Three new workshops embrace textiles and creativity

Keen for more craft following the close of the festival? These three upcoming workshops exploring mixed textile media, embroidery and weaving will be led by members of the Seed Stitch Collective.

In connection with The Seed Stitch Contemporary Textile Awards 2018 exhibition, currently on at Australian Design Centre in Darlinghurst, three workshops will explore different aspects of textile arts. Book now to secure your place.
 

Playing for Creativity 
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw. Come and play with mixed media to inspire curiosity, creativity, industriousness and inventiveness.

A member of the Seed Stitch Collective, Niki McDonald has exhibited nationally and internationally and explored all things textile with a Creative Arts major in textiles and a Diploma of Education. Niki believes that you need to play, paste, cut, rip, sew, glue, paint, draw, scratch, collage, arrange, rearrange, make, create, build and save to be in your process, discover your flow of creativity.

After mind mapping ideas and building a preliminary mood board, participants will create a mixed media canvas with stitching to emphasise colour, shape and movement. Workshop players receive; a stretched canvas, needle and wool, mixed media and collage materials.
When: Saturday 27 October, 1-3.30pm
Where: Australian Design Centre 
Who should come: Anyone who would like to play with mixed textile media 
Cost: $80 Book here

Poke & Stitch: Tattooing Cloth with Emma Peters 
There are quite a few similarities between the art of tattooing and embroidery - rhythm, pattern, colour and the act of creating a visual tribute to a loved one or a significant experience. Learn to design your own motifs that celebrate your memories and adorn or repair your fabrics. Using simple yet effective motifs, textile practitioner, Emma Peters, will guide you in the slow paced and mindful skills of stitching, tracing your motif onto fabric, and the stitches that will work best.
Bring along any cloth or thread you’d like to work with and there will be lots of materials provided for experimenting. Perfect for beginners or more accomplished makers looking to expand on their practice.

Emma Peters is a founding member of the Seed Stitch Collective and has worked as a designer in the textile industry for over a decade. She teaches at two of Australia’s leading design universities – UNSW Art & Design and UTS.
When: Saturday 3 November, 11-1.30pm 
Where: Australian Design Centre 
Who should come: Perfect for beginners or more accomplished makers looking to expand on their practice. 
Cost: $80 Book here

Weave Your Love 
The process of weaving has a deeply therapeutic effect and is used across many cultures to convey messages that honour family history and personal journeys. The act of deconstruction and reconstruction of an item that has emotional significance is a very powerful and empowering experience. In this workshop Sky Carter will teach you traditional as well as innovative techniques to create a personal and meaningful woven work. Using your preloved materials, Sky will take you on a textural journey where you are shown how to weave items to honour them in a unique and beautiful way. 
This workshop is perfect for those that have a sentimental or precious ‘stash’ of pieces that could be repurposed into a wall hanging such as; a wedding veil, grandfather’s tie or hankies, baby clothing or item from a significant event.  Sky will provide an array of materials that can be used to complement your items in the weaving process as well as her personally designed loom and tools made from sustainable bamboo. Students are asked to bring at least one meaningful item that they would like to celebrate in a wall hanging.
Sky Carter has exhibited both locally and internationally and is a member of the Seed Stitch Collective. She is a fibre and textile artist operating under her art practice ‘Sky Carter Colour’. With a design studies major in colour she is continually developing and evolving her skills through residencies, travel and further education and has developed her own range of sustainable weaving tools and looms which used to teach her unique weaving style.
When: Saturday 10 November, 1-3.30pm
Where: Australian Design Centre 
Who should come: This workshop is perfect for those who have a precious textile they would like to repurpose into a wall hanging 
Cost: $80 Book here

The Seed Stitch Contemporary Textile Awards 2018, presented by Australian Design Centre in partnership with the Seed Stitch Collective, features outstanding contemporary work by NSW textile artists. 

Award winners:
Blake Griffiths – Seed Stitch Contemporary Textile Award
Jane Theau – Australian Design Centre Award
Paula do Prado – Skein Sisters Yarn Innovation Award
Christina Newberry – Seed Stitch Collective Award
Daniel Kim – Highly Commended Award
The Seed Stitch Collective is Soraya Abidin, Sky Carter, Suzanne Davey, Niki McDonald, Emma Peters and Kylie Walsh. Find out more about the Seed Stitch Collective in an interview here or visit their website. 

The Seed Stitch Contemporary Textile Awards exhibition is on until 14 November 2018 at Australian Design Centre, Darlinghurst. See more information here.