Simply Screen Printing is a two day introduction to screen printing that usually sells out but I have just had a cancelation for the workshop on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th September so a place is now available. The workshop is aimed at beginners, those who have never done any screen printing before and maybe never used dyes before, but is also great for those who just fancy some time in a studio with like minded people printing fabric!

My goal for the weekend is to get students to the point where they are comfortable using a screen and confident enough to give it a go at home. And, of course, that the students love the 6 - 8 pieces of fabric they will print during the workshop.

We use simple things things like shredded paper, string and masking tape to create pattern and, of course, we do a little breakdown printing. I provide really detailed notes and instructions on how you can get set up cheaply and easily at home. You can find out more and book here.

Here is some delicious eye candy from the Simply Screen Printing workshop that ran in March ….. thanks to Alison, Carole, David, Mary and Sylvia.

Artist Louise Baldwin will be teaching her Accidently on Purpose workshop in my studio in July (Sunday 24th to Wednesday 27th July) and I spoke with her recently about her current work and what she aims to achieve during the workshop. She also shared some new images.

Talking about the images Louise told me -

‘This is some of the work that was on show recently where I’ve pushed together all sorts of bits and pieces from guitar necks to pegs, book covers and cake tin bases. Entangled with stitch and gestural marks in gold thread or wire and beads. The theme was Found and most of the materials were found in my studio as I tried to sift through the years of collecting in preparation to move house. I love working in a non hierarchical way with materials, where a bit of old worn paper is as important as a pearl; a staple as important as couched gold thread. I will often work on larger pieces and break them down into smaller works or layer them up to create depth and unexpected collisions of materials.’

Louise is a member of The 62 Group of Textile Artists and has exhibited internationally. Its fascinating to see how her work has developed in recent years away from 2D pieces into these fabulous 3D collections of found objects.

Talking about the workshop Louise said ‘I hope that, in our workshop, we will get to knock lots of ideas and materials around, make lots of mistakes and accidents and select out the most exciting and parts to develop.’

With a requirements list that includes ‘A little collection of odd stuff like wooden skewers, thin metal, feathers, buttons, metal zip, fake flowers, clips, broken jewellery, plastic lids …..   -  the kind of odd stuff that kicks around in drawers for some reason’ I can’t wait to see what happens!

There are still two places available on her workshop. You can find out more here.

I am very excited to tell you that I hope to be teaching at the Fibre Arts Australia event in Ballarat from the 13th to the 19th April 2023. There is an amazing line up of international and national tutors taking part in this annual residential event and the range of workshops really pushes the boundaries of what is textile art. I have put together a new workshop for the event called Colour Play: Low Tech Screen Printing with Temporary Resists which combines a deep dive into colour and how to control colour when working with Procion dyes alongside using simple screen printing techniques with the aim of creating a cohesive collection of fabrics printed in colours from each students source of inspiration. The workshop will, of course, include my all time favourite technique, breakdown printing.

Teaching on the other side of the world is going to be ‘interesting’. I can’t just decant my studio into my suitcase and bring everything I need with me. I’ll be working with the organiser to source dyes etc from Australian suppliers. I won’t know the exact layout of the class room until I get there. And I don’t know yet how we will dry breakdown screens. But I love a challenge and an adventure!

Fingers crossed that enough people sign up!

This is a brief but heartfelt post …… a massive thank you to those who bought my Inspiration Packs of dyed fabric and threads, signed up for a workshop during April or bought a second hand textile book whilst in my studio. Together we raised £252.50 which I have just donated to The Trussell Trust. Yes it is a drop in the ocean bit it will help support food banks in the UK and help the charity in it’s campaign to eradicate food poverty.

You can find out more about their work with food banks here.

Thank you again, Leah x

It is so nice to share lots of good news. Spring is in the air and there is a definite spring in my step!

First of all a very big thank you to everyone who has brought an Inspiration Pack or booked a workshop this month. So far we raised £225 for The Trussell Trust who support food banks in the UK. I have just 1 inspirations pack left (£5 donation for each pack sold) and I will be donating £10 for every workshop sold during April.

Secondly I am absolutely thrilled that Artefact 2 (above) has been juried into this years Quilt Visions at Visions Art Museum in Seattle. I am always a bit anxious as I start a new series because I might think I have created something beautiful but the rest of the world might disagree. Having a piece accepted in a juried exhibition is a massive confidence boost. Now I just need to ‘find’ more time to make more quilts! I’m also going to be shipping Cadence 7 to the US at the beginning of May. It is being exhibited as part of Excellence in Fibers VII at the Schweinfurth Art Center. So lots of good news on the Art front.

And good news in the studio. After a two year delay, because of you know what, I was absolutely delighted to welcome Alice Fox into my studio this weekend. Alice is an amazing artist and brilliant teacher. Many thanks to Angela, Lynn, Mandy, Anita, Judy and Sam for their amazing work…. there is some eye candy for you below!

This weekend marks the beginning of my ‘peak’ teaching period with workshops coming thick and fast. Quite a few workshops are full but there are still places available on some. It is short notice but I do have two places left of a workshop by Debbie Lyddon called Decorative Surfaces for 3D Textiles. It is a 4 day workshop (3rd to 6th May) and costs £360. If you are interested please contact me here.

In my last post I told you about the things that I’m doing to raise some money for The Trussell Trust, a charity that supports food banks in the UK and campaigns to end food poverty. Having recovered from The Creative Craft Show at ExCel last weekend I’ve spent some time updating my online shop. So …..

• I have now added the Charity Inspiration Packs that I have left to my online shop. Each pack contains a mix of silk, linen, cotton and viscose fabrics and threads. Each pack costs £12.50 and I will donate £5 from each sale to The Trussell Trust. You can find them here. I’ve also added some more Wonky Print Inspiration Packs.

• I have added new dates for a Breakdown Your Palette workshop (12th to 16th September) and a Simply Screen Printing workshop (16th and 17th July) as the other workshops had sold out. You can find out more about all my workshops here. And, as a reminder, I am donating £10 from every workshop place I sell between now and the end of April to The Trussell Trust.

• I have reduced the cost of my online Breakdown Your Palette workshop by 25% from £240 to £180 until the end of April in recognition of the fact that not everyone is free to travel yet. And in recognition that attending a workshop in my studio is not cheap and not accessible to all.

I’d like to thank everyone who stopped by my stand at the show last weekend, it was a real pleasure to be able to exhibit Ruins 7 and I’m humbled by the response it received. Ruins 7 was made in response to the Russian devastation of Aleppo in Syria. Let’s hope the world learns some lessons this time round.

Thank you for your continued support, Leah x

Ruins 7

Those of you who have been reading my posts for some time will know that when the pandemic hit I, like many others, felt completely useless. One of the things that helped me feel slightly less useless was raising money for The Trussell Trust along with help from my brilliant customers and students. In 2020 we raised £692.50 through the sale of limited edition bookmarks, donations for Colour Your Palette books sold, donating and buying second hand textile books from the bogshed library etc. These efforts continued in 2021 albeit at a slower pace and we raised £345 for YoungMinds.org.

And now this year. Well that feeling useless thing is back. At least it is for me. The war in Ukraine is horrific and I am in awe of the generosity of people across Europe and around the globe in supporting the Ukrainian people. But there is something closer to home that I’m also finding distressing. And that is the effect of rising energy and food costs. It is incomprehensible how so many people will fall into poverty in the UK when we live in a country with the 6th or 7th biggest economy. The pandemic hit the poorest families hard; the staggering rise in cost of living is going to cast a much wider net with those on fixed incomes and those who were getting buy facing tough months ahead. I am ashamed to live in a country were ‘heat or eat’ is a decision that so many people will have to face every day and where there are more food banks than McDonalds.

So I am going to try, with your help, to raise money for The Trussell Trust again this year. The Trussell Trust is a charity that supports food banks and campaigns for the end of food poverty in the UK. At some point I will make more bookmarks but for now …..

• I have made 36 Inspiration Packs each containing a mix of silk, linen, cotton and viscose fabrics and threads. Each pack costs £12.50 and I will donate £5 from each sale to The Trussell Trust. (I’m taking them to The Creative Craft Show at the ExCel Center, London on the 1st and 2nd April and will add any that remain to my website early next week).

• I will donate £10 for every workshop place I sell between now and the end of April.

• I have reduced the cost of my online Breakdown Your Palette workshop by 25% from £240 to £180 until the end of April in recognition of the fact that not everyone is free to travel yet.

Thank you to the lovely Millie T for donating thread to the cause!

I know that some will believe that any money raised should be used for Ukraine as their need is greater but hope that most of you will understand and support my efforts.

Leah x

Although I did a few days teaching in the studio earlier in the year my teaching ‘season’ started properly from last weekend with a wonderful couple of days with my Creative Surface Design students and will continue with my two day Simply Screen Printing workshop this coming weekend. From then on I’m teaching regularly until the end of October by which time I might need to take a day off!

In between teaching I’ll also be giving talks to different groups up and down the country and attending two shows - The Creative Craft Show at ExCel in London in a couple of weeks and Festival at the NEC in August.

It is going to be SO GOOD to be face-to-face with so many like minded textile lovers this year. A big thank you to the ladies at Art Through Textiles who I gave a talk to on Monday - your enthusiasm is infectious!

This year still feels like a ‘catch-up’ year though. I’ve had some cancellations recently as people catch up on much delayed holidays, family celebrations and hospital treatment. So I now have places on some workshops that were previously sold out. I have places on Helen Parrotts’ Northern Landscapes with Hand Stitch, Debbie Lyddons Decorative Surfaces for 3D Textiles and Louise Baldwins Accidently on Purpose.

Please follow the links to have a look at these workshops - all three artists are excellent teachers and time in a dedicated studio is such a joy.

I also have spaces on my 5 day Print Your Palette workshop (25th to 29th April) - this is a deep dive into lots and lots of ways of using a screen to print beautiful fabric. No previous experience is required though as we start with the basics on using a screen and on using dyes!

Bye for now, Leah

It was wonderful to be at the Scottish Quilting Show in Glasgow last week. The atmosphere was very different to the last time we were there two years ago. Then we were all nervous and anxious about a new virus that would go on to cause so much sorrow and hardship. This time there was a sense of hope and of life getting back to normal. It was so lovely to meet old friends and to see many familiar faces.

I was busy demonstrating breakdown printing on my stand and enjoyed explaining the process to so many visitors. I’d like to thank all of those who took the time to talk about printing and about the quilts I had on display. And all those who spent money …. the Wonky Print Inspiration Packs went down very well! I’d like to thank the lovely ladies on adjacent stands for ensuring there wasn’t an unwanted puddle behind the stand on the Thursday when I was on the stand by myself. And a very big thanks to my friend Ruth Brown for joining me for the rest of the show (Ruth is teaching two bookbinding workshops in my studio this year).

I printed ten pieces of fabric during the show. These will be appearing in a Wonky Print Pack soon as I am exhibiting at The Creative Craft Show at the ExCel Centre in London on the 1st and 2nd April. As soon as I have details of my stand I will share them with you. I will be printing on my stand and will have lots of my hand dyed and printed fabrics with me …. but only if I get a wriggle on ….

Bye for now, Leah