Fabric Embellishing Inspiration

“It’s easy to take advantage of the creative offerings available that allow you to participate in the convenience of your own home,” wrote Art & Soul founder Glenny Moir** on the Art & Soul blog last year. “But there’s nothing like being amongst your tribe of like-minded souls, having a teacher right in front of you to answer questions as they arise walking around a classroom to see what others are doing.”

We love that sentiment, as it really sums up our experience hosting classes at Artistic Artifacts. Much of the fun is in the mix of students and their own approaches and styles, favorites colors and themes. Plus most of our instructors report back to us that that learn as much from their students — and yes, even beginners and those inexperienced!

The photos shared here are student work from our 6-session class Fabric Embellishing Workbook with Judy Gula, which uses Fabric Embellishing — the Basics and Beyond as the text. And we've just scheduled a new session of this class beginning in February, 2019!

This is a great opportunity to try fabric embellishing: walk through various techniques, create a reference book of beautiful examples, and enjoy the company of, and learn from, others in the class. We will learn multiple fabric embellishing techniques as we create a beautiful fabric book. Class sessions consist of demonstrations as well as hands on activities; you will complete your pages and “homework” at home. Note, each student must own a copy of Fabric Embellishing — the Basics and Beyond and bring it with them to each session. We will cover techniques from Fabric Embellishing, as well as Judy's own, resulting in an artful book you will refer to time and time again.

Christine Vinh of StitchesnQuilts points out that “The difference between taking a class and working on your own using a book is the inspiration you get from the others working through the same exercises. The details in the Fabric Embellishing — the Basics and Beyond book are wonderfully done and easy to follow. But the show and tell of the folks taking Judy Gula’s class using the book as a guide adds so many ideas to push us out of our own comfort zone and explore new options within our own work.”

Inaugural student Suzanne Meader agrees: “I participated in the first session of this class at Artistic Artifacts that started last fall, and it is FANTASTIC! As Chris Vinh says, you not only learn new techniques, but seeing how the students in the class interpret and create ‘pages’ based on the techniques learned in the class sessions are so inspiring. It was really interesting to see how each student developed their own style for their pages...great class, and I highly recommend!”

Enjoy these many examples of fabric manipulation and embellishing techniques and be inspired to create your own too!

** P.S. We included the following information in one of our recent enewsletters: Art & Soul founder Glenny Moir recently announced that the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel was purchased by Marriott, and the planned $25 million renovation means it will be closed for all of 2019 —“exciting news for the property and wonderful staff, but it means that we will NOT be in VA next year... Therefore, if you have been wanting to see what it is we love about this location on the beach — now is the time to register! Virginia Beach is an east-to-get-to destination for those of us in the Mid-Atlantic region, and the off-season weather still lets you enjoy walks on the beach just outside your classroom. The International Sand Sculpting Championship will take place September 27-October 7, part of Virginia Beach’s annual Neptune Festival— another exciting draw! Remember that Artistic Artifacts sets up an on-site “satellite shop” filled with fiber and mixed media supplies, and it’s open to anyone, not just retreat attendees. Visit the Art & Soul website to register for your choice of classes.