I have been admiring Rayna Gillman’s fabrics for many years so when I heard she was coming to Fabric Arts Studio in Grand Junction, CO and was teaching a couple of classes on soy wax and screen printing, I jumped at the chance to hear what she had to say and see her process. So for the last 3 days, I’ve been creating my own fabric using regular and thickened dyes, soy wax resists on silk screens, and then discharging everything with a variety of solutions. As most of you know, cloth created in a workshop is never as good as the cloth you create in your studio but all in all, I was pretty happy with the result.
One of the fun things about taking a workshop is meeting the teacher and finding out about their lives. Rayna and I share a lot of things in common — not to mention we are both Scorpios and hate pink! She asked if we were separated at birth — my response — no, just by the Hudson River!
Rayna is a low stress teacher. She is supportive and available although most of the students seemed content to “do their thing” without a lot of help. Many of the students had taken her class before so the tone was very congenial.
One of the best parts for me was not having to bring (or buy) a lot of “class supplies” since Fabric Arts Studio put everything they had at our disposal. Imagine being able to come to a classroom that has already mixed more than 50 different dyes for you to use.
And, every table was prepared with appropriate plastic, printing/dying surfaces, electric pans, outlets, cords, and a personal trash can!
No matter what you needed (yogurt cups, spoons, gloves, masks, scissors, whatever ) — it was there for your use. In addition, if you didn’t bring enough pre-soda-soaked, pdf fabric — there it was!
And, if you wanted to make a Thermofax screen — guess what — there it was! And at $6 per screen, a real bargain.
And there was always someone there who could answer a question, find something you needed, or share the recipe they used for the tasty dishes they provided every day for lunch.
It’s a wonderful space for a wonderful workshop!
I can’t wait to come back!
LOL – What a treat for me to finally meet you, too. YOu’ll be on my blog as soon as I get to it. Hope to see you in Denver next time I am there.
R.
I’ve taken a couple of workshops with Rayna and really enjoy her “What If” manner of teaching. She is very easy going and I too hit it off with her instantly. Fabric Arts Studio sounds like a fabulous place to hold a workshop like this. Lucky you!