Take a long look at land or sea, a close look at a special place, note colour combinations, lines and textures collecting found objects to inspire. Enjoy the opportunity to explore mark making and painterly print to create cloth and paper surfaces to fragment, overlay and place in arrangements to work with hand stitch.

During the course explore a restrained colour palette with line and texture; working with a series of print blocks and painterly mark making, develop personal visual language creating a selection of cloth and paper surfaces to fragment, reassemble, and develop with hand stitch.

Explore surfaces created, work intuitively through a random system of placement creating individual arrangements of small abstract collages to work into with simple hand stitch. Take time to let the work unfold; add layers of harmonious or contrasting colour combinations with hand stitched thread revealing subtle textural effects. What would happen if the surface were folded or pleated; over-stitch edges, insert stitch into the ground cloth; follow your own creative pathway to inspire imaginative outcomes.

Suitable for those who enjoy the challenge of intuitive experimentation, exploration and extension of creative boundaries who have an open mind and a desire to explore. Amanda will guide you through intuitive development of your work with the support of inspirational resources in the form of personal sketchbooks and examples of her work.

Materials for Students to Bring:

1. A piece of white or neutral cotton or linen to use as a backing for collage, with a nice handle for working stitch (½ a metre is more than enough to allow for flexibility in shape and size of work) for example, old, washed 100% cotton pillowcases and sheeting are beautifully soft for hand stitch.
2. Extra pieces of cotton cloth for painting and print; small pieces of white or neutral cloth, muslin/calico/linen- bring cloth from your collection
3. Needles for hand sewing
4. Sewing kit, pins, scissors
5. A select choice of threads in appropriate colours and neutrals; less is more!
6. A Daler Rowney Graduate no. 10 or 12 brush or similar
7. A 2.5cm Langnickel bristle brush or similar for painting and mark making (a limited number of brushes will be available to use if you wish)
8. Pritt stick type glue
9. Apron/overall, please wear suitable clothing
10. A sketchbook/notebook for working notes and ideas

Material Costs - £6:

The tutor will bring samples and sketchbooks to use as starting points for ideas.

• Papers- newsprint, wet strength tissue, tea bag paper
• Cloth scraps (include coloured and sari silk)
• Cotton scrim
• Print blocks
• Sticks for mark making
• Acrylic paint
• Print medium?
• Box of brushes/water pots/paint palettes