Meet PeeWee, above, the neighborhood feral cat who was Rebecca Lilly Segura’s fabric collage subject during our class week together. PeeWee’s portrait will ultimately benefit one of Rebecca’s local animal non-profits. Read more about Rebecca’s artwork, along with her fellow classmates’ in the following post. I have to thank my many students who, over the years during which I’ve produced this blog, have been so generous in sharing their work with us. The thousands of photos of their in-progress work, like those shown in this post, provide such insight to the progress they’ve made.
My students seem to always develop wonderful camaraderie in class, whether in-person or live online, which is why I think they feel comfortable sharing. This fabric collage camaraderie was evident in my latest class—January’s Live Online Fabric Collage Class—some of whom are featured here today, the rest will be presented in next week’s Saturday post.
The members of The PeeWee Pride breakout room (named of course, in honor of little feral PeeWee and her new critter friends)—which included Marn Coke, Leslie Nelken, Sandy Olson, and Rebecca Lilly Segura—were so supportive of each other. I strongly believe that a good classroom atmosphere contributes to great outcomes. An example of random classroom chatter—Leslie (as she’s tackling a ram’s nose): “I have a nostril!” Sandra (in response): “Selfie gone wrong!” I love it.
The fantastic work you see here is also the result of preparation before class. Over the five years that we’ve held live online classes we’ve developed an efficient system to ensure that our students can hit the ground running on day one.
First of all, all students use the Fabric Collage Master Class. This is our “textbook” for the week, where I can refer students who have a specific question on technique. The Master Class has been recently updated and is now available by subscription for $15 per month, or to purchase at $199 for life-time access.
Another way we prepare students is by providing a one-on-one coaching session, usually held two weeks before class. These used to be private, but our students have found that they learn a lot from watching the feedback I give to their classmates, even before the class begins. So these meetings are now open for viewing by everyone in the class, which in turn adds to the cohesion that develops between them.
Finally, online students are given access to recordings of daily presentations. These “technique of the day” videos introduce the subjects that my students will need to know in order to progress. If further explanation is needed I provide time in class to do live demos.
Take a few moments to meet these fellow fabric collage enthusiasts, view their in-progress quilts, and join me in the appreciation of their achievements in a mere five days. Following each person’s classwork photos are their “Show and Share” photos from our mid-week after-class evening together—including shots of their increasingly “messy” studios—which in my mind translates to “productive.” 😉 Cheers!
As always, click on any small image to see it larger and to scroll through that gallery grouping.
Marn Coke
Marn joined us from Ontario, Canada—her goal for the week was to take on the challenge of interpreting the iguana’s scales and light/dark values into a visually textured fabric portrait.
From Marn:
I am an admirer of a friend’s photographs, especially those of wildlife and I found her photos of iguanas quite intriguing. I imagine that “Iggy” is curious, alert and quite proud of himself. He appears to posing for the picture, showing his strength and flashing his colours.
I know that I prefer perfection from the get go and this is almost paralyzing at the start of a project. I realize I just need to get fabrics on my canvas and then go back to finesse the appropriate values and shapes to make the project come alive. That works for me I believe.
Marn Coke Show and Share
(Includes photo of versatile (for fabric collage) fabric yardage she purchased on a fabric shop hunt during the week.)
Leslie Nelken
Leslie joined us from Massachusetts—her goal for the week was to interpret a special photo and into a fanciful fabric collaged memory quilt.
From Leslie:
I chose a Big Horn Sheep as a wedding gift for my son and wife because they live in Montana, near Glacier National Park. The BHS is surveying his kingdom amidst fields and big sky. His name keeps changing…maybe Ram-Tana.
I think [I had an “aha! moment”] when I decided, after many hours of trying to create realistic horns, to just go geometric. Then I flew through the horns!
Leslie Nelken Show and Share
Sandra Olson
Sandy joined us from Colorado—her goal for the week was to create a non-template collage—veggie-loving “Amber,” is Sandy’s first free-hand cut-and-glue fabric collage ever!
From Sandy:
This is my first fabric collage project that didn’t involve templates. I thought it would be a good idea to use a subject that wasn’t too complicated so I asked my neighbors if they would mind if I used their Blue Heeler dog as a subject. They agreed and I was very clear that the finished product would not be representational of a black and white dog. They sent a few pictures and we agreed on the one I used.
I also thought it would be better if I wasn’t terribly attached to my subject and that gave me enough distance to let go and try out a variety of colors and prints.
Sandy Olson Show and Share
Rebecca Lilly Segura
Rebecca joined us from Texas—her goal for the week was to work outside her comfort zone of “realistic” coloring by incorporating more colors into a pet portrait. She got it.
From Rebecca:
Ultimately because PeeWee has such a sweet face and although she is a regular visitor to my backyard, I felt that I could detach from her enough to see her objectively. Being that she is a stray, she has become my poster child in my effort to help stray animals in my community. The quilted pet portraits I create are commissioned in exchange for a tidy donation to our local no-kill shelter, a local rescue, or the local low-cost spay/neuter clinic. I have been able to raise several thousand dollars to support these charities.
Rebecca Lilly Segura Show and Share
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