Exploring what you can learn from tutors and exhibitions at a Fibre Art Australia workshop

 

One of the nicest things about attending a workshop with an organisation like Fibre Arts Australia is that you get to check out other workshops and meet and see the work of other artists.  This year, I did a course with Kathryn Harmer Smith, but I also got to see the work of the following artists, listen to lectures by some of them, attend an exhibition and see the work of some of their students.

 

One of the most interesting and inspiring speakers, and a very charming and warm person was  Danish Charlotte Yde, who is a textile and quilt artist.  She is very concerned with the environment, believes that art can be used to deal with ones emotions, and is inspired by the past - menhirs, runes, Vikings.  She uses rust, machine embroidery, monoprinting and screen printing, amongst other methods. If she returns to Australia, I am determined to enrol in one of her workshops.  I was very impressed by her work and that of her students, who felt she was a great teacher. These pieces were done by some of her students.

 

 

 

 

I have long been a fan of Japanese felt artist, Atsuko Sasaki.  Her wool  felt bags in particular  have a sculptural element which often seem to echo the shapes of organisms that live in the sea, like corals, anenomes, polyps and urchins.  These are some of the bags made by her students this year.  Apparently her classes teach you to be meticulous but they are a lot of fun.

 

 

 

Hannah Lamb is an English artist whose work is based on  a sense of place.  She looks for patterns, botanical shapes, patching, joining,  compositions, found objects and traces of time to create her work.  She uses cynotype,, stitch, dyeing and wax in her work. This is a piece one of her students created.

 

P. B. Seggebruch ( Trish) is an encaustic artist from the USA.  She feels that an artist needs the courage and the faith to create art, which is a refuge from chaos.  Her students produced some really nice pieces:

 

 

Nicole de Mestre is a really interesting Australian basketmaker, installation artist and sculptor.  She is dedicated to saving the environment and committed to recycling.  She creates assemblages with found objects, crochets and knits with videotape, and electric wire, makes baskets from onion bags, electric wire, tin can lids and found rope. I was really impressed by the work of her students:

 

 

 

Uta Mooney was another interesting Australian tutor. She does painting and installations often  using the words of Glenn Stenson or altered newspapers.  She also draws, uses stamps and whitewash.  a very interesting artist.

 

I've followed textile artist Anne Kelly for a while.  She is a very talented artist who was trained in Canada but works in the UK.  She uses collage, applique, stitching, print making, mixed media and stamps.   I use a lot of her ideas to inspire me.  I really liked the work her students created, like this one:

 

 

New Zealander Liz Constable is another very warm and friendly artist using dye and paper to make books.  I really liked the work of her students:

 

I just loved the jewellery of Australian Meghan O' Rourke and her students produced the most stunning work:

  I really really want some of her work too.

Glenys Mann is one of the coordinators of Fibre Arts, but she is also an artist.  This is one of her pieces and a detail from it. (Waiting #1 Remembrance 2015: Women's Loss)

 

This piece was part of an exhibition at the school and is by Sue Coppock.  It is called The Greatest Gift is Love.

While this one is called #54/4 and is by Nonie Sutcliffe.

Wanda Mc Pherson had a great exhibition at Ballarat Grammar. This is a detail from one of her works

 

and this is one of her landscapes.

 

 

 Apart from these artists, a lot of the people attending workshops are very talented artists in their own right, who are often very willing to share their expertise..  A workshop with Fibre Arts is a great learning experience for an artist,  as you not only learn from your tutor but from all the other artists.