Study with Jane
Mastery of Textile Dyes and Paints
I just got back from a week in Colorado at the incredible Gateway Canyon resort, where the Alegre retreat is held every year. It’s the gorgeous red rock part of the state and while it snowed briefly, most of the week was sunny and very blue. Perfect for the dyeing class I taught, since we were hanging up all the cloth outside to dry.
Good ideas come from all sorts of funny places. My beloved Mastery Program ended in 2020, because I sold the studio and couldn’t envision it being offered online as a permanent fixture, but standing in the warm sunlight, surrounded by gorgeous, glowing fabrics, I suddenly saw the way forward. And that’s where I’m headed now.
Everything is still very much in the planning stages, but here’s the long view. Over the span of the next year, I’m going to initiate a program that will be a program of mastery for anyone who wants to work with dyes, paints and the layering of both on cloth. I envision three extended classes using the hybrid model we have developed for the courses we offer now. What that means is a mix of recorded lessons and live sessions that are both demonstrations and Q&A meet-ups.
The four Personal Education modules include:
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A thorough grounding in color theory and the mixing and use of paints, this course teaches everything you needLearn more to know in order to use color in paint form effectively. It’s not limited to cloth, but is the foundation of understanding how to mix and apply paint color to fabric, as well as papers.
The next cohort will begin in 2025.
Sign up for updates.
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This class will be offered in October 2023 and is a thorough explanation of how fiber reactive dyes work, followed by dyeing sessions that teach you how to dye a color wheel using the pure MX dyes. Pure dyes are not mixed colors, and they are an effective way to control the color that is produced on the cloth. This method alone revolutionizes how textile artists work with dyes.
The second part of the course explores the over-dyeing process, the choice of color and pattern, and the option of dyeing fabric two or more times. The lessons include discussions of folding and tying methods as a means of contributing additional pattern.
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This eight week online course is designed to be a companion to my Dye Mastery: From White to Wow! Class, but can be taken as a stand alone class, as well.
We’ll cover the use of fiber active dyes as a printed application, which is very different from the approaches used for immersion dyeing. Think of printing as the other half of the fiber reactive dye equation. When you know how to color yardage and also how to print pattern on it, the possibilities are limitless.
The course includes:
• An overview of how fiber reactive “work”
• The difference between pure dyes versus proprietary formulas
• Auxiliary chemicals that assist in the dye printing process
• The best fabrics to choose for printing
• Best practices for mixing and storing dyes
• Creating samples that will demonstrate saturation, color commingling and color dominance
• Methods of application, including stamping, stenciling, hand painting and screen printing/Thermofaxes
• Batching as opposed to steaming
• Improv Printing – printing from a screen that has been coated with dye and allowed to dry
• My signature invention: Multi-colored Printing with an Interfacing Stencil – three patterns printed at once, just like magic!
Participants will create a variety of samples in the first five weeks of class and will then focus on larger pieces and yardage. Completed fabrics will be colorful, stable and can be used for clothing, quilts or home dec applications.
Coming September 30, 2024.
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The above classes do not need to be taken in any order, but both are pre-requisites for the third module:
We will focus on dyeing backgrounds with the intention of adding printed layers in both dye and paint to the fabric, as the means for developing complexity, texture and meaning. Each participant will complete a minimum of twelve lengths of cloth.
2025 dates to be announced.
Optional Teacher Certification module:
I am going to offer a teacher certification program which will be available to anyone who successfully completes the three modules described above. Anyone can take the three online classes just because they want to learn about dyes, color, paints and layering. But the option to sign on for a fourth course, which will be held in person, will only be available to those who have completed the other three classes, and will be limited in enrollment.
I envision the fourth course as a “training” for anyone who would like to teach, and the focus will be on methods of guiding a group of students through the methods I use, with the tools I provide.
You don’t need to want to teach in order to gain a boatload of knowledge from taking the color, dye and layering classes. It will be worth your while because it will further your ability to create the art that you see in your head.
But for anyone who would like to teach, this is an outstanding opportunity to learn what you need in order to be an inspiring and engaging surface design instructor.
Ten-week hybrid online class
Enrollment has closed.
Returning Spring 2025.
Learn to use color in fresh and masterful ways.
One surefire way to build an understanding of color is to work with paints – mixing colors and exploring relationships in real time.
This class is designed to teach you how to evaluate colors you see and use, whether you work with paper or fabric. Until you have actually mixed colors together, added white, gray or black, and observed the outcome, color terminology remains a set of terms that can be intimidating and confusing!
“Jane is fabulous at everything she does... and teaches. I’m addicted.”
“I so appreciate you and your teachings.
It occurred to me like a bolt of light when I was watching one of your recordings lately...Wonderful teachers offer us so much more than academics.
You teach us how to live a life of abundance rich in creative possibility and love.”
