Pre-Summer (that’s Spring) Jewelry for Teens

Susan Beal, one of our favorite people as well as a fantastic instructor, is teaching PNCA Continuing Education’s first Spring Break Jewelry Workshop (14-18).  This week long craft workshop will be a lot of fun as Susan brings the techniques and materials that have made her books so popular to the classroom.

Course description from our catalog:

PNCA Continuing Education presents the first Spring Break Craft Workshop for Pre-College Students. Learn and practice a range of jewelry-making and embellishment techniques including wirework, stringing, weaving, knotting, gluing and other craft methods.  This class will focus on color, balance, arrangements and intuitive design. Create a collection of jewelry and craft as the foundation for further design and making.

Registration Page

Feel free to contact Sara Kaltwasser or Josh Moon with any questions. Please check out our other Pre-College classes including our Pre-College Summer Studios.

Contemporary Fiber Art

We are extremely excited that Brenda Mallory and Kim Lakin are again teaching Contemporary Fiber Art.  This class will be held July 25-29 from 10-3.  Registration will be open shortly and you can see the class description below, also check out the Flickr page of student work from last summer.

This course is designed to teach students about the use of fibers in an alternative context, and will draw on ideas found in the work of artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Louise Bourgeois, Claus Oldenburg, Magdelena Abakanowicz, and Mike Kelley. We will explore underlying reasons for choosing to work with fiber, the unique qualities of fiber, and various methods and techniques available for use. Students will be challenged to be creative with the constructing/deconstructing process using recycled fibrous materials such as clothing, blankets, and wire mesh, transforming them into new unique art pieces. Instructors will provide information about various construction and connective methods. Students may be beginning art students or artists looking to move their ideas into a new art medium.

Kim Lakin is a fiber artist based in Portland. She has been building a body of work in quilts since 1988 and exhibited at a number of shows and galleries. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Colorado State University and both a Masters of Arts and Science from the University of Oregon. Her work can seen at her website.

Brenda Mallory is a PNCA graduate and also holds a BA in Linguistics from UCLA. Her mixed media sculpture and installations have been included in solo and group exhibitions throughout Oregon and Washington. A 2005 RACC Project Grant Recipient, Brenda draws inspiration from natural plant forms as well as microscopic images from scientific textbooks and publications. Her work can be seen at her website.

Heather Ross Coming to Portland!

We are very excited to announce that fabric designer, author, illustrator and all around cool gal Heather Ross will be teaching in PNCA-Continuing Education’s 2010 Summer of Making!

Heather is an inspiring artist, whose illustrations are whimsical and fun. She is well-known for her beautiful fabric collections for Kokka of Japan and Westminster/FreeSpirit. She is the author of Weekend Sewing, published by STC Craft/Melanie Falick Books, which contains 40 sewing projects that can be made in a weekend. Beyond her work with the textile and home sewing world, Heather has a line of surfboards that will soon be released by Walden. She has designed stationary for Chronicle, as well as custom projects for businesses large and small.

Heather will be teaching Fabric Design with Heather Ross July 23-25, 10-4  here at our Portland, Oregon campus.  In this class you will bring your own creative ideas to life in fabric that can be used in quilting, home decorating and garments. Heather will guide you the design and technical process used to create fabric prints using Adobe Photoshop. (Note:  Prior to Heather’s class, PNCA Continuing Education will offer a “crash course” in Photoshop for those of you unfamiliar with the software, or needing a refresher.) Finished designs will be printed out on a large format printer for you to take home and you will have a digital file to upload to online digital fabric printing services, such as Spoonflower. This is an amazing opportunity to learn fabric design from a pro who will guide you through the creative process!

For those of you who are considering visiting our fair city to take Heather’s class–you couldn’t ask for a better time of year. Not only is our weather usually gorgeous in late-July (it really doesn’t rain all the time), but the city is bustling with activity. In particular, the incredible Oregon Brewers’ Festival is happening that weekend as well. You can get more information about traveling to Portland on the Portland Tourism website–you are also welcome to email us if you have questions about visiting Portland for this class. For locals, last year’s Summer of Making students very much enjoyed their creative “urban retreat” in their hometown.

This course is sure to fill quickly, and is limited to 15 students. Register online here. Keep your eyes peeled as we roll out the rest of 2010’s Summer of Making program in the weeks ahead.

New Year and a Big Announcement Coming Soon

Back to the grind of working after a wonderful holiday season, well, except for Portland’s shining moment of snow ineptitude.  The Summer of Making is coming together really well and we will have a BIG announcement on this Summer’s special guests shortly.

This Spring’s fiber arts offerings are beginning to fill! All three classes are came together with input we received from students and instructors and we are incredibly excited to be offering them.

New Blog from Artful Blogging!

Wendy, from this summer’s Artful Blogging class has her site  Breathe Beauty up.  Another great blog, congrats Wendy!

Color

One of the most frequent requests we heard last summer was for classes on or  classes that emphasize color theory. This spring we have  both. Stephen Mauldin is offering Color, a one day workshop that introduces students to the basics of color theory. While this class concentrates on using paints to create color, the uses of color can be applied throughout art, craft + design. Kate Troyer has made color theory one of the fundamentals of Pattern Design + Printing, a class that introduces students to designing and printing patterns on fabric. For those who want a longer class, Benny Fountain is teaching 2D Color. This course an introduction to visual languages and guides students through a creative exploration of the visual elements and 2D principles of design. 

Have questions? You can email or call us in CE.

Syllabus for Knitwear Product Development & Design

Follow this link for the syllabus and course description for KPD+D. We are really excited about this class and it is the first offering of its kind here in PDX.

Registration Now Open!

We are registering for our spring classes and check out our new Fiber Arts category in the online listings!

In addition, Susan Beal is teaching a weeklong jewelry workshop for high school students.

Spring Fiber Arts Classes

We are back after taking some time away  from the Summer of Making blog. Right now we are busy planning for the Summer of 2010! We are also incredibly excited about the following classes that are being offered this spring (check around town or your mail box for the new catalog, online registration is coming soon).

The three new fiber arts courses are:

Pattern Design + Printing 

Kate Troyer

This course is an introduction to designing patterns on fabric with a focus on set-up, repeats and color theory. You will create projects using different hand printing methods including block printing, stencils and screenprinting on fabrics.

Kate Troyer holds a BA in Sculpture and Art History from Lawrence University and an MFA in Textile Art and Design from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  She has taught undergraduate art and design courses at UW Madison and Continuing Education at the Oregon College of Arts and crafts. Kate is currently exhibiting her work nationally and working for a local fashion designer.

Knitwear Product Development & Design

Barbara Robertson

From design concepts & techniques to finished product, learn to create knitwear products. For those looking to enter the world of fashion or to take their independent knitting to the next level, this class covers the techniques and processes to successfully produce knitwear in a professional environment. Students will complete the class with a portfolio of the techniques and practices covered. ten weeks

Barbara Robertson has over 25 years experience in the Fashion Apparel Industry.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Textiles/Clothing and has worked primarily in the  Fashion Apparel Industry and also as an Adjunct Professor during her career.  She is an expert in knitwear product development, technical design & manufacturing and has worked at large firms within California and now in Oregon as a Senior Level Product Developer and Merchant in all levels/aspects of apparel – manufacturing, wholesale, retail, catalog and internet.

Sewing Fundamentals for Artists

Kim Lakin

This two day workshop is designed for artists who want to use fiber in two or three dimensional projects and covers sewing machine basics, cutting fabric, sewing fabric, quarter inch seams, sewing curves, sewing strips, pressing techniques, resewing, binding edges. Plus cording, pintucking, ruffling among other techniques. You must bring your own sewing machine to class.

Kim Lakin holds both BFA and MA degrees. Her medium is fiber. Working as a full-time artist, Ms. Lakin is knowledgeable in the various sewing techniques required for working with textiles. She has shown her work in Portland as well as nationally. 

Patchwork Gift

From Denyse Schmidt’s  website:  ”For the past year or so, Denyse has ended her Improvisational Patchwork classes with a plea. She asked students to leave behind one quilt square made in that day’s class. The plan was for the quilt blocks to be sewn together and the finished quilt donated to a charity. The first quilt is now finished and the Bridgeport Rescue Mission is the happy recipient of the first Workshop Quilt. “

Denyse asked her Summer of Making students to participate in leaving one square behind. While I don’t know if any of the SoM squares made it into this first quilt, everyone should be proud.