Rebel Quilting at Art & Soul Portland

As you know each year I set up as a “satellite” on-site store for the Art & Soul events that take place in Portland, Oregon and Virginia Beach, VA. I’ve just returned from Portland...and don’t mind admitting I’m tired, as I went there straight from the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival! Doing two events back to back involves a lot of prep work, packing, travel...it does wear on you! This year in addition to manning the Art & Soul store, I taught Rebel Quilting with Stencils & Fabric, which was a lot of fun...and also served as a great energizer, being around all that creativity and everyone’s passion for their art! The challenge for me was that this class had been originally created by Jamie Fingal, and so when I stepped in, I had to come up with a way to make the class and product my own, while still retaining enough of her work that the students who had registered expecting it would still be happy. I had so much fun I hope to be able to offer this class again! BERNINA USA provided a classroom of machines for Art & Soul... Modern Domestic, a BERNINA Excellence dealer in Portland, Oregon was on hand to set up the classroom and to demonstrate the machines. Art & Soul has focused on increasing the number of fabric and fiber art classes and arranged this sponsored classroom; a wonderful perk for students, as they didn’t have to worry about not owning a sewing machine, or the fuss of traveling with it. (Juki America will be furnishing the sewing machines for Art & Soul in Virginia Beach, VA.) Shown throughout this posting are a few photos that were taken during the class. You can see everyone ended up with great work! The results from a class differ for everyone...not just in terms of each student’s talent and personal aesthetic, but in stages of completion. Are you one of those people who always feel like they are the slowest in a class? Or the one who never fails to walk out the door with a completed project? Somewhere in the middle? Able to enjoy your own experience without comparing it to the other people in the class, or secretly feel some stress and competitiveness? In the classes we hold at Artistic Artifacts, there is always a range. Sometimes a class is more geared toward teaching a technique, such as the this past weekend’s Gelli Printing with Susan Gantz, and next month’s Printing with Thermofax Screens with PG Fiber2Art; in both of those examples you will leave with plenty of prints and swatches for your stash but not necessarily a finished piece of art. (Although many prints end up so beautiful all they would need is a frame or stitching, and yes, they’re done!) Other classes, such as this past weekend’s Machine-Age Santos with Leslie Brier and her class this weekend, Vintage Beaded Floral Pendant, are project-based, and you are to walk away with a finished product. Or, one that is at least close, and you have learned the skills and techniques necessary to finish it. Pictured above are some of the cards Beverly Hilbert, long-time member of JAMs, created in Seth Apter’s 52 Card Pickup class in January. On the left is an example of the cards as she left class...tons of color, texture and background stenciling, but no collaging. The other two, and the examples below, are examples of the continual collage work she has done on them since. (View larger to examine these in more detail.) P.S. The next edition of Art & Soul will be in Kansas City, MO, at The Elms Hotel, beginning April 27 and running through May 1. Founder Glenny Moir has assembled the usual roster of talented instructors, including (for the first time) our friend Seth Apter! And this fall you can attend in Virginia Beach, VA at Virginia Beach Resort Hotel, September 28 – October 4, 2015. If you have never treated yourself to a creative retreat, make 2015 the year you do...it is a wonderful way to learn new techniques, meet new people who share your passion, and nuture your soul.