Happy New Year to all of my friends and students across Canada and beyond... May you all take your plans and dreams in exciting new directions as the decade and new year turn into 2020!

The CONNECTIONS FIBRE ARTISTS Exhibition, 

re: FASHION 

continues through January 5th at the Wellington County Museum in Fergus/Elora

The Exhibition moves the following week to the Southhampton Art Centre, Southhampton, ON

I am so proud to have two pieces in this outstanding CONNECTIONS group exhibition and thought I would take a minute to document the information for my own records and your information.

TRANSITIONS, A Conversation Through Time

The Wool Jacket – Circa 2019  

(Hanging in front of the quilt on the back wall in the photo above)

My goal in creating this wall art Kimono Jacket is to present a companion piece to the Woman's Wool Coat I chose for inspiration from the WCMA Archives. Wool was the fabric of the period when this coat would have been worn, however, over the century between the Museum piece and my own, the use of woven cloth and the dynamics of painted silk have evolved - as the lining of the jacket I created was'design play' which has taken the coat to a new place in time. My inspiration piece stands beside my work and is a woman's long coat, circa 1870 and the handwoven cloth in this century-old coat is in beautiful condition. 

My jacket includes my own handwoven yardage using five wool singles threads and my hand-painted silk fabrics as the lining combined to create a version of the British WIKSTEN Jacket. 

Elements of the jacket share in a conversation I have had with the maker of the period garment and are incorporated into my Kimono Jacket. The lining silk was hand-painted in a workshop I took with Betty Busby at Quilting By The Lake in Syracuse NY this past summer.

I intended the Kimono style Jacket for this exhibition as wall art to be displayed with arms extended, using copper pipe for hanging. In this piece, I share a 'Cloth Diary' that represents my take on the relationship between my weaving practice, love of creativity and new skills acquired at QBL in silk painting.

The "CONVERSATIONS IN TIME" Quilt that hangs behind the jacket is 23" x 118" and was created using my hand-dyed cotton fabrics and a selection of the painted silk that went into the Jacket lining. The quilt is backed with wool and machine quilted.

NOTE: Also seen in the photo above are the work of NancyYule (Drum fashioned from paper and encaustic with photos of the artist/family with inspiration from a Paper dress in the WCMA Archives) and Elizabeth Duggan Litch (replica of Hockey gear expanded into wall mounted contemporary art).

Have a great New Year everyone!

Bethany

www.bethanygarner.com

Visit Beth at the TETT CENTRE for Creativity and Learning, STUDIO D in the Creativity Studios

Second Floor, 370 King Street W., Kingston ON 

Note: email Beth for studio hours when you are coming - bethanygarner.art[at]gmail.com'

TETT CREATIVITY STUDIO ARTISTS help SANTA with some shopping ideas this coming weekend, DECEMBER 21st! And new workshops with Bethany in 2020!

My 'STUDIO D' located in the CREATIVITY STUDIOS on the second floor at the TETT Centre, 370 King Street West will be open all day on DECEMBER 21st 

and I would love to have friends and Fibre Arts enthusiasts drop by for a peek - 

Some of my hand-dyed  and hand-painted fabrics, 
12 x 12 art and larger wall art pieces abound! 

Great Christmas gifts for the art lovers 

with FIBRE ART on their list! 

The CREATIVITY STUDIOS EXHIBITING ARTISTS are:

Dragonfly Handmade
Bethany Garner Fibre Art/Weaving
Glocca Morra Farms & Studios
Natalie Bohnen-Twiddy
Vanderzee Jewelry
Adele Webster Art
Rhonda Evans Art
Linda Wolfram Fraser, The Garden Studio
Michelle Reid

And a few more vendors!

AND

 Upcoming Workshops in the New Year!!

Details are at the TETT Events Pages here: 

Wet Felted Art Workshop with Bethany Garner

Register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/wet-felted-art-workshop-tickets-85855386773

Indigo Dye Workshop - For the love of Blue!

Instructor: Bethany Garner

Register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/indigo-dye-workshop-tickets-85819762219

Happy Christmas Everyone... see you along the way!

bethany

I will be participating with the eight Studio Artists at the TETT Centre for Creativity and Learning, 370 King Street W, Kingston Ontario. Studio artists will have their beautiful works for sale and for you to enjoy during the Holiday Market - come and take home a treasured piece of artwork for YOUR Christmas gifting,. November 28 - December 1, 2019 https://www.facebook.com/events/538314086990859/ Find Bethany Garner in STUDIO D on the second level of the TETT!

Shopping at The Tett Center! Come meet the local artists /artisans in the Creativity Studios (area214, second floor, end of the hall) where they have come together to create a beautiful holiday shopping experience over a four day period! This will correspond with the Potter's Guild Show & Sale in the Malting Tower and The Lapidary Club's Show Metal Rocks in the Rehearsal Hall.  Three floors of shopping options!

Hope you might join me this weekend as I share my hand painted and dyed fabrics at the VIBRANT Sale with the best of weaving's friends - Sunday the 24th of November, Kingston Yacht Club!

Some of the beautiful artwork from the Re: FASHION Exhibition at the Wellington County Museum and Archives in Fergus, ON

Maggie Vanderweit's Black Dress Quilt - with the artifact from the WCMA Archives

Dianne Gibson selected a Woman's Petticoat from the Archives and fashioned this stunning piece using limbs from a fallen tree and paper/mixed media bits for the openwork "fabric" of her slip...

so delicate and you have to stand in front of this piece to appreciate all of the work!

Bethany Garner's Kimono Jacket with hand-woven fabric and lining created in a full week class with Betty Busby at Quilting by the Lake in August 2019. 

The inspiration for her Jacket was a Woman's Hand Woven Long Coat from the WCMA Archives:

Bethany's 23" x 113" Wall Quilt is made with her hand-dyed cotton fabrics with inserts of the same painted silks used in the lining of the jacket.

and below:

Penny Beren's of Nova Scotia selected the dress above from the WCMA Archives and then created her hand-dyed and hand-stitched piece shown below, and now in the collection of Bethany Garner following the traveling exhibition re: FASHION.

Shown below.

AND SHE WALKED IN THE WOODS, Penny Berens 2019 

These are just a few of the beautiful pieces and you MUST make time this fall to travel to Fergus if you can and take along a few friends to enjoy this beautiful exhibition, on through January 5, 2020.

The Connections Fibre Artists invite you to visit their 2019 Exhibition Opening Sunday, September 15, 2019, at the Wellington County Museum and Archives, from 1-3 pm. Do plan a visit and bring friends.

On display from Sept. 15 to  Jan. 5, this unique exhibit features fibre art that was inspired by clothing and accessories in the museum’s artifact collection.

“It was difficult to choose just one artifact for inspiration,” said Elizabeth Litch, Connections member. 

“We felt so fortunate to have been shown hats, shoes, undergarments, and clothing for all ages. We hope that visitors will enjoy our choices and the art they inspired.”

“Working with cloth, thread, paper, and mixed media, each artist has interpreted their chosen artifact as a contemporary work of art,” said curator Hailey Johnston. “It’s fascinating to see the characteristics and stories behind each artifact rendered so skillfully through fiber.”

Established in 1999, Connections Fibre Artists is dedicated to the exploration of fibre as an art form. Coming together from diverse creative backgrounds, members work together to raise awareness of fibre art and to develop their talents by exchanging ideas and sharing new skills and techniques.

All are welcome, admission by donation.

Wellington County Museum and Archives is located on Wellington Road 18 between Fergus and Elora.

From the Wellington Advertiser

You can find my work at the following exhibitions this fall:

Re: Fashion - a Connections Fibre Artists exhibit
      Wellington County Museum and Archives
      Fergus, Ontario, Sep 15, 2019 - Jan 5, 2020
      Please join us for the opening reception Sep 15, 1-3pm

Fibre Content - juried exhibit
            Simcoe County Museum - Sep 28 - Nov 5, 2019
      Orillia Museum of Art & History
            Nov 28, 2019 - April 26, 2020

Friday August 23rd is the last day of our Fibre Focus Arts Camp and there are still a few seats available... come play!!! Would love to share this technique with you!

IMPROV – UNDER THE INFLUENCE_… 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23rd at the Odessa Hall

$40 day fee and you are welcome to come and PLAY!!

definition: IMPROVISATION... making do...  Time to escape for a weekend and be with friends old and new... just making "STUFF"…  and having FUN! Meeting new friends and a welcome to FALL sewing 2018!

Using what you have and committing to keeping the faith when it comes to your own work. Whether you have projects on the go, deadlines to meet or just need some time away from the house - this weekend will get you some free time with friends and see what is happening in the outside world.

This Friday workshop is the last day of our five day FIBRE FOCUS retreat week - relaxing days with NO Patterns, NO deadlines and NO stress about what is good enough or if all the points meet... and yes, it would not be fun without an "original design and play date - Friday, August 23rd!!

We will meet between 9 and 9:30 am and I will stay until 5 pm and as late as you wish on  Friday… our IMPROV sewing day! So here is the breakdown for your Friday design play day!

IMPROV QUILTS – landscape style (or change it up and make the project your own)

Students will begin the day with graph paper, a ruler and pencil - just about an hour to get some ideas down on paper. There will be a large supply of circle templates in the room for you to copy onto cardboard or plastic and cut for circles if you would like to add them. Your design will use a favorite palette from perhaps a very traditional stash or go to super contemporary with just the click of the scissor blades and the fabrics YOU choose. This is intended as a STASH BUSTER workshop day.... so go searching through the closets and see what works for you!

Below is TURNING POINT ...machine pieced and quilted created for the SAQA My Corner of the World-Canada and on it’s way back to Ohio from Australia and a world tour. Just took a Third Place - Abstract Landscapes award at Quilt Canada in Ottawa this year... a fun surprise.

TURNING POINT (above) was pieced from scraps of my flat dyed fabrics and I had no idea when I began the piecing how it would proceed, but just STARTED.

It is amazing to see the work grow on a design wall, and even more satisfying to take it to the finishing stages with quilting and binding or mounting over a canvas.   Turning Point followed and it is addictive – I have made numerous improv quilts and love the freedom of the piece, playful in it's own, unique "it just happened this way" results!

Really, NO PATTERNS NEEDED -bring your sewing machine (or stitch by hand) and a big box or bag of the scrap (or new, yet to be used) fabrics that have been haunting you, cluttering your closets or sitting in the pile - the pieces that you painted or dyed or bought on a whim and WANT so much to use up and turn into a new quilt, art piece or a gift for someone special. 

This is a day to learn a bit more about how I start and work through my free form quilts – YOU can take yours to bed quilt size or create a small 12 x 12 to get started!  SO MUCH FUN!

Simple cutting – scissors work! Simple sewing – just straight seams! Assembly – FUN!

REGISTER with me through email at bethanygarner.art@gmail.com or send along an e-transfer to secure your seat  (send the transfer for $40 to garner@kingston.net) or I can do a SQUARE Invoice and you can pay by credit card! 

CONTACT: Bethany Garner, 613-376-6150, bethanygarner.art@gmail.com

IMPROV – UNDER THE INFLUENCE_…

Suggested Supplies List

•      A selection of fabrics of your choice and anything will work – this is YOUR quilt and stash busting and using what you have is wonderful

I used my own hand-dyed fabrics in my quilts, but small-scale prints are wonderful, batiks are awesome and any fabric including velvet, flocked and silk fabrics are fun to insert for dimension.

•      The biggest secret to success is VALUE – a great selection of light, medium and dark values that will be spread throughout your design.

•      Love the fact that inserting a few “zingers” into your design (look carefully at Turning Point to see what the eye-catching colors and deep values add to the overall design).

•      You will need rotary cutting equipment including your mat, rulers, and cutter with a good new blade! 

•      Scissors, pins and your other favorite sewing accessories

•      A long ruler for making your design quickly on the large grid graph paper I will provide for you.

•      Sewing machine and electrical cords, foot pedal, manual (just in case) new needles and a long extension cord

•      Threads of your choice.

•      I will provide the Muslin for your block building exercises (the strips of fabric are sewn “free form style)  and have yardage available for $6 a meter (you can use any fabric to build your block components on – old sheets or yardage you have in the stash).

•      Cameras welcome for inspiration from my work and your classmates’ designs

•      A piece of batting or flannel backed tablecloth from the dollar store to use as a design wall – and masking tape for hanging on the wall.

•      Dress comfortably and bring a cushion if you like – the chairs are plastic and HARD!

•      Lunch is NOT available at the Odessa Hall though I will have coffee, tea and juice – and a few treats for you. There is a nice small café in the village of Odessa and you will have a full hour for lunch break.

•      Call me with any questions… or email and I will get right back to you!

SUMMER PLAY : Summer FIBRE FOCUS Arts Camp - "MAKE ART TOGETHER" Gathering the week of August 19-23, 2019, ready for a group of energetic and fun-seeking friends to share studio space and make ART!!

Hi Everyone... 

The workshop days are OPEN FOR REGISTRATION and the seats are beginning to fill... details are below for each of you... Hope you might have time to join me for some fun with fibre friends.

Bethany

 August 19-23rd
FULL WEEK  ARTS FOCUSED 
RETREAT JUST FOR YOU! 

Fiber FOCUS Arts Camp - "MAKE ART TOGETHER" Gathering,

Five Days (or just pick and choose when you can join us!) 

August 19-23rd (in lieu of 'Colour on Cloth' at SLC this year)

at the Odessa Fairgrounds, Odessa ON

Classroom/ Hall and grounds space for outdoor work at the Fairgrounds Hall 

open 9:30 - 5 pm, Monday through Friday  

Choose YOUR own calendar of favourite projects and come for one day, two, three, four or definitely - all five days.   

Detailed information and registration form available by email to garner@kingston.net and the notification to the public will be posting to http://www.fibreworkskingston.blogspot.ca  and my FB page on June10th.

Fees: $190.00 for the full week covers your 5-day attendance, classroom table space and handouts, some workshop supplies and Instructor sharing 9-11 every morning. 

Supplies lists will be provided with paid registration.

(or plan your own workshop schedule: with YOUR choice of dates to attend: $50 for one day, $80 for two days, $110 for three, and $150 for four). 

Monday, August 19:  

Created by the amazing Heather Pregger, SAQA Artist and what inspiration for dyeing!

DYEING to QUILT -  

The 'gallons' of dye (16) appear and the workshop day is devoted to on YOU and creating a palette of color that will carry you through the next year of work. 

EVERYONE loves a dye day - so whether you enjoy flat dyeing, dye painting, colours on your favourite yarns and threads or hand painting garments like shirts and pants and jackets... this is your day to start a summer of sewing fun with your own hand dyed fabrics!

Dyes will be available all week, through Friday and refreshed as needed.

Tuesday, August 20:  

DESIGN PLAY with COLOUR ON CLOTH -  

Making MARKS

Developing your own designs on the cloth of your choice including fabric painting and Thermo Fax/Screen-print work with thickened dyes. The use of various inks for monoprints and marking tools will be covered in this class. OR, make your marks on cloth with simply stitch if you are keen to use hand or machine skills to make YOUR OWN marks - I love the simplicity of the LINE  Some screens and the dyes and inks I use will be in the classroom for sample making... bring your own!

Create unique new cloth inventories and individual designs to accelerate your design play going into 2020. Details shared with all registered students.

Wednesday, August 21: 

ECO PRINTING - Learn this playful take on "making your own mark" using what you find in the local area (bring your own selection of leaves and 'found' natural plant life). Participants will supply their own wool, silk or linen for print work. 

Bethany will have silk scarves/some yardage available for purchase as your base. Details will be sent to all registered students.

LIMESTONE WALL by Bethany Garner - eco prinedt on 100% cotton with iron and alum mordant

Love adding your own STITCHES on an eco print cloth even more than just the plain cloth!

                  

 The beautiful print immediately above was "made by Barb" and you should check out her beautiful work at www.madebybarb.com/2019/06/09/why-i-love-love-love-eco-printing/

Odessa Hall has a wonderful kitchen with three full-size ranges for working with eco printing using boiled pots of plant life... students are encouraged to come and play with this technique and bring their own pots and hot plates to use outside - several areas on the Odessa Fairgrounds to PLUGIN!! 

I promise great fun and using what you have and find!!

Thursday, August 22:

MODERN QUILT DAY - and you create a Modern Quilt design

'HERE AND THERE' 

This quilt pattern is a Denise Schmidt design and my choice of a special bed quilt for my granddaughter to take off to University. 

My own version is underway and will be ready for your viewing and a MAKE IT DAY to get your own version started at Odessa... SIMPLE and GRAPHIC and a terrific way to use up those amazing fat quarters you have stashed away, or perhaps some hand dyed cloth you made earlier in the week!

Come Sew along with me as you create a wonderful 'Stash breaker' Modern Quilt design from Denyse Schmidt Studios  (Photo Below) and designed for every level of quilter. 

Create a wall quilt, or start on a bed quilt that will take your machine and stash into a summer day or two of fun stitching and creative design play... purchased pattern provided for table runner, baby or bed size project with paid registration.

         

Friday, August 23, 2019

IMPROV ART DAY: Paint it, Dye It, Piece it  

As we wind up the week, and some of you continue to use the facility for your own work, I will be playing with participants as they create all new work (and yes, our quilters will still be working away on their projects if they stay for the week or book a second day to continue to play on 'Here and There') .

Pieced with abandon....

Enjoy this day with me as I walk you through creating your own individual IMPROVISATIONAL ARTWORK, inspired by a favorite quilt you have seen along the way, or to use up your favorite fabrics that are haunting you as they sit on a shelf!

Creating YOUR OWN designs in art play make quilt making fun!  Use up some hand-dyed fabrics or bring some of that stash that is haunting you in closets and drawers... 

YOUR ideas and stash will underline the path you take on this fun day of cutting, stitching and maybe even finishing a new piece of artwork! COME PLAY!

ANN BAUER work with strips and squares - simplicity to celebrate!

MARKINGS II by Bethany Garner, IMPROV piecing with hand dyed and printed cloth

Your Registration form to mail is on the right sidebar here at the blog...copy and print to mail with your payment.

Drop me a note and let me know if you will be joining me at ODESSA FAIRGROUNDS in August... then pop off a cheque to secure your seat 

or send along an e-transfer to garner@kingston.net

Questions to me at bethanygarner.art@gmail.com

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER... Hope to see some of you at Quilt Canada in Ottawa this next week! I will be there touring the shows and in the SAQA booth Thursday and Friday.

Bethany

I will also be sharing an Indigo workshop on July 17th at the TETT!!!

LOVE being at the Activity Room space where art happens on the first level in the TETT Centre.. an amazing and wonderful place to spend time with friends old and new!

Come Play -

\\

Details and registration here:

https://www.tettcentre.org/events/indigo-dye-workshop-for-the-love-of-blue

WET FELTED ART Workshop with Bethany Garner

Saturday, June 15th 1-4pm

Register at:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/wet-felted-art-workshop-with-bethany-garner-tickets-60279421372

Creating cloth with your hands is one of the most satisfying activities an artist can experience! In this workshop, students will receive an individual kit of colourful wool roving and miscellaneous yarn fibres that will be used to create an original piece of wet felted art cloth. The process is hands-on, fun and EASY! Everyone will go home with a starting point for creating hand made felt on their own, experimenting and growing their skills as they PLAY!

Handmade felted cloth can be used for various projects including scarves, vessels, wall art, table accessories, a base for embroidery and more.

* Wet Felting Kit included.

Where: Activity Room, 1st Floor

Tett Centre for Creativity & Learning, 370 King Street West

INSTRUCTOR BIO – BETHANY GARNER

Bethany Garner has been designing and making quilts since 1976. She is a seasoned contemporary artist, traditional quilter, Restoration Specialist, Quilt Conservator, and is a Professor of Textile Design at St. Lawrence College, Kingston. She has inspired her students to take chances, try new things, and explore their favourite techniques in the classroom and at home.

Bethany has been sharing her favourite techniques in the classrooms since 1996 and brings her students a number of mixed-media, and cloth based colouring workshops based on the application of easy to use Procion MX Dyes, acrylic paints, inks, and silk paints for cloth, fibres and threads. Bethany’s courses are technique based, fun and developed to ensure that every student is accepted and feels included, supported and making their way forward on their own creative path.

Bethany served as a member and Board Secretary for the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning from 2015 to 2018. She is a Past Co-President of the Kingston Handloom Weavers and Spinners and is a member of the Kingston Fibre and Fabric Cooperative, the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild and the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners. She is a past president of the Canadian Quilters Association/ACC and was honored as the CQA/ACC Teacher of the Year in 2011.

Bethany has recently served Studio Art Quilt Associates, an International Art Quilts organization with 3400 members worldwide and has served as their Central Canada Regional Representative. Beth was selected as Curator for the first major SAQA Exhibition coming to Canada, and she is active within the Surface Design Association. She also enjoys her active membership with both the Kingston Fibre Artists, Quinte Fibre Artists, and CONNECTIONS Fibre Artists groups in Ontario. She exhibits her work across Canada and the US, often in gallery settings and with group/Association exhibitions.

Her work is in private and corporate collections across Canada and the US. She enjoys sharing her work in group and solo exhibitions when opportunities present.

Bethany travels and teaches for Quilt Guilds, shops, and women's groups by invitation. She is the Owner and Managing Co-ordinator for the FIBREWORKS KINGSTON Weekend Workshops Series which has brought the very best of the best Fibre Arts Educators to Canada since 1979.

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