workshops and talks
Kay enjoys sharing her experiences through talks and workshops.
In 2024 Kay will be running the workshops listed below.
Paint, Print and Stitch
Quirky Workshops, Greystoke Craft Gardens & Barns, Greystoke, Penrith, CA11 0UT
A one-day workshop
Thursday 23rd May or
Friday 5th July
Friday 29th November
Flowers in the Landscape
Quirky Workshops, Greystoke Craft Gardens & Barns, Greystoke, Penrith, CA11 0UT
A one-day workshop experimenting with free machine embroidery and water soluble to create flowers to embellish your textile collage
Sunday 17th November
You can also arrange a talk or workshop specifically for your group.
Talks can be arranged to suit your group about my textile journey, studying the City and Guilds diploma or inspiration and techniques used
Moments from my talk to Keswick Art Society
Below are some Workshop topics that I can offer. However, I am happy to discuss tailoring a course to suit your group
Slow stitch
Enjoy a day exploring how simple stitches can be layered, distorted and developed to create texture and interest.
Paint, Print and Stich
Create backgrounds using painted bond-a-web, enhance with simple print blocks and embellish with foils, stitch and beads
Creating Surfaces
Papers can be incorporated into embroideries in all sorts of ways. Handmade papers can be torn, printed on and a degree of translucence created if they are waxed. You can stitch directly into paper, especially papers like Khadi paper and embossed wallpaper.
This workshop will look at three techniques for working with paper to create backgrounds that you can use for collage or incorporating into your textile work.
• Laminated tissue paper
• Fabric paper
• Momigami – crumpled paper
Textile Vase
Using a cylinder of glass or plastic with vertical sides you can make a vase out of virtually any textile. However, in this workshop we will be using Decovil Light, which is a light weight, dimensionally stable and resilient iron-on interlining with a leather-like handle.
You will be painting, adding papers, threads, material and stitch. You can paint the Decovil and it has a shiny, coated side which is adhesive therefore you can iron on layers to build up texture.
Dyeing and Colouring
“Colour was not given to us in order that we should imitate Nature. It was given to us so that we can express our emotions.” Henri Matisse
Many people are scared of dying fabrics at home. This workshop provides the opportunity to try some simple dying techniques which you might use at home and also considers alternative methods to adding colour to your fabric such as painting directly.
This workshop can only be run at a venue where water and sinks are available and where inevitable mess is possible.
Mark Making and Print
There is a huge range of wonderful commercial materials available. However, you can create a truly unique piece of work through creating your own fabric by simple mark-making and print.
Explore mark-making using different tools and developing your own print blocks and stencils.
It does not matter if you think you cannot draw, you will be able to produce patterns to incorporate in your work.
Stack and Whack!
In 1964, the American artist Jasper Johns wrote himself a note in his sketchbook: “Take an object / Do something to it / Do something else to it. [Repeat.]”
That is the basis of this technique. Take some material, cut it, join it, cut it and join it again. Using this versatile technique, you can create an improv quilt or a background for your art quilt.
Collage and Assemblage
You have a pile of material, some thread, some bits and pieces, but what next?
Collage - the technique and the resulting work of art in which pieces of paper, photographs, fabric and other ephemera are arranged and stuck down onto a supporting surface.
Assemblage – a work of art made by grouping together found or unrelated objects
Collage and Assemblage can be delivered as
• A one-day workshop using pre-prepared materials.
• A two-day workshop which includes printing papers and materials
• A three-day workshop which includes dyeing materials and printing
• A four-day workshop which includes dyeing materials, printing and further explorations developing and adding dimension to your work with layers of sheer fabrics and further colour with oil sticks or fabric markers.
Paint, Print and Stitch
Quirky Workshops, Greystoke Craft Gardens & Barns, Greystoke, Penrith, CA11 0UT
A one-day workshop
Thursday 23rd May or
Friday 5th July
Friday 29th November
Flowers in the Landscape
Quirky Workshops, Greystoke Craft Gardens & Barns, Greystoke, Penrith, CA11 0UT
A one-day workshop experimenting with free machine embroidery and water soluble to create flowers to embellish your textile collage
Sunday 17th November
You can also arrange a talk or workshop specifically for your group.
Talks can be arranged to suit your group about my textile journey, studying the City and Guilds diploma or inspiration and techniques used
Moments from my talk to Keswick Art Society
Below are some Workshop topics that I can offer. However, I am happy to discuss tailoring a course to suit your group
Slow stitch
Enjoy a day exploring how simple stitches can be layered, distorted and developed to create texture and interest.
Paint, Print and Stich
Create backgrounds using painted bond-a-web, enhance with simple print blocks and embellish with foils, stitch and beads
Creating Surfaces
Papers can be incorporated into embroideries in all sorts of ways. Handmade papers can be torn, printed on and a degree of translucence created if they are waxed. You can stitch directly into paper, especially papers like Khadi paper and embossed wallpaper.
This workshop will look at three techniques for working with paper to create backgrounds that you can use for collage or incorporating into your textile work.
• Laminated tissue paper
• Fabric paper
• Momigami – crumpled paper
Textile Vase
Using a cylinder of glass or plastic with vertical sides you can make a vase out of virtually any textile. However, in this workshop we will be using Decovil Light, which is a light weight, dimensionally stable and resilient iron-on interlining with a leather-like handle.
You will be painting, adding papers, threads, material and stitch. You can paint the Decovil and it has a shiny, coated side which is adhesive therefore you can iron on layers to build up texture.
Dyeing and Colouring
“Colour was not given to us in order that we should imitate Nature. It was given to us so that we can express our emotions.” Henri Matisse
Many people are scared of dying fabrics at home. This workshop provides the opportunity to try some simple dying techniques which you might use at home and also considers alternative methods to adding colour to your fabric such as painting directly.
This workshop can only be run at a venue where water and sinks are available and where inevitable mess is possible.
Mark Making and Print
There is a huge range of wonderful commercial materials available. However, you can create a truly unique piece of work through creating your own fabric by simple mark-making and print.
Explore mark-making using different tools and developing your own print blocks and stencils.
It does not matter if you think you cannot draw, you will be able to produce patterns to incorporate in your work.
Stack and Whack!
In 1964, the American artist Jasper Johns wrote himself a note in his sketchbook: “Take an object / Do something to it / Do something else to it. [Repeat.]”
That is the basis of this technique. Take some material, cut it, join it, cut it and join it again. Using this versatile technique, you can create an improv quilt or a background for your art quilt.
Collage and Assemblage
You have a pile of material, some thread, some bits and pieces, but what next?
Collage - the technique and the resulting work of art in which pieces of paper, photographs, fabric and other ephemera are arranged and stuck down onto a supporting surface.
Assemblage – a work of art made by grouping together found or unrelated objects
Collage and Assemblage can be delivered as
• A one-day workshop using pre-prepared materials.
• A two-day workshop which includes printing papers and materials
• A three-day workshop which includes dyeing materials and printing
• A four-day workshop which includes dyeing materials, printing and further explorations developing and adding dimension to your work with layers of sheer fabrics and further colour with oil sticks or fabric markers.
