There are some great online courses available to fiber artisans. Good instructors, well presented, and lots of these for beginners. But demand speaks and we are seeing online courses for the intermediate and experienced fiber artisans emerge. One that stands out for excellent instructors, skill enhancing courses that are well presented is LQuilt.com.

Miky Aviel, Co-CEO, is known worldwide for her expertise in e-Learning and as quilt artist. Miky has 20 years of experience in R&D of e-Learning methods and products and computer/web based training. “The new way of learning via LQuilt is based on a unique method of small learning segments called learning objects.Those small segments- in order to create a quick and easy way to learn are based on three elements: written instructions (short and simple), detailed photos (as many as they are, as quick as the learning is) and the video clips – that give us the exact way of doing the technique. In addition there is a forum. Our forum is conducted by the teachers,” says Miky.

The instructors come from the ranks of the best in our industry and worldwide too–Rayna Gillman, Valerie Hearder, Cherilyn Martin, Jan Mullen to list just a few. Instructors personally answer students questions in the forums for each course. And here’s a bonus–the courses are quite inexpensive, and you can take them at your convenience too.

The LQuilt.com website features some interesting and most helpful articles, again written by experienced, award winning artisans. There’s a news section too and starting in January, forums available on a variety of subjects relative to quilting and fiber art. (I’ve been asked to conduct one of the forums and am quite pleased to do so). New, innovative offerings are continually added to LQuilt. Right now, for example, you can take advantage of some great “Package Deals” for classes that will inspire and bring your art to a new level.

January seems to be the time to start “anew” and set goals. For many of us, continuing education ranks high so take a look at the offerings at LQuilt.

Kathyanne White

Kathyanne White has a new blog, “Inside Kathyanne Art,” full of interesting updates on her own creative process. Each month, Kathyanne is featuring a post on one of the members of her own membership site, “Kathyanne Art.” I am most pleased to be the first artist featured and my thanks to Kathyanne.

Kathyanne is a most accomplished artisan, widely published and a teacher for more than 20 years. She has exhibited solo and in group showings, including Museum of Arts and Design and the American Folk Art Museum in New York. Her art journals are featured in the Smithsonian Institute’s Archives of American Art.

Do visit “Inside Kathyanne Art,” as well as Kathyanne’s membership site, with artists’ forums, helpful tutorials and Kathyanne Art digital images too.

The fiber arts field is full of stars and it is quite nice to have one’s own work acknowledged by one of the very bright stars in our field.

I’ve been in England staying with a friend who is also a fiber artisan. We’ve had gobs of fun perusing the fabric and quilt shops here, as well as visiting a few galleries, art shows and museums steeped in the rich history of textiles in the Norfolk area. Last month we went to London to the annual Craft Council show, “Origin,” which featured beautiful handwovens, unique felted wearables, and textile art as well.

Here in the UK, there are many, many accomplished fiber artisans. The following website features some of the UK’s and European fiber artisans “across the pond.” By no means, inclusive of all the artists here, but an interesting website, giving a look at some of the talented and their work. Enjoy!

From the website’s description of the group and site; “QUILT ART is a group of 20 professional quilt artists from Britain, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and America.

Founded in 1985, QUILT ART aims to extend the boundaries of quilting as an artistic medium and achieve wider recognition of the quilt as an art form. The group holds regular touring exhibitions in Britain and Europe and has also exhibited in Japan and Canada. A tour of the United States is also planned. To accompany each exhibition, the group publishes a high quality book.

QUILT ART strives to maintain its unique reputation for integrity of expression and quality of craftsmanship. Each member brings a distinctive approach and the work is diverse, dynamic and sometimes challenging. Professional standards are expected, both from the individual artists and as an organisation dealing with administration and liaising with galleries and the press.”

1. Business Workshop at Pollination Project, Nova Scotia – “Building a Business With a Conscience: A Triple Bottom Line Workshop” on Friday October 2, 2009, 10 am -1 pm. Tom Stearns, CEO of High Mowing Seeds and local entrepreneurs Ellen Agger and Alleson Kase TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles explore how to succeed in running a triple P bottom line business (people, planet and profits). Tom has built a successful organic seed company in Vermont, and Alleson and Ellen have created a company that brings together their concerns for environmental responsibility and fair trade with their love of textiles. Workshop is free. A local organic lunch will be served, fee $10. Please register by September 28th. Details at Pollination Project.

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Kathyanne White

3. The SAQA annual reverse auction is still on. It’s a “reverse auction” featuring beautiful art quilts in a wide array of designs and mediums too. These foot square art quilts are made by professionals and those newer to the art. Several have already been sold, but there are still many beautiful and creative pieces left.

I am pleased to announce the launch of my new website at Bonnie Samuel Designs. My new site features my fiber art work, abstract and representational pieces too. I work in the quilt art format, using fabric, paint and free motion stitchery.

I’ve worked with fiber in various mediums for many years, but find art quilts to be so expressive pulling together my love of design, painting, stitchery and working with textiles.

My most recently created pieces are now on my website with more to be added soon. I enjoy creating geometric abstract as well as representational pieces. I’m working on a fiber art series with the theme about the environmental impact made by humans, see “Burning Sun” and “Earth is the Sum of Its Parts….with Strings Attached.”

While in New York, I visited the American Folk Art Museum that currently has an exhibition of Paula Nadelstern’s Kaleidoscope Quilts. This is the first time the museum has showcased the work of an individual contemporary quilt artist. The guard had to keep telling the obvious fiber and quilt artists visiting the exhibit to step back as everyone was peering closely to see the intricate, incredible design of Nadelstern’s art work. If you are in NY, or going to be, be sure to see this exhibition. If not visit the Museum’s site to learn more about Paula Nadelstern’s art work.

Last week, I listed some upcoming online classes offered by some super fiber artisans. Here are some more both available to take online or to travel to and take in person. All listings can also be found on this blog’s page, “Fiber Arts Courses,” and will be updated often.

ONLINE COURSES

Judy Perez is offering this online class:

Color Theory
9 week online course $60, Class to begin late spring 09
In this hands-on experiential class you’ll learn key color concepts
with visual examples, mix new paint colors, and create helpful charts, all providing you with the tools you’ll need to see color in a whole new light. Go to this link for more info and to register:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgk4vc3d_15d5xmnkgg.   Also visit Judy’s blog for updates at
http://judyperez.blogspot.com/

Natalya Aikens offers this online course:

Portals
4 weeks

I am about to teach my first online class for Quilters Keep Learning. It is called Portals, it’s 4 weeks long, and I will be showing how I work with sheers and unusual media while developing my windows series. Here’s the link: http://www.quilterskeeplearning.com/portals.html

Lyric Montgomery Kinard

www.lyricKinard.com
NEWS FLASH! Lyric’s most popular class, “Surface Design Sampler Platter” will be available some time this year on a Quilting Arts DVD!!! We’ll keep you posted.

Liz Berg offers this online class

Better Art by Design
6 week class beginning April 6th

This class overs the basics of design and composition including a week on color. Students are encouraged to work with fabric, although the amount of fabric needed is very small. Most exercises are created in a 4×6″ size so work can be completed quickly. Later during the class, students will do a few full quilts in an 8×10″ format.  Students complete their home assignments after downloading their lessons, and then post their work on our private Yahoo group. Liz spends time doing critiques of all the work submitted which is sent to all the students.

Class begins on April 6, 2009 and costs $225. Payment is through Pay Pal.
http://www.lizbergartquilts.com/classes-schedule.php

Go-to, on site,  Fiber Art Classes

Valerie Hearder is teaching these two classes in South Africa.

Small Landscapes to Stitch and Embellish.
11/12 May 2009
Emoyeni Lodge, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

2 day class on designing and hand stitching
small landscapes. Various techniques discussed.
contact Quilt Indaba, fisher2000@worldonline.co.za
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Collage: Small Scale Art Quilts.
13/14 May 2009
Emoyeni Lodge, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

2 day class on designing free-form collage using exotic fabrics as the design inspiration.
contact Quilt Indaba, fisher2000@worldonline.co.za

Jane LaFazio is a mixed media artist, working in primarily cloth and paper. Jane is a full time artist and teacher of both children and adults. She is featured in several books and publications related to textile art and appears on Quilting Arts TV. Jane’s work is evocative of the rich traditions and images of Mexico and the Orient.

This is the third part of my series on what inspires the creativity of artisans, each very different. Here’s Jane LaFazio:

Jane LaFazio

What inspires my creativity? Soooo many things! My ongoing personal interests are Mexican and Latin American ritual and imagery. I’ve traveled colonial Mexico frequently and I come home so inspired! When I visit museums while traveling and at home, I’m particularly drawn to folk art and pattern, icon and shrines. Each trip or visit to a museum, I bring my sketchbook and draw the images I’m attracted to and those sketches help me internalize the pattern and show up in my artwork in different forms.

I also like to hand stitch and find a place for that in my fiber and paper art. I like to cut apart and reassemble paper and cloth, I enjoy it and it also makes a not-so-great background, much for interesting and textured.

In fact I have so many ideas and things I want to try that sometimes I don’t know which to do first. My studio is full of fabrics and papers, beads and sticks, paint and thread, so really I should have all I need right there. Often, I let the materials dictate the direction I’ll go.  I’ll just decide to start with tulle, scrim and organza and see where it takes me. Or a new technique I’ve read about will give me inspiration to take it further. I find I work well if I can confine the whirl of ideas in my brain to a theme or challenge.  Concepts like: casting shadows, birds, recycled materials, shrines are great kick starts for me. I teach a lot and it’s amazing what I can come up with in a short time—not that I’m so very talented—it’s the deadline of preparing a lesson that makes me stay in my studio all day, work through a project, and if it’s not working I must problem solve, instead of putting it aside.  Some of my best work comes for pushing beyond the point where I’m stuck and rethinking it, or cutting it up and reassembling it, or changing direction to make the piece work.
One of my favorite quotes, for myself and my students is:
“Don’t wait for inspiration, it comes while working.”  Henri Matisse

Visit Jane LaFazio’s blog , “Janeville,”  and website, “PlainJaneStudio”.
http://janeville.blogspot.com
http://www.PlainJaneStudio.com