Last week I was delighted to participate in a textile art retreat with 38 young ladies from years 9, 10 and 11, and 4 of their teachers. The girls had spent a day at the Canberra show where they had attended various art classes and were then going to spend the following day with me doing felting.
I spent a lot of time on the preparation so they had the best supplies possible for the event.
Dyed tissue silk and silk rods. Good luck getting those turquoise rods colour fast!!
Dyed and boiled silk cocoons which, once wetted, pull out wonderfully. Mohair curls, fabric strips, fancy yarns, course matted wool and the finished dried rods.
The prepared kits and the venue once we got underway. A huge space with plenty of room for the girls to move around, check out what the others were doing and swap supplies.
Laying out the fibres and embellishments. Possible layouts were discussed but the girls were free to produce whatever they wished.
Wetting and rolling.
Whilst the pieces weren’t all 100% finished by the end of the day, and none were dry, some excellent samples had already been produced. Most will be further worked on at school and many will have cords and stitching added later. Here are a few pictures of some of the work so far:
It was their individual choice whether to maintain the rectangular shape they started with or pull sections out, creating a more organic look.
A brilliant day with wonderful outcomes and a delightful set of students and teachers.
TactualTextiles 
Well done Claire. The results look amazing and i am sure the girls were very proud of their efforts. You put so much care into the preparations of this workshop. Congratulations.