawing and image-making. It will be experimental, playful, engaging and colourful.

WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR:

This course is suitable for anyone, from those new to textiles, through to experienced makers who want to explore or refresh ways of thinking. You may be a teacher or lecturer looking to recharge your creative batteries, a student who wants to further your current knowledge, or maybe outside of formal education and fancy trying something outside of your usual remit.

You may have already completed series 1 or 2, if so, it is great to have you back on board but equally, this course can be completed without having done the previous series.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

The focus of this course will be on the creation of images and drawings that can stand alone in a project’s development and / or be the inspiration for translation into design and textiles. We will explore composition, abstraction and drama with a hint of expressiveness.

Aside from learning about hand stitched applique, you will also learn about stretching paper and how to work with Gouache paints.

You will select a subject matter of your own choosing, if you have done the 2^nd in the series – you may want to use your artefacts to draw from. I recommend a format of drawing from a still life for this series and we will discuss how to make your still life dynamic and visually engaging, if you prefer however, you can draw from secondary sources. I will provide colour story options or, you may choose a story of your own. If you can have these items prepped before starting the units, that is helpful – but not a requirement.

This course is taught over 5 units, each unit is presented with a collection of recorded tasks, materials required and a short presentation that introduces the concepts for that unit. With the launch of the course, there will also be the opportunity to join any of the weekly live online evening sessions.

My way of teaching is relaxed, and I am told engaging, so while you will find plenty of opportunities for learning and considering different approaches, it is also enjoyable and can be completed according to your own timescale, energy and needs.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

This course does make use of a wide range of materials and tools, as with all my teaching, I offer alternatives to what I am doing in the class. You can do this course often with items you may already have around the house / in the garage but equally, you can by items specifically for the course.

Below is a list of key items that I will use [in bold] and alternatives you may consider, it is all optional [detailed list will be supplied once you sign up].

I suggest you gather materials that link to your chosen colour story, if you do not have these – do not worry, but it is helpful.

General drawing materials:

Pencils
Pens
Inks
Tapes
Glue
Bleach

Tools:

Scissors
Brushes
Scalpel / craft knife
Cutting Mat
Ruler
Drawing board [if stretching paper]
Big water pot
Iron + board or mat.
Sewing needles

Grounds:

Loose papers – various from scraps to cartridge paper
Cartridge paper
Sketchbook for recording / documenting work in

Paints:

Designer Gouache [Winsor & Newton, Daler Rowney, Schmincke] – NOT acrylic gouache. These paints are not particularly cheap and so my preference is to buy a few selected tubes according to the colours of the current project rather than a selection box with shades I will not use.

Textiles:

Fabric and a selection of pieces about A4 size suitable for appliqué.
Sewing threads – general haberdashery items.
Fabric glue stick [optional]
A fusible interfacing – I use Floriani Stitch’n’Wash, Tearaway Fusible

PROGRAMME:

Once you have signed up to the full course, you will have access to a full materials list and a video to help you prepare before you join a session, this will include an approach to starting the project i.e., gathering visual references, selecting a colour story, stretching paper. You will have access to all 5 units in this program and there is also access to a few free additional sessions.

PRE-COURSE MATERIALS:

A] Pre-session planning. This video should be watched before you start the course to help you prepare and gather the things you will need.

SERIES PROGRAMME:

Session 1] Abstracting the Mark.

We will jump straight into image making with a focus on mark-making and consideration of the non-white ground and your chosen colour story.

Session 2] Composing an Image.

Considering our chosen subject matters, we will explore compositions that engage the viewer and are perhaps unexpected.

Session 3] Gouache De-Mystified.

We will learn about designer gouache paint and a few different approaches to its use – all whilst developing our image-making folio.

Session 4] Added Drama.

Working with a range of media, we will add a touch of the theatrical to our drawings – this will be a messy session.

Session 5] Applique as Drawing.

We will learn about hand-based applique methods and will work towards a new image that utilises textiles as the core medium [with a little bit of a drawn materials intervention].

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Each session will have a core focus that can be explored in isolation or as part of an overall series of activities.

Understand a creative, action-based approach to research and ideas suitable for further development [for a design or, arts-based direction].
Develop confidence and enhance your skills in drawing, in its widest sense, as a tool for textiles.
Explore the pairing of both traditional and experimental approaches in a creative textile orientated practice.