Instructor: Tony Williams Saturday & Sunday, July 24 & 25, 10 – 4pm Students will explore the Art of Mark making using a variety of tools and techniques (including wax, raffia and cassava (yucca) paste) to form a resist, creating patterns and textures when dyeing with Natural and synthetic Indigo.  This two day intensive will explore African Designs and Adire patterns while discovering the origin of Indigo in the Americas and its importance.   Adire Alabela Batik, Adire Eleko, Adire Oniko Tie-Dye and will all be processes we will explore in this class.   Adire Alabela, which means wax resist, is the Yoruba version of batik. Using wood stamps, stencils, or foam rubber, beeswax or paraffin wax is applied to the fabric. The fabric is then dyed and the process is repeated with the next color.   Adire Oniko is tied or wrapped with raffia to resist the dye. Two different tie-dye techniques will be taught using raffia.  Stitch resist is when raffia is sewn with a needle into fabric to create design.  The second process uses raffia and sometimes assorted seeds or other small items to tie designs into fabric by hand. Once the designs have been created, the fabric is dyed and dried before the raffia is taken out to show off the resist patterns.   Adire Eleko is the process of creating designs using cassava paste (yucca) applied with a small broom and a chicken feather.  Cassava can be applied by stencil or by hand.  After drying, the piece is dipped in Indigo or other dye and the cassava paste is removed leaving a resist pattern.   About the Instructor: Tony Williams is a Cleveland based artist who's approach to works of art is like the Ashanti proverb. “You must you must act as if it's impossible to fail." Whether working in paper or a fabric quilt, or a pen and ink illustrations, his sense of design and line quality are always present in his work. A former student of the Cleveland Institute of Art, and a graduate of the Art of the Institute of Pittsburgh. Tony uses his life experience as a catalyst for his work. A self-taught Indigo artist, costume designer and Accessory designer in New York's garment industry have molded and shaped his view and eye for design. Tony uses his willingness to experiment and try new techniques and methods to expresses Art. Tony's work has been shown in numerous local and national juried exhibits, international exhibitions and publications have featured his work. Tony is currently working with Indigo on paper.

Instructor: Deb Berkebile Saturday, May 22, 10 – 4pm In this class students will learn a low immersion dyeing technique with ice and MX dyes. This is a great way to apply multiple colors to plant based fibers and is a fun and easy class, perfect for beginners. Experiment with different ways of binding and folding the fabric to create different effects and blending of multiple colors.  All materials are included.

Instructor: Anna Routson Wednesdays, May 5, 12, 19, 26, 6:00-9:00pm Interested in experimenting with unconventional materials? Learn to thread a floor loom and weave with or without a plan. Learn how to integrate everyday objects into your weavings. You will become comfortable with all of the steps in the weaving process while using repurposed materials to create unique pieces of art. This class is designed for beginner and intermediate weavers in mind. No prior weaving experience required.

Instructor: Sandy Shelenberger Saturday, April 17, 10 – 4pm Explore using soy wax as a resist on fabric to create a sophisticated look of multi-dimensional layering in easy to do steps. We will work with fabric paints and/or dyes for our color palette and discuss the layering of colors. We will make or use found objects for stamping into the fabric using the soy wax. Demonstrations of wax removal techniques. Students will be provided with individual workspaces and supplies.