December 29, 2010

It always happens — when the last workshop finishes for the year we are always happy to have the time off to relax and work on long put-off projects, but then around the end of the year, we start missing all of the fun and laughs that the workshops bring! So I’m counting down the days until the fun begins again.

The first workshop of 2011 will be with Melanie Testa. This will be a 3-day workshop, March 24 – 27, 2011, on creating your own fabric designs with soy wax and Procison dyes.

Melanie is the author of “Inspired to Quilt, Creative Experiments in Art Quilt Imagery,” Interweave Press, 2009 and graduated with a degree in Textile/Surface Design at The Fashion Institute of Technology.

Today, Melanie’s art explores themes of the human form, birds and nature. The first steps of her process often involve journaling on paper using paints, collage and pen and ink. She then interprets those drawings and paintings using Procion MX dyes on both cotton and silk organza. After creating these whole cloth quilt tops, collage elements are added, the layers are quilted in place and the work is bound and finished to hang on the wall.

Melanie has a wonderful blog where you can follow along with her design and inspiration process.