November 5th-December 4th, 2009
solo show
Campus Gate Art Gallery
Young Harris College, GA

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March 26-28 2010
Working in a Series
Phoenix, Arizona
contact:

sdihowell@aol.com
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June 6-June10, 2010
Art Quilts: From Inspiration to Fulfillment

Columbus, Ohio
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June 27th-July 9th 2010,

Penland School of Crafts
Penland, NC

The Complete Art Quilter: Inspiration, composition, design, fabric dyeing, construction.
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August 19-21st,2010
Design workshop
Festival of Quilts, Birmingham, UK
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Hudson River Valley fiberart workshops
Composition and Design: working in a series
May 1-6, 2011

WORKSHOPS

I teach two kinds of workshops:
Design and composition (usually 5 days, of 6 hours each).
Surface Design (2-5 days).
All classes can be broken down into individual components if shorter classes are desired, but are best taken as a whole.

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Seven Steps to a Successful Art Quilt

This workshop covers making an art quilt from start to finish: developing original designs, learning to evaluate designs for content and composition strength, developing color schemes, blocking out the quilts on the design wall, making adjustments based on guidelines developed from fine art, construction, finishing. Emphasis on individual help. This is a good beginner class.

From inspiration to fulfillment: developing your own style!

The aim of this workshop is to teach you how to work from your own ideas and discover your own unique voice. Your quilts may be abstract, realistic or impressionistic – but they will be clearly your own way of looking at the source of inspiration and then recreating your feelings and ideas in cloth. To this aim, the basics of good design will be covered: all the steps from the initial idea through the formulation of a strong composition.
I emphasize individualism and independence! I want each person to grow in the way they wish and, therefore, I like to spend time both on group discussion and on individual help.
The main focus of the workshop will on design development: helping you to learn how to discover, improve and critique possible compositions. There is a strong emphasis on developing vocabulary and on knowing what is involved in good design so that intuition can be better informed!
We will also work on composing exciting color schemes: Color choice is covered in depth in order to help you compose strong beautiful and unified color schemes. Once design and color are chosen then we will block out the composition, refine it and finally put it all together using a variety of construction techniques as befits both the design and the maker (thus all levels of experience are possible).
Construction (piecing, appliqué, layering etc) and continuing design choices during the construction process are supported by both group discussion and individual help. Machine quilting and all finishing techniques are also addressed to make for a successful art quilt.

Art Quilts: Working in a series

Do you want to improve your work as an art quilter? The best way to develop a coherent body of work is to work in a series. This workshop focuses on the development of at least 6 related designs for quilts. We will learn how one design can lead to another and another…and another.
We will also discover how to design 6 ideas at once and make several pieces at the same time.
The work of well known quiltmakers will be examined to help us come up with lots of good ideas.
Important guidelines associated with good design and critiquing will be developed and clarified with many examples.

Coaxing the Muse: Inspiration in Art Quilts and Wall Hangings

A 5 day workshop focusing on Priming the Creative Pump! the discovery and refinement oforiginal quilt designs from all sources and senses (not just photographs!) All construction techniques covered. Emphasis on individual help. This workshop will explore the process of becoming Inspired!
Inspiration is the drawing into yourself from other sources: the seeds from which ideas grow – these can take many forms from the abstract to the concrete: e.g. a mood, a rhythm, a juxtaposition of color or form, a value pattern, a texture, an arrangement of lines…the possibilities are endless!
Creativity is the ability to transform the initial ideas by the catalyst of our thoughts, sensitivities, feelings, hands and humour - together with the magic of fabric and scissors – into something new and fresh!
The workshop covers the many ways in which we can be inspired to develop a quilt design. The aim is to generate lots of designs and then critique them discovering as we do the basic principles of good design. A strong design is then chosen by each person to make a quilt.
Once design and color are chosen then we will block out the composition, refine it and finally put it all together using a variety of construction techniques as befits both the design and the maker (thus all levels of experience are possible). Construction (piecing, appliqué, layering etc) and continuing design choices during the construction process are supported by both group discussion and individual help. Machine quilting and all finishing techniques are also addressed to make for a successful art quilt.

Abstract Quilts: a dozen ways to design them!

Abstract art deconstructed – we will examine how abstract work is created, developed and designed. The students will then design at least one example for each method. Then we’ll evaluate the strengths and weakness of the design before choosing one to construction. General construction techniques will be described, and at least one piece will be blocked out. Lots of individual help given in fixing problems! This also would be a good beginner class as designs can be simple or complex.

Arashi shibori! Make it, then create a quilt with it!

This is a great 5 day workshop if your facility has the equipment for dyeing, namely a sink per 4 people, access to a washing machine and dryer, and protection for sensitive flooring. Students spend a fun day or two creating as much arashi shibori fabric as they can. Arashi is a Japanese “tie-dye” method that yields beautiful wave like markings and stripes on fabric. Once they’ve created their fabric, they’ll develop simple or complex designs that best utilize this gorgeous fabric. Blocking out, construction and finishing techniques will all be covered. This is a good class for beginners.

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With all my design classes, Participants should leave the class with a good basic knowledge of composition and design, several design drawings, greater confidence in choosing colors, knowledge of a variety of construction techniques and a quilt close to being finished! They should also be well on their way to discovering their own personal style in quiltmaking . The emphasis will be on individual growth and discovery. While class discussion, demonstration and “mini-lecture” will be a part of each day, I also hope to spend as much time as possible one on one with the students to help them to grow as artist quiltmakers. Students should also be prepared to laugh a lot, make mistakes and enjoy themselves!

All critiques are done in a gentle, positive way emphasizing strengths rather than weaknesses.

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Extreme Doggie Makeover! a 3 day critique class

Bring your “dogs” in for a makeover!! Many quilts just don’t seem to have the strength and pzazzz that you pictured when you first had the idea. In this “clinic” we take a look at what is not working – and why – suggestions are given for strengthening the composition, clarifying the color scheme, constructing the unconstructable or deconstructing the over-constructed!
Learn how to finish the unfinished….or how to learn from them – and then leave them!
This three day workshop aims to give you ways to solve problems in design and composition, in colour and in construction. Bring an open mind and lots of problems – the more the merrier!

SURFACE DESIGN CLASSES

These workshops require a facility that has water and sinks available – one sink per 4 students.
Plus floors that can be protected, if sensitive to spills.
There is a supply fee for these classes – amount dependent on # days and techniques.

Colour on cloth: Developing rich color schemes: then dyeing and painting your own quilt fabric!
Make richly colored co-ordinated fabric for your quilts or other fiber art projects! (3 days) 

We will complete a number of color exercises designed to help you create rich and beautiful color schemes for your work. Then you will transform 10-20 yards of white cotton fabric into magic!
This alchemy will be performed using low water immersion techniques that involve no stirring or complex mathematical calculations! We will cover basic one color dyeing, and over dyeing with a second color and various shibori tie dye methods. Then we’ll spend a day dye painting directly onto fabric.
We will work from concentrates so that there is no loose dye powder in the classroom at all – so people with allergies or asthma need not fear. These are easy low tech methods that you will be able to develop further at home.

How to lose control in screen printing! Easy low tech methods for printing with dye on cotton fabric (3 days)

First we’ll learn how to make simple screens and mix the mix dye concentrate and alginate thickener used in screen printing with dye on fabric. Then the fun begins! We will then explore numerous different ways of getting amazingly varied textures and marks onto your fabric. All of these methods are simple and low cost and will be easy for you to continue to do at home. They are guaranteed to be fun and involve no precise measuring or specialized equipment. The fabric can be used for art quilts, wall hangings, clothing or just petting!

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POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS/LECTURES

The presentations are approximately one hour long, 45 minutes images, 15 minutes questions.

DEVELOPMENT OF A SERIAL QUILTER . A power point presentation about working in a series.
FROM INSPIRATION TO QUILT : a power point presentation alternating photos of the inspirational image
and finished quilts or quilts
THE ART QUILT FROM START TO FINISH : a power point presentation of all the stages of making art quilts: initial sketches, and blocking out step by step to the finished piece.

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please contact me for more information on the above workshops, presentations, individual classes, small group workshops in my studio or any custom designed workshops. Thank you..

GALLERIES