Tyvek

Forest Floor…..

/ Karen Lane / 8 Comments

I recently had the pleasure of running two consecutive one-day workshops for members of the Snape Textile Group up in the beautiful village of Bedale, North Yorkshire.

The group had booked my Forest Floor workshop which covers lots of different techniques for working with heat manipulative materials and creating the kind of stuff you find littering the forest floor such as leaves, twigs, bark and seed pods. With 30 ladies interested it was decided to split this fast paced class into two days to ensure all of them had the best learning experience and no one got left behind!

A few of my workshop samples
Real bark v fake bark

After each demonstration the students set to painting, stitching, wrapping and distressing (using heat guns and soldering irons) their Tyvek and Lutradur to create the various elements.

This is a sample based workshop and students are not necessarily expected to produce a finished piece of work by the end of it when it’s booked as a one day class. We do discuss how to pull everything together and create a suitable background but this is something that can be done afterwards at your own pace. If a group particularly want to see it through to the end it can either be booked as a two day class or we simply limit the amount of leaves made on the day to get a finished piece done. Yes, it’s those leaves that tend to hook folk in and then the time just disappears!

Just a few examples of what was made

It was a full on weekend with the ladies producing an array of wonderful work and, hopefully, having a lot of fun in the process. This was the first time some had used a heat gun or a soldering iron but going by the response it won’t be the last!

Thanks to all for your enthusiasm, hard work and good company and a special thanks to Sarah Lowe for hosting me for the weekend. I’m looking forward to working with you all again at some point in the future.

Tyvek Seed Pod…..

/ Karen Lane / 9 Comments

I developed a ganglion on my right hand as a result of making the bird mask last week.  It’s giving me some gip so I’m resting the hand for a while and doing a few pieces that don’t require a strong grip.  Yesterday it was a Tyvek Seed Pod incorporating sari silks and acrylic paint…..

Today I made a start on a mixed Media piece with the theme “Abstraction” which was set by the textile group  Jeudis which I became a member of a couple of months ago.   I’m combining free motion stitch with painted Lutradur and wet Felted Merino, for now it’s work in progress…..

Abstraction

 

Forest Floor Workshop…..

/ Karen Lane / 14 Comments

Last Saturday I travelled back up to one of my favourite workshop venues, the Simply Stitch studio in East Keswick.  It was for the first of a new class I’ve put together which I’m calling my Forest Floor Workshop.

12 ladies took part in the two day workshop exploring the use of heat manipulative materials including Tyvek fabric, Tyvek paper, Lutradur and polyester fabrics which we painted, stitched, cut and distressed using heat tools and soldering irons.  For the majority it would be the first time they have worked with any of these materials and tools.

Our theme for the weekend was the forest floor and it was great to see that some of the ladies, like Juliet and Julie, had been out foraging for inspiration!

The samples that were created included a variety of leaves, bark, twigs, lichen, etc…..anything you might see on a walk through the woods, and a few things you might never see too!!

Carolyn arrived with her hand heavily bandaged and the intention of just watching the others.  That idea lasted all of a few minutes and she turned out to be one of the most prolific sample makers of the group!

Janet and Jackie were looking very proud of their hessian and Lutradur “twigs” and rightly so!!

The ladies threw themselves whole heartedly into experimenting with the various materials and created some wonderful pieces of work with fabulous textures.

Once again a big thank you to Nicola for being such a great host and to all of the ladies who took part.   I’m looking forward to seeing some of you again when I return to East Keswick in June.

 

Painted Mulberry Bark…..

/ Karen Lane / 12 Comments

I had intended to make some Tyvek bark today but decided to do painted Mulberry bark instead.  The Tyvek will have wait until later.  The first piece is lined with paper and left to dry so that it’s “rounded”.

Painted Mulberry bark

This is what will be used as the base for my Winter sample when I get around to pulling it all together.

Winter themed bark and leaves

Finally a layered piece with Tyvek lichen…..

Layered Mulberry bark with Tyvek lichen

These will all be given Forest Floor backgrounds and have stitching added before being mounted onto board or canvas so will post updates as and when they’re finished.

Forest Floor…..

/ Karen Lane / 10 Comments

I’m currently working on samples for a heat manipulative mixed media workshop with the theme  “Forest Floor”.  This is the first sample in the series in which I’ve used painted and heat distressed Tyvek and Lutradur, combined with natural tree bark, a leaf and hand embroidery.

The first of the workshops will be held at Simply Stitch, East Keswick on April 7th & 8th.  On day one we will be painting on, and experimenting with, various heat manipulative materials.  Using an iron, soldering iron and heat tool we will be working with Tyvek paper and fabric, various weights of Lutradur and polyester.  There will be the opportunity to include hand and machine stitching in your work.

On day two we will use the samples we have made, or create new ones, adding stitching and found objects to build up a layered, highly textured piece of work inspired by the “Forest Floor”.  For more info or to book a place contact Nicola on 07969 578289 or email nicola@simplystitch.co.uk

This is a photograph of two autumn leaves and a leaf skeleton I made from Lutradur.

Autumn Leaf skeleton made from Lutradur

On April 25th I will be running a one day “Forest Floor” workshop at All Sewn Up by Debs in Horncastle.  For this session we will be using the iron, soldering iron and heat tool to manipulate Tyvek paper and lightweight Lutradur.  Once they’ve been distressed these materials will be combined with natural tree bark and hand stitching to create our beautiful, layered Forest Floor.  This class is suitable for all abilities and is a great introduction to working with Lutradur and Tyvek.  For more information or to book a place call Debs on 01507 524566.

 

Time To Catch Up…..

/ Karen Lane / 2 Comments

December went by in a bit of blur, as I’m sure it did for lots of folk,  but with the festivities now over and life back to normal  I’ve time to catch up and record whats been happening creatively over the past month.

December got off to a festive start with seven ladies taking part in my Felted Fairy Workshop at the Alford Craft Studio.  We began by wet felting the head, arms and body.

Once these were dry Boucle yarn was added for hair and this was dressed with a seed bead tiara.

Finally the fairies were given a needle felted bouquet to hold.  They all worked out beautifully and one of the ladies has since been in touch to say she went on to make another six for friends to put on their Christmas Trees!

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The second week in December saw me holding a textile workshop in Langton by Spilsby for members of The Spirit of Sutterby group.  The group consists of approx 70 Members (if I remember right!) and has formed with the goal to explore  the village of Sutterby, research its past, record its present and help with its future.

This was a great opportunity for me to get involved in a local collaborative project and hopefully my workshop provided some inspiration and guidance to help move the textile side of their project forward.

The group was keen to try out techniques they hadn’t used before and had fun with the heat tool and soldering iron, distressing polyester fabrics, Lutradur and Tyvek as well as painting and layering their fabrics.

It was a busy day and although no one got their piece finished I was assured they had a great time and were taking away lots of new ideas.  I’m looking forward to seeing how these translate to the Textile Landscape they will produce for the Sutterby project.

Tyvek Leaves at Alford….

/ Karen Lane / 7 Comments

Today saw the first of my workshops at the Alford Craft Market Centre.  Alford Craft Market is a not for profit organisation promoting quality Lincolnshire Crafts run entirely by volunteers.  The shop is stocked with a wide variety of hand-made items including ceramics, felting, textiles and jewellery to name just a few.  There are always a variety of classes and workshops to choose from including pottery and glass, felting, textiles, etc.  Classes are held in the Big Lottery funded studio at the rear of the Craft Market Shop.

I had five ladies in the studio today making Tyvek Leaves.  It was a lovely group and a relaxing day, this is how they got on…..

Annie’s leaf

Jo’s leaf

Rose’s leaf

Allison’s leaf

Molly’s leaf

Next month we may be using some Tyvek again along with various other materials including Lutradur, Vilene, cellophane, fabric, paper and found objects when we spend the day creating with mixed media.