Quilting the Garden–NEW Workshops! Photo to Flower Collage
I am SO excited to share with you the first of two new workshops that will debut with the Charlotte (NC) Quilters Guild next week! The first workshop, From Photo to Flower Collage, can be a one or two-day workshop. This time, it will be two-days (click here for more information, there are just a couple spots left). The second workshop, ThreadColoring the Flower (click here) is booked this time as a one-day class.
I designed these workshops so that a guild can book what will work for their guild: a single day or a two-day workshop for either of the two. With a little added content, the workshop can be expanded to a full five days allowing students to really work in depth, with one-on-one assistance, to create their own collaged and thread-colored art quilt. I’ll post in detail about the ThreadColoring workshop in two days.
The students learn how to see value (light and dark) and how to translate the imagery in a photo into their own working pattern. I provide two photos, the day lily (taken by the roadside near my home) and the water lily (taken by me at the Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor) for the Day 1 class project, which will finish about 9 x 12 inches:

The Close up of the wild Day Lily, also used in the workshop. (c) Sarah Ann Smith. PS: Sorry about all the watermarking and copyright notices–after the incident where someone created derivative copies of my work, I’m being even more diligent about marking stuff. So sad to have to do this!
When I created the class sample, I wanted to do one in fabrics students can get, such as the batiks in the example above. However, I also wanted to try the image using only hand-dyes. This next sample is just that. I used one of my thermofax screens, Squiggles (available here at Fiber on a Whim) and textile paint to create the green on green background on my own hand-dyed fabric.

Another verion of the day lily, made exclusively with my own hand-dyes and thermofax screened hand-dye.
And no, I don’t know which one I like most!
Here is the water lily, made from both commercial batiks and my own hand-dyes:
The second day in this workshop, students will bring their own photos (or use my second photo), select one, and create their own larger art quilt. I’m so excited to be able to teach my collage process and help folks learn to see and create their own artwork by understanding some of the basic elements and principles of design with strong composition, lighting, and fabric selection.
March 29th, 2015 at 5:01 pm
They’re gorgeous! Congrats and thanks for sharing!
March 29th, 2015 at 5:28 pm
Thanks Andy!
March 29th, 2015 at 6:23 pm
I was just looking at the pix of the waterlily I had saved (duly noted as to origin)the other day thinking you hadn’t been in my “inbox” for a while. Good to see you here, and what you have been up to while you were hiding. Love, love, love ’em. How far west do you think you will be teaching (I live in WA state)?
March 29th, 2015 at 6:58 pm
Whiskers, my unofficial motto is have paycheck, will travel. I used to live on San Juan Island and haven’t been back to Wash. since we moved away just over 10 years ago. If a couple guilds would like to share the travel cost of getting me there, I’d love to return. I’m taking a “Senior Sabbatical” for Eli’s last year in high school and not traveling so I’m taking bookings for September 2016 and after. Wanna bring me out? I’d love to meet you in person!
March 29th, 2015 at 8:37 pm
They are beautiful, the second being my favourite.
March 29th, 2015 at 10:09 pm
I understand about the Senior Sabbatical. I live on the opposite side of the state, south of Spokane. Alas, I’m thinking it might not be soon that we will meet. Although it does give me an idea.
March 30th, 2015 at 7:38 am
Sarah this is awesome-what a great idea to offer all these options to guilds. Your samples are fabulous and I’m partial to the second day lily but both are just gorgeous!
March 30th, 2015 at 8:41 am
These are beautiful. And I lives yore squiggles. Maybe i need a thermofax! Love your art!
March 30th, 2015 at 11:13 am
Thanks so much Regina–I was thrilled with the way the squiggles printed up. I wanted to create stencils where I can make my own tone-on-tone fabrics like the batiks I love so much. Sometimes the batiks are too contrasty for me (beautiful, but need a coat of thinned paint to knock back the contrast). I thought it would be fun to do some designs that would add interest to the hand-dyes. The crystal-type of hand-dyes are beautiful, but doesn’t work with my style, so I make my hand-dyes smooth transitions, but sometimes they need a bit of visual complexity. The screens do that!
March 30th, 2015 at 8:59 pm
I’m the program chair for the Charlotte Quilters’ Guild where this workshop is premiering. I just have to say that Sarah has put so much work into preparing for this workshop, she is an amazing teacher who lives and breathes her craft. I highly recommend her to any guild and while it will be September 2016 before she’s available, I’d suggest you start planning now and line her up! She will be in high demand and maybe hard to find a date if you wait too long! I too love the thermofax print idea to get a faux batik without all the busy things on that fabric that would distract. Sounds like a good future QA magazine article.
March 31st, 2015 at 6:54 am
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March 31st, 2015 at 7:30 am
Debby, you get a lot of credit for helping me fine-tune the workshop–I’m so looking forward to teaching for your guild!