Layer upon layer Movement class in Kongsberg

The second day teaching at Sølvtråden lappelag in Kongsberg was a new Layer upon layer class called Movement. I was so excited to get to teach this class as I love the amazing effect that can be created with very simple supplies. That being said, I do put a lot of time and effort into the kits provided for the class so that everyone has what they need to make beautiful art, but still - simple supplies when you know what to use.

The students bring background fabric and a few scraps, and I provide the “paint”. I’ll talk them through every piece of material in their kits, what they are used for, and where I bought them. Then we go through a quick paper trial and move very quickly on to the good stuff - cutting into the fabric.

The Layer upon layer classes are all about playing. There are no rulers or measuring involved, just scissors, and these students enjoyed the process very much indeed.

There was totally silence for a long time as they added layer upon layer, everybody totally in the zone. I’ll confess – for a while there my fingers were itching to dig onto one of those colourful bags with transparent treasures.

We added whispers of light, hints of shadow, sparkles of bling, and washes of colour, watching how each new layer enhanced the overall picture.

One of the things I teach my students is to use their cameras to decide between different options, or to see what they need to add next - if anything. I will ask them “what do you see?”, and then we will figure out what their next step will be. It’s so much easier to see the full picture on a screen than on the worktop.

There’s a lot of stitching involved to finish these projects and achieve the painted effect, but everyone finished the first rounds of quilting lines to keep everything in place on their way home.

Aren’t they absolutely fabulously gorgeous!!

You can see some of their own pictures from the weekend here, here and here.

Thank you, ladies, for inviting me to Kongsberg and for making my weekend so enjoyable!