So exciting! Experimental Textiles Online is now enrolling

A section taken across 3 Journeys.

I have reached a rather exciting and rewarding time in my own personal journey. My teaching journey.

Whilst I am known for my development of surfaces to stitch onto, the course I am most pleased with is the course I wrote and developed - Experimental Textiles. It started off as a 1 year course - but my students wouldn't go away - so I wrote another year . . then another year. In the end it became a 4 year course up to diploma level. At one stage I was teaching it across 2 colleges and managing 3 first year groups, 3 second year groups . . and so on. The waiting lists were so long we had to put on extra nights and in the case of the 4th year - Saturdays. 

This of course was in the days when Adult Education was properly funded. When you could write and develop your own courses.

I taught the 4 year version of Experimental Textiles for 12 years. I had to stop in the end as I no longer had a life!! I thought I would never want to teach a long course again - so I wrote the book.

 Experimental Textiles is my 2nd book.

Of course - I then missed teaching a course where the students showed development and progression. But how to simplify it? And NOT have to do paperwork? 

I  took out the essence of what I considered to be the most important aspects of the course and developed a 9 weekend course to be taught over 9 months which I delivered in Redditch at Inkberrow Design Centre. As Redditch is more or less in the centre of the UK I was able to attract students from all over the UK. Devon and Cornwall, Scotland, Yorskshire to name a few places. It was a big investment in time and money for the students as most of them had to stay over on the Friday and Saturday night as well as pay for the course. I taught this version of the course for 5 years. Up until March this year. 

Work through black and white exercises to creating your own printing blocks.

You will never have to use some elses designs again. 

You will be creating your own.

I have learned so much from my students, We have had a great time together. 

Since moving to Ireland last year I have wanted to change how I teach. I needed to travel less. live in the 'now' a bit more. So I developed my range of process based online 'one day' workshops. These are working well now and it is now time for me to start promoting my new online version of Experimental Textiles. This will be different from the online workshops that I am offering.

The course will run for 6 weekends over 6 months from January to June 2018. you will then have until December to work along side myself and other members of the group to develop a new piece of work. There will be monthly Skype sessions with each student.

If you are interested - have look here.

sonas-studio.com/html/experimental_textiles.

If you think it is time to invest in yourself and your work and would like to talk to me about the course, then do email me and we can can arrange to speak on the phone or on Skype.

Here is a very small selection of samples and finished work from over the years.

It will be exciting to work with students from all over the world via the wonders of the internet. A new age of ExTex, as it is fondly known, has begun!

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I will be off to do the Knitting and Stitching show in Dublin this week - 

http://www.theknittingandstitchingshow.com/dublin/

I will be on the Freudenberg Vilene stand - number G51. Opposite the galleries.

Do come and say hello if you are going. I will be happy to talk to you about any of the sonas-studio courses if you would like to chat.

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Hello Jill - can't remember, will you be at Harrogate???

Hello Diana, many thanks for your help today.

Hi Tod - hope all is well in your world. Love you. x x x

x x x