Creating Personal Symbols

Class overview:

Symbols are a part of our everyday lives and have been existence from the day man drew inside a cave with a piece of coal. They are a part of communication before we developed a language and much of the world's alphabets have derived from symbols. Personal symbols have an influence in artist's work and are not merely designs used in a piece of art. A color, a repeated design or an interesting shape can be symbols used by an artist without thinking about it. By thinking of your life, likes and repeated images can bring meaning into your artwork. Some artists use pictographic symbols rather than realistic representations. They are like autobiographical writings that anyone can understand without the use of words. Symbols can reveal your style and style is the imprint of your personality on your artwork. Don't worry, you don't need to know how to draw or paint, since there is no right or wrong way of creating your own personal symbols.

Artists like Keith Haring, Picasso and Marc Chagall were artists that used symbols in their artworks. These artists incorporated symbols into their work by using shapes, colors and patterns to tell a story. After working with these lessons, you will find that some symbols appeal more to you than others. I hope that the following lessons will help you to express yourself in you own "language". To incorporate this language into your artwork and add interest, send a message or tell a story.

All Levels

• Lesson 1- Symbolic Doodles
• Lesson 2-Magazine Fiber Collage
• Lesson 3-Collage Symbols
• Lesson 4- Symbolic Prints
• Lesson 5- Fabric Painting Symbols
• Lesson 6-3-D symbols

6 weeks - $60.00, plus supplies

Doodle Designs Workshop

Have you ever wondered what you could do with that doodle on the napkin or notepad? A doodle can be a way to awaken your sense of creativity and self-discovery. This type of drawing is born of intuition and is a great tool for connecting with your inner voice. I believe a doodle can spark a series of artworks when you are stumped for ideas. This type of “play” is important to everyone who wants to grow creatively. I use doodles as the basis of a lot of my own artwork and it has helped me to expand my artistic voice.

In this workshop, students will be using doodle drawings as a basis for embroidery and fiber art pieces. We will take doodle drawings that been inspired by “prompts” to see how you interpret ideas into drawings and expand them into abstract works of art. A variety of art materials will be used to help discover your inner child. No drawing experience is needed, just a sense of fun.

Open to all levels.

Lesson 1 Doodling
Lesson 2 Paper Collage Doodle
Lesson 3 Stamp Doodle
Lesson 4 Fabric Collage Doodle
Lesson 5 Embroidery Doodle
Lesson 6 Fabric Paint Doodle

6 Weeks - $60

Fertile Earth

Nature has been used for thousands of years in all art forms. It has been portrayed in all aspects of fiber art and has played a large role in all cultures around the world. Textile crafts such as weaving, lace, knitting, crochet, embroidery, quilting and rug making utilize details from our “Mother Earth”. I believe that every artist can be helped to find different ways of designing by looking at nature in more perceptive ways. We can all look at the same subject matter and it will always be unique to that person. With the following lessons, I hope to inspire students to take a fresh look at the world around them.  Also, by taking the theme of Nature and exploring its different facets and design possibilities, you can develop a very personal and creative approach to these embroideries. We will also collect things for an idea box and use an art journal to paste images, draw sketches and ideas for our work and future projects. Working on one lesson over a period of time can produce a multitude of ideas, which can be developed further. While one idea can lead to another, sometimes the end result resembles nothing like the starting point. Plus, in our lessons we will experiment with background fabrics to be an integral part of the designs.

 In this workshop, we will use a variety of techniques to create embroideries that will involve drawing, painting, collage, photography, and printing. I will touch on design, pattern, and texture, but you don’t need to know how to draw.

This will be a hand sewing class and a sewing machine is optional.

All levels are welcome and all you need is a sense of creative fun and wanting to learn.

6 Lessons for 6 Weeks
Cost 60.00 US

Lesson 1-Vegatables/Fruits
Lesson 2-Flowers
Lesson 3-Weeds/Fugus
Lesson 4-Leaves/Trees/Scrubs
Lesson 5- Shells/Rocks/Stones
Lesson 6- Landscapes (nature at a distance)

Fiber Collage Workshop

Susan Sorrell's Fabric Collage workshop is developed from the tradition of quilting and adding the creativity of art.

Taking scraps of fabric, appliqué, threads, beads and embellishments to open up a whole new world of possibilities for self-expression. Fabric collage can lend itself to be abstract, naive, complex or childlike. Designs can come from popular culture, sayings, songs, or stories.

This workshop is for all levels, and no sewing machine is required. Fabrics can be used clothing or bought from a store. Needle and thread are used like drawing tools to add details and color to a piece of fabric. Beads and embellishments make the piece glimmer and three-dimensional. There is no right or wrong way to do it, be experimental and make it as complex or easy as you wish. Think of it as a miniature quilt that has had “glamour" make over!!! The funkier...the better! You don't need any sewing skills; this is about expressing yourself with cloth!!!

Lesson 1: Overview of Materials, Quilt sandwich
Lesson 2: Design and Appliqué
Lesson 3: Drawing with Thread
Lesson 4: Beading (part 1) Simple
Lesson 5: Beading (part 2) Complex
Lesson 6: Embellishments

Monoprinting Methods on Fabric

Description: The Monoprinting workshop will have the students explore the different techniques in monoprinting on fiber. A variety of fabrics will be used to create new textures, designs, and examples for future fiber art. The workshop consists of 6 lessons and the 6th lesson will have the student pick from the different images he/she has created through out the workshop to use in a final project. The class discussions, critiques and brainstorming will be used to further the creative process. The workshop is a methods workshop and is meant to inspire the student to think "outside the box". (If you want to buy a pattern to use for your final project that is okay. I know that Joggles.com has some cool patterns and you can use your new designed fabric for pattern projects. Some people are pattern people and the purpose of this lesson is to go beyond just using commercial fabrics in your fiber art.)

Susan Sorrell will be teaching and guiding this workshop through all 6 lessons .

All Levels

• Lesson 1- Developing Images and Ideas, Collecting Materials, Sun Printing
• Lesson 2-Frottage Printing
• Lesson 3-Mono Printing on Glass or Plexiglass
• Lesson 4-Freezer Paper Prints, Fusible Prints
• Lesson 5-Gelatin Prints
• Lesson 6-Shaving Cream Prints/ String Prints

If you have an idea for a workshop, please email Susan at sorrell@creativechick.com