Surface Tension

Ailie says:

“This workshop is based on sharing my approach to my own work, where I use cloth, hand stitch, and collage to create mood and narrative.

I will demonstrate some of my favourite techniques, and the way I use them to achieve the desired effect. The inclusion of distressed and manipulated fabrics, paint and paper, and odd found materials, allows you to create many different qualities and textures in a surface to work on.

The final layer is created with thread and stitch, which further transforms the surface. Stitching is my Super Power and I will show you how to use the simplest stitches in many different ways for maximum impact.

You can put these skills into practice, making a series of small samples to experience how they can work to support your own personal interest. With these examples, we will make a simple concertina book, which can be useful as a future reference, or it can tell a story, if you choose to work to a theme.

Ailie is a dedicated hand stitcher … working, exhibiting, and teaching in the field of textiles for more than 30 years. This work takes her all around New Zealand, and sometimes overseas. Her  current obsession is to create textured and evocative surfaces in her work, based on observation of the immediate environment. She uses distorted and manipulated fabric in carefully considered colour combinations, along with a variety of stitches to achieve the desired effect.