Another online workshop launches and some FAQ

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Nicola

Next post I promise to share images of my wonderful holiday in Portugal followed by a super two day private class in Lisbon.

for now though I’m very excited to announce that the second six week intensive online eco printing workshop launched today! If you’re interested in joining me or learning more please click this link to see what it’s all about. In response to many of the questions I’ve been asked over the last month or so below are some FAQ with answers that I hope will be helpful.

‘Eco printing, an intensive foundation for successful results’ Winter 2016

FAQ and answers

How does this online eco printing workshop differ from a hands on experience in a classroom?

Online workshops are to eco printing what slow food is to the culinary world! Over an extended period of time participants will get the opportunity to engage with me (and fellow students) to discover techniques, tips and processing methods which will form the basis of all their eco printing into the future. Everyone will get an equal opportunity to ask as many or as few questions as they like and students may complete the assignments as and when they have the time to do so.

Who is this workshop particularly aimed at?

This workshop is aimed at anyone interested in learning the methods I use to achieve consistent and substantive prints on protein based fabric (silk, wool etc.) using a selection of local or easy to find natural vegetation. These prints will be achieved without the use of traditional powdered mordants and done in as simple and environmentally friendly a way as possible. It is an extremely cost effective way to participate in a workshop and very well suited to people who may not have the time to travel or attend workshops in person.

Is this workshop suitable for both beginners and/or improving and experienced eco printers?

Absolutely! This workshop will empower the total beginner to have confidence in the process and be able to repeat their results when working by themselves. There should also be plenty of ‘ah ha’ moments for the more experienced eco printer too!

How is the workshop content delivered?

The workshop content is primarily delivered through a series of written modules, each module is like a chapter in a conventional book and the text may be downloaded as a PDF and printed for future reference if wanted. That’s where the similarities to a book end though! In addition to written text and images modules 4 to 6 contain video footage which clearly demonstrates specific tips and techniques. Each week discussion prompts are initiated by me relevant to the particular topics covered in the module. Participants are encouraged to ask questions, post pictures and learn much in the way they would in a classroom situation but a big difference is the length of time in which it will be possible for us to engage with each other. Internet connections allowing, I will also answer questions via a live video webinar once we are several modules into the workshop.

How long will participants have access to class content?

Class content will be available for a total of 6 months from the start date of the workshop.

Is there ongoing daily support from Nicola?

Definitely! I’m available to answer all of your questions relating to the class content as the weeks progress, daily via the Ruzuku platform for the first 12 weeks and then as frequently as I can for the full 6 months that the content is online.

What other way may participants engage with each other and with Nicola?

I have set up a private Facebook group for all the participants in this session of the workshop. This has been a very popular forum for the first batch of workshop participants and access to this group will be indefinitely!

What happens if I am not very confident using a computer? Will I be able to follow along with the class?

Ruzuku is pretty simple to navigate, if you can write an email or open a website I think that you will have no problems with the course. However, in order to ease everyone into the class gradually I’ll release a short module on Monday 31st October with tips to help guide you through the workshop. This way we can all be confident that it will be as stress free as possible for everyone concerned, I’ll be very happy to help anyone who needs a bit of extra support. From Friday 4th November a new module will be released each week.

When and how do participants get notification that a new module is available for them to view?

Once we’ve got underway participants will receive an email every Friday morning letting them know that the new module is available to view.

Is it possible to view class content on a tablet or mobile device?

Yes, tablets and mobile devices work well with Ruzuku.

How much does this workshop cost?

This 6 week class costs a total of $220 or €200.

How do I pay for the workshop?

When you visit the enrolment page and sign up for the workshop you will be given two options for payment, both will be processed via PayPal. US dollars is the default choice for payment but if you would prefer to be billed in Euros select that option and I will invoice you immediately. Please note, your class place is not confirmed until you have paid the invoice in full. Thanks!

Residential Irish retreat in pictures!

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Nicola

Almost a month has passed since I said goodbye to the participants of the first annual Irish felting and eco printing retreat, what a whirlwind those weeks have been. I didn’t want to rush writing about our wonderful time together but now that my house is quiet again (bon voyage to my latest guests Joanie and Jeff!) I’d like to share with you some moments from the ten days we spent at beautiful Kilgraney House and its environs. We have a saying in Ireland that a picture speaks a thousand words. For those of you who couldn’t join me this year I hope that you enjoy these images from the retreat. For those of you wonderful people who travelled from Alaska, Canada, New York, Spain the Netherlands and Denmark to felt, print and visit some of my favourite local spots I hope these memories are as special for you as they are indeed for me! Here goes……..

Soft organic merino and a selection of embellishing fibres at the start of our time together. These were used to create the felt which we then printed with local vegetation gathered primarily from the extensive garden at Kilgraney.

Looking across some of the medicinal herb beds towards the gallery which we took over as our workshop space for the duration.

Another view across the courtyard, the building to the right contains some of the beautiful accommodation.

Dolors and Shirley working on the edges of their nuno felt scarves near the end of day one.

Bryan and Martin treated us like superstars! From the moment everyone arrived, the surroundings, ambiance, comfortable accommodation and superb fresh food put a smile on everyone’s face. All dietary requirements were catered for and delicious salads accompanied the main dishes at lunchtime, many of these ingredients were actually grown at Kilgraney.

In addition to delicious herbs and salad ingredients Kilgraney provided a huge variety of leaves for us to gather and print with. Here is a group shot from near the beginning of our printing adventures. From left to right – Debbie, Dolors, Willeke, Jette, Naomi and Shirley

Debbie with one of her bundles fresh from the pot. Each participant had their own skillet or pot to create rust water for soaking their leaves, this helped to modify the colours achieved.

Unrolling bundles is an exciting time for everyone! Here’s Naomi about to unroll.

Plenty of smiles from Jette and Willeke, not surprising since Willeke had just unrolled this large beautifully printed piece!

It wasn’t all felting and printing though. One day we visited Ennischorthy (my hometown and where Brooklyn is set and filmed), the Raven Nature Reserve at Curracloe (where parts of Brooklyn was filmed and my favourite beach) and called in for a cup of tea and to gather leaves at Clasheen on our way back to Kilgraney. Our second excursion was to visit the fabulous Cushendale Woollen Mill, spend a little time in Kilkenny city then enjoy a lovely afternoon tea and visit Suzanna Crampton and her wonderful Zwartbles sheep! Thanks Philip (from Cushendale), Suzanna and Bianka (from Carlow Tours) for looking after us all so well and so cheerfully!

After our second excursion it was back to the printing pot. Some participants had brought items of clothing to print while others continued to print on felt and silk.

Jette with her funky trousers!

Beautiful silk organza from Naomi

Cottons leaves on nuno felt here for Dolors

Kilgraney eucalyptus leaves on linen for Shirley.

We also all made some prints on paper………….

On the second last night of the retreat we ate a delicious evening meal together, Bryan definitely outdid himself with the food. We swooned over a delightful succession of amazing courses including this goat’s cheese mouse in an olive tuile accompanied by beetroot prepared two ways (one hay smoked by Bryan), nasturtium leaves and borage flowers! Each course was an absolute delight.

On the final evening Martin, Bryan and I invited local friends and artists to join us for a glass of bubbly and view an exhibition of work created during the retreat. The workshop space was turned back into a gallery and this was a lovely opportunity to show off a selection of the amazing felt and printing that the participants had made. It also was when they received their certificates of completion. I was so proud of all that they achieved, the following pictures give just a glimpse of their achievements!!!

Debbie with her stunning felt shoulder bag, silk scarf and cotton top. Great job!

This felt wall hanging made by Jette was absolutely gorgeous, wonderful quality and fabulous prints!

Naomi felted this fabulous organic shaped vessel and beautiful nuno felt scarf!

I love this picture of Shirley with her amazing printed tunic and fab shoulder bag, although you can’t see it here she’s also wearing another fantastic printed top!

This stunning large piece was one of my favourites of Willeke’s, another great job well done!

Dolors with her fantastic vessel and one of her beautiful nuno felt scarves. I really love the way the colour of the scarf graduates with the different vegetation used to print it!

Shirley, Alan and Debbie looking glam for the camera!

An unusually open weave wrap printed beautifully by Naomi!

Martin and Bryan set up an excellent hanging system for us.

A funky little purse by Dolors followed by a final group photo.

Thanks a thousand time to all the participants, Bryan and Martin, Bianka, Philip, Suzanna, George, Dorothy, Anita (for lending me your table!) and everyone else who helped in any way at all to make this event run so smoothly. Go raimh math agat!

Workshop dates and upgrade at Clasheen (part 2)

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Nicola

As promised, I’m starting to add dates for upcoming workshops at Clasheen to my diary, it’s taking more time that I thought but at least I’ve finally started to get the ball rolling. To kick things off ‘Naturally Nuno‘ is happening on the weekend of 7th and 8th May, this intimate workshop experience will be restricted to just two participants! Day one of this workshop will concentrate on felting a beautifully soft nuno wrap using the tumble dryer method of felting and day two to the eco printing. No physical rubbing and rolling will be involved during the nuno felting so this is the perfect technique for those of you who find traditional nuno too strenuous on your bodies or possibly just too time consuming! The second workshop that I’ve blocked out in my diary is ‘Successful Eco Printing Basics‘. These May workshops are also the first time that I’ll be able to offer optional simple shared accommodation on site in the newly updated guest suite. 12990952_1085907604788984_9222543952602369241_n

This lodging option consists of one double bed and one single bed in a nice light filled bedroom, by all accounts both beds are very comfortable if the friends who’ve already stayed here are to be believed!

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Next door there’s an adjoining guest sitting room; tomorrow I finish painting the custom built shelving there so by the time of the workshop it should be filled with CDs, fiction and interesting reference books for visitors to browse through. Finally for guests there’s a connecting bathroom with a zacuzzi bath but no shower, those who know me well know my obsession with baths.

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Here’s one last picture taken in the guest bedroom, the sliding door that you can see here was one of the original doors from when I bought the house. I always wanted to reuse it during my upgrading endeavours as I’d removed the old door frames to open up the space during initial renovations. So when the built in wardrobe (closet) was created to store my completed felt and eco printed textiles Jonathan fitted it to a custom made track, I’m delighted!

From the personal work point of view I’ve been felting away where possible and printing when the time arises. As soon as the last bit of paint dries on the shelving and the books are brought up from downstairs I’ll be locking myself away in my studio and working on pieces for my exhibition in August! I’ll leave you today with this picture of a piece I felted last week incorporating a base of black merino and a collage of eco printed silk samples. I love how it looks totally at home against the background of the dry stone wall on the lane.

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Next post……… final images of the ongoing upgrades at Clasheen, new felt in progress and more dates for your diary.

Exciting upgrades at Clasheen (part 1) and updated workshop news

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Nicola

Where to start! Last summer when I made the decision to stick closer to home for 2016 and not teach in the USA or Canada the die was cast. I absolutely love travelling, teaching abroad and visiting good friends but knew that if I didn’t spend time at Clasheen in the immediate future my home environment was going to deteriorate and the surrounding vegetation grow totally out of control. Many of my workshop participants over the years expressed a wish to come to Ireland and out of these joint musings the germ of an idea took place. Why not host a luxury residential felting and eco printing workshop at a beautiful country house near here? Why not upgrade my own storage and accommodation facilities at Clasheen so that I could host small bespoke textile workshops from home? Why not choose to stay in Ireland during the main growing season and start to wrest the garden back under some sort of organised control? Why not make one super human effort to build up trade, exhibition and workshop business here and follow up all the leads I’ve not had time to work on before? Why not whip my house and garden into shape and really make an effort to keep it that way? Why not enjoy living life to the full in this beautiful part of Ireland? Why not indeed!!!

Roll on April 2016. Thanks to friend Jonathan I’ve now got a totally restructured storage system, a gorgeous built in wardrobe for completed felt and eco printing, a perfectly cleaned vintage gas cooker plus some small structural repairs done to the roof and the register plate under the archway in the kitchen.

While the scaffolding for the roof was here I decided to ask Jonathan to help me with the much needed whitewashing of the walls and ceiling in the upstairs dining room (the ceiling goes up to the eaves) and he also tackled the wooden floor there and the stairs leading down into the kitchen. I whitewashed the kitchen, treated all the furniture and the newel post with woodworm stuff (just in case!) and finished under the stairs. With the help of buddy Annabel we then tackled the guest bedroom floor and walls. I also did a massive tidy out to the garden shed and Annabel and Carmen helped me find new homes for some of my hoarded furniture and supplies, it felt great to declutter! Here’s a picture of the finished kitchen the night before my family arrived and before I’d washed all the plates to replace on the dresser.

The final part of this initial revamp was that I painted the guest sitting room walls and floor then the bathroom floor, all of this was finished just in time for my family to arrive for Easter Sunday lunch. The only downside has been that I now have totally strained muscles and my wrists are so sore that I can’t play golf or stretch and shape felt until the pain subsides. All the work has been worth it a thousand times though, it’s just fantastic to wake up in the morning and know that I’m ready for guests now!

The other news for today is that sadly Karin, Eelco and I have decided not to go ahead with the planned residential workshop in Portugal this summer. Although I was really looking forward to another stay at beautiful Dominio Vale do Mondego Karin doesn’t have the confirmed bookings at this date to make booking my flights sensible. Instead, I’m now planning a series of residential and non-residential classes to host from Clasheen, another reason that I’m very glad to have upgraded the guest facilities!

In part 2 of this update at Clasheen I’ll have some dates for your diary, pictures of the guest bedroom and images of some current textile endeavours.

Website and shop stocktaking update plus reminder of Irish workshop plans for 2016!

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Nicola

Tomorrow evening our group will be taking down the FORM exhibition in Blackrock and I’ll be bringing the rest of my current stock home. As a result, I’ve taken down the shop page of my website temporarily in order to assess what I have and what needs to be photographed. It’s really important that I get everything clear in my head and organised in advance of Showcase 2016, I need to know what I have and what I still need to make in addition to uploading new photos from the recent photo shoot with Patrick McHugh!

The last of the cotinus prints for 2015

I also need to finalise the cost and the dates for the residential workshop I’ll be hosting in Ireland during July. The dates will fall between 14th and 26th and the venue will be beautiful Kilgraney House which is less than ten minutes drive from Clasheen. Although the bulk of our workshops will take place at Kilgraney in the surrounds of its beautiful garden, we’ll also spend time at Clasheen in addition to visiting local places of interest including Cushendale Woollen Mill. Cushendale is where I get my wonderful lambswool woven to order, that’s another thing that will be taking place again before Showcase!

Finally for today, please contact me directly while the shop is offline if you need to order any last minute gifts.

Posted by Nicola Brown – Fine Art Textiles

Felting and eco printing, announcing residential retreats in Ireland and Portugal

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Nicola

Recently I’ve been getting a lot of email queries and facebook messages asking about 2015 and 2016 felting and/or eco printing workshops. I had hoped to get dates and workshop descriptions sorted, written then uploaded to the website prior to heading off on my Canadian and Australian adventures, no such luck though as here I am writing from Lethbridge having already spent a wonderful few days in Fernie! Anyway, my big news is that I’ve decided to stick closer to home during the early part of 2016, I really need to get to grips with my garden before it gets totally out of hand and I’d also like to get a few more jobs sorted around the house and studio. I’m planning another extended trip to the U.S. in 2017 but for next year I intend to concentrate primarily on Irish workshops, our annual retreat at beautiful Vale do Mondego in Portugal plus investigate the possibility of another foray or two into mainland Europe if possible. I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be organising a really special residential eco printing retreat just down the road from Clasheen during July 2016!

Clasheen

I’m fine tuning details at the moment but suffice to say extremely comfortable accommodation at a beautiful rural Irish location, optional collection from the airport, delicious food, all tuition, on site access to amazing natural plant material, at least one group excursion including a trip to Cushendale Woollen Mill (more excursions depending on participant’s requirements) plus a celebration evening meal at Clasheen one night. These are the bare bones of the retreat, as soon as I can I’ll be confirming the dates and the cost but it’s definitely going to take place sometime during July, please let me know if you thInk you might be interested in attending! In addition to a group retreat I’ll also be available to accommodate individual or small group residential workshops at Clasheen from approx March onwards, the course material for these will be geared towards felting larger projects and/or intensive eco printing on protein and/or cellulose fabrics. I’m also happy to offer visits withIn the surrounding region to participants if they’d like a day or two off from the studio and non participating partners can avail of super hiking locally, the nearby coast, wood turning workshops, guided eco trails, kayaking, golf outings, visits to medieval Kilkenny etc., etc., all right on the doorstep of Clasheen!

Now for some early information about our next retreat at beautiful Dominio Vale do Mondego in Portugal!!!

Delicious food and wine at Dominio Vale do Mondego!

For 2016 we’re running it a little later than usual, it’ll be taking place from18th to 25th June and it’s also our first workshop exclusively devoted to eco printing. Eelco’s knowledge of the local vegetation coupled with an ever increasing quest for more eco printing has led to this decision, I’m really excited about the move because I really want to explore the use of local plants more thoroughly!

Olga and Marta happy with their fabulous eco printed leggings

If any participants do want to felt though of course they’ll be free to do so in their own time and print what they make during the group classes every day! Please contact Karin directly if you’d like to reserve a place for this retreat, non participating workshop partners are welcome to join for a slightly reduced fee so don’t feel like yu have to leave anyone behind.

So, it’s been a manic couple of months. FORM had a fantastic ten days at the Kilkenny Arts Festival and I also participated in two separate events for Heritage Week, the Carlow Made collective exhibition in Carlow Library and a local craft fair at the John F. Kennedy Arboretum in Co. Wexford. I don’t usually do craft fairs anymore where the participants are not juried in, the arboretum is such a fantastic resource however and I was really delighted that I made the effort to attend as many people were really interested in seeing what I was doing.

Next post Fernie and Lethbridge workshop pictures!!!

Posted by Nicola Brown – Fine Art Textiles

Eco printing highlights from an intensive week of study and experimentation!

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Nicola

Last week was super fun and super intensive, a whole week facilitating eco orinting through discussion, plotting and planning as well as actually spending hands on time in the outdoor printing studio, aka the garage! It all kicked off on Saturday when I picked up friend and fellow fabric enthusiast Caroline from Dublin Airport. We’d met in Portugal while participating in a Joan Morris residential workshop and almost immediately started planning for Caroline to come over here to study one to one, we also wanted to spend some time together experimenting. The main focus of our time together was to achieve clarity of prints and play with different ways in which to achieve good results on cellulose fabrics, the whole week was an absolute blast, many bottles of wine were consumed too!!!

Here are just a few of Caroline’s highlights in pictures………..

Caroline's eucalyptus prints on linen

Caroline's geranium and cranesbill on linen

A big smile from Caroline and a beautiful linen dress!

The shadowing around the neckline of this linen too printed through two layers of paper resist, another wonderful linen top from Caroline!!!

…… and a couple of my own results I’m particularly happy with!

Satin mordanted with Symplocos printed with eucalyptus

Symplocos mordant has helped achieve amazingly copper like tones on satin

Alder leaves and female catkins on satin

Contrasting colours from the same dye pot, don’t they just sing together?

Caroline's eucalyptus printed linen and my cotinus and rosebay willow herb seed pod printed cotton blend

On Tuesday while Caroline worked away bundling in the indoor studio I spent a lovely time with mother and daughter duo Cristina and Morgan, it was their first time eco printing. After a little discussion about what we would be doing we all headed off to gather our vegetation. Unfortunately the weather was not great early. In the day, the fields were really wet so we stuck to the lane and garden instead. Before lunch Cristina and Morgan got 4 satin scarves in the pot and in the afternoon we all made a stack of paper to print. Their results were super and isn’t Morgan a fab model?

Congratulations Cristina and Morgan, great job!

Morgan in front of the rose she used to print this scarf!

Finally for today, congratulations go to Margaret Hennessey who guessed correctly that dock leaves were used to print this experimental felt wrap.

I’m afraid that I forgot to bring it with me to town today Margaret but promise it’ll be in the post on Wednesday so it should be with you by the end of this week.

Posted by Nicola Brown – Fine Art Textiles

Felting and eco printing in Portugal, week 3 in pictures!

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Nicola

Bye, bye Portugal, tomorrow morning I fly home to enjoy the rest of the summer at Clasheen. If the weather’s been anything similar to last year while I’ve been away I’m guessing I’ll be weeding most evenings for the foreseeable future, a big change from dry and arid Faia!

Clasheen, June 2014

The second 2015 residential felting and eco printing workshop at Dominio Vale do Mondego was a delight, wonderful students, superb hosts as always and amazing fun, food, friends and weather for the whole of the week. Below are a selection of images from the wrap up exhibition for you to enjoy.

I’ve also posted a short video clip online of friend Carla playing traditional accordion music at the opening, thank you so much Carla! Tchau to all in Faia and obrigada until 2016.

Posted by Nicola Brown – Fine Art Textiles

Wonderful Portugal, a pictorial tale of two weeks……..

Posted on June 20, 2015 by Nicola

Two wonderful weeks have passed since I've been able to take time and update the blog from Portugal, it's now changeover day between the two felting and eco printing workshops so I'm grabbing the opportunity for a little internet activity. I've set myself up with a simple outdoor office, the Internet connection from the studio appears to work well on the roof so I can write in peace whilst enjoying the sun and views!

Week 1: The Joan Morris workshop 'stitched resist dyeing with ecology in mind' was definitely an eye opener, her work is both fascinating and incredibly beautiful. I learnt so much about natural dyeing and mordanting during the week that I hope to bring forward in some small way into my own textile practice. The following pictures share a fraction of the progress and some samples that I made.

Week 2: Some felting and eco printing images. Many congratulations to all the participants from the first workshop I facilitated, you were wonderful students as our exhibition last night clearly demonstrated!!!

Posted by Nicola Brown – Fine Art Textiles

Life, Kentucky and Michigan updates!

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Nicola

Important events have unavoidably taken over in recent days and weeks so I'm way behind updating things here, many apologies if you've been waiting for a blog post. It's hard to believe but after only three full days at home I'm now sitting at the boarding gate in Dublin Airport awaiting my flight to Portugal. Tomorrow I meet the other participants for a wonderful week of shibori under the tutelage of Joan Morris (my first non working holiday for a long while!) and then next Saturday my own felting and eco printing workshops start at Dominio Vale do Mondego. Please excuse me if I upload a selection of pictures from both the Kentucky and Michigan workshops in the same post, I feel that if I don't I am never, ever going to catch up!!! Thanks a thousand times to great buddies Jan Durham and Dawn Edwards respectively for hosting me once again, it was a pleasure visiting you as always! I also really enjoyed teaching at the Kentucky Sheep & Fiber Festival in KY, it was my fourth year on the trot and thanks a million to master dyer Roo Kline of Moonwood Farm for sponsoring the gorgeous fibre we used in class. Now for a selection of pictures………

KSFF