Valerie Goodwin
Contact Information:
Valerie Goodwin
http://quiltsbyvalerie.com
Workshops:
FAVORITE PLACES - 2 days
Maps are intriguing as an art form and as a vehicle for artistic expression. They are personal explorations of map language and imagined landscapes. Through satellite imagery sites like Google maps -- almost any place can be translated into an exquisite mixed media Cartographic Quilt.
Name a favorite place. Is it in your city, your state, the USA or somewhere far away? In this class you can design a cartographic map of a favorite location such as Stonehenge, the Pyramids, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Louvre, or the Eiffel Tower .
Discover the possibilities of creating a map from fabric, paint and thread!
Using a fun and simple series of painted and collaged, mixed- media techniques, you will create the feeling or ingredients of a place. The instructor will guide you through a series of steps that will provide opportunities to learn about design while giving you the freedom to experiment within a structured framework.
The goal is to weave together various types of drawings such as aerial views, plans, and 3D images in a cohesive and creative composition to reveal the story of a specific place.
MAP HAIKU - 1 day
Get in the zone! Go Zen! Tap into your innermost creative side. Make a beautiful mixed media map of an imaginary place inspired by haiku – a minimalist form of poetry.
Students taking this workshop will create a simple, understated map of an imaginary place that captures the feeling of the haiku – a minimalist form of poetry.
The instructor will guide you through a series of steps that will provide opportunities to learn about design while giving you the freedom to experiment within a structured framework.
ALPHABET CITY - 2 days
Steven Holl, a well respected architect wrote a book called “The Alphabet City”. In it he speculated that portions of some cities have evolved on gridiron plans. He also said that certain letters such as the “T”, “O”, “H”, "U", "E" I "L", and "F” have defined patterns and shapes that create the geometry of the streets, buildings and open spaces.
This class will use “ABC's” as a way making a map of an invented place
THE EXPRESSIVE MAP - 2 days
This workshop will explore the design of map-like compositions, which can be created when we start with a very realistic aerial view of a place and gradually "abstract" it. This approach can be quite instructive and a great way to be creative. It is a simple, yet stimulating way to become familiar with abstract art and a way to create it. We will work with both paper and fabric in this class to create a mixed media map abstracted or derived from an aerial view or a real place. by choosing, extracting, positioning, and modifying the visual cues you discover.
THE COMPLEX COMPOSITION - 5 days
Cross fertilization between the arts can enrich how each of us approaches our work. This workshop will focus on using basic principles of graphic composition used by many architects. You will learn to create rich and complex compositions from this inventive perspective using the principles of SCALE, MERGING, LAYERING/ OVERLAPPING, RANKING, AND FRAMING. Each student will create a cartographic art quilt that tells the story of a particular place.
Through a series of quick exercises - this workshop will cover the fundamentals of composition employing the elements and principles of design. Building on these nuts and bolts - students will tap into the right and left sides of the brain to design a thoughtful and imaginative composition from a distinctive perspective.
DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS 101: Creativity -- in Black and White - 1 day
Many quilters don’t realize that working in black and white can be a very exciting approach to being creative. This class will open your eyes to the beauty of working with black/white, positive/negative or light/dark contrast in a composition. Using basic black, white and gray paper/fabrics, we will explore basic design elements. This workshop is fast paced, produces samples that can be used in later quilted, painted or stitched works, and is sure to be fun and worth the time!
DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS 102: Explorations in Color Using the 7 Principles of Design - 2 days
Beginning with an exercise related to the seven principles of design --work instinctively with color – explore creativity through experimentation. All works are small, enabling you to develop ideas quickly and freely. You will create paper collage compositions through a series of quick "hands-on" exercises and subsequently make fabric constructions. The goal of this class is to allow you to create small, spontaneous fabric collages that can become the basis for final small quilted pieces. You will develop collages using freehand scissor cutting, layering of varied fabrics, and other techniques to create an interesting work of art.
The primary prerequisite is a desire to have fun through the creative process and willingness to trying something new. This workshop produces samples that can be used in later quilted, painted or stitched works.