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Celebrating Our Home, the Pikes Peak Region
Early in 2020, Makers Liz Kettle and Ruth Chandler of Textiles West set out to teach community members how to create fabric collages to celebrate the beauty of our Pikes Peak Region and share stories of our home and community. A week into the Spring Residency, everything came to a halt due to COVID-19.
Rather than stop the Textile Art Project altogether, Liz and Ruth transformed it into a virtual format, so that our community could be creative and stay connected even while sheltering at home. In many ways, the finished compilations are a record of our community and our shared experience during this unprecedented time. We’ve compiled all the finished pieces submitted by local community members into a Flickr album, which you can explore here.
You can also see the pieces in person as part of a rotating display by visiting the following libraries during the months listed below. At the end of the display rotation, the piece will live at Monument Library.
- September 2020:Library 21c
- October 2020: High Prairie Library
- November 2020: Old Colorado City Library
- December 2020: East Library
- January 2021: Sand Creek Library
- February 2021: Monument Library
Even though the Spring/Summer Textile Art Residency has come to an end, you can still create your very own collage! This project is traditionally a textile (fabric) project, but Liz and Ruth have adapted the project to use just about any materials you have at home. Get started by looking through the various PDF project patterns (see below) and reading through this tutorial PDF. This will give you a basic idea of the project and let you know what supplies you’ll need to get started.
Then, watch the video below to see Liz explain how to get creative and pull it all together! (Please note the video cuts off at the end, but all important content is included.) Links to supplementary videos examining various stitch types are also available below.
Patterns
Supplementary Videos
The Makers
Textiles West's teachers are all experts who know the power of creating and understand that for many, textiles are a much more accessible art form than traditional art forms.
Liz Kettle
Through her work, Liz Kettle tells tales that are personal as well as those that speak of relationship, humanity, and the earth. She chooses a nontraditional palette of fabric and stitch because she believes they connect us and draw us closer in a way that cannot be achieved with traditional art materials alone. Liz uses a variety of techniques drawing from the deep wells of quilting, mixed media collage, and paint to tell and support each unique story.
Liz is the co-founder and Director of Textiles West, a Textile Art Center that aims to inspire widespread awareness, participation, and appreciation of textile and fiber arts.
Liz is passionate about teaching and is a co-author of two books; Fabric Embellishing: The Basics and Beyond and Threads: The Basics and Beyond. She is also the solo author of First Time Beading on Fabric, Layered and Stitched and Know Your Needles. Liz has articles published in Quilters Home, Quilting Arts, Quilting Arts In Stitches and Cloth Paper Scissors Studios, and has appeared in the PBS show Quilting Arts TV.
Ruth Chandler
Ruth Chandler grew up in Japan where the vibrant color and texture of Japanese fabric, combined with the simplicity of Japanese design, caught Ruth’s attention. Ruth learned basic Sashiko from an elderly neighbor and at the age of four, and began to create and sew her own clothes at the age of ten which became an outlet for her imagination and creativity.
She made her first quilt in 1990, a queen size, hand-appliquéd and hand-quilted Hawaiian pineapple quilt, and she has never looked back. In her own unique style she loves to use new techniques mingled with the old and her work usually shows the influence of her years spent in Japan. Shibori, Boro, Sashiko, and indigo dying are her love, however she also teaches garment sewing and other classes to children and adults.
Ruth teaches locally at Textiles West in Colorado Springs, and nationally at Art and Soul Retreats. Ruth has written several articles for Quilting Arts magazine, blog posts for Havels’ Sewing, and has work published in several books. Additionally, Ruth is one of the co-authors of the best-selling book, Fabric Embellishing: The Basics and Beyond, and is the solo author of Modern Hand Stitching.
Ruth may be contacted for nationwide classes at ruthachandler@comcast.net.
Shadow Art
Supplies:
- Animal toys
- Blocks
- Large paper
- Marker
- Watercolors or crayons
Directions:
- Set up toys and blocks in a sunny area outside, preferably on a hard surface.
- Put a large piece of paper next to the toys and position it so that the shadows of the toys can be seen on the paper.
- Trace the shadows with a thick, black marker.
- Try tracing several times throughout the day to track how the shadows change shape as the sun travels across the sky.
- Add watercolors or crayons to make your shadow art come to life!
Nature Crowns
Supplies:
- Two long strips of paper 1 - 2 1/2 inches wide
- Colorful paper
- Cardstock
- A pencil
- Scissors
- Glue
- Stapler
Directions:
- Draw petal and leaf shapes on your colorful paper. You can create templates for your petal and leaf shapes by drawing on a thick paper, cutting out the shapes, and tracing it onto the colorful paper.
- Cut out flowers and leaves.
- Use glue and/or stapler to attach the long strips of paper.
- Glue on flowers leaves.
- Wrap your crown around your head to find the right length for you and then glue or staple it together.
- Your nature crown is now ready to wear!
Time Capsule Envelope
Supplies:
- An envelope
- Paper for writing or drawing
- Markers or colored pencils
Directions:
- Decorate your envelope, write Summer Solstice 2020, and a include a future date when the envelope can be opened.
- Take some time to write about what today means to you. What are your hopes and dreams for the future?
- Take a walk and collect some nature treasures to include in your envelope, draw a picture, add in anything else you’d like!
- Put in a safe place to store until it can be opened again.
Watch these projects at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy4f4OV_KJ8&list=PLMEg2Dd0dSFctLfDQxsL5…
Given our stand against racism, along with the continued national and local conversations, we want to highlight and celebrate the Shivers Fund. Clarence and Peggy Shivers created the Shivers Fund at Pikes Peak Library District, in concert with PPLD, in 1993. They introduced the Shivers African American Historical and Cultural Collection at PPLD, which continues to expand annually thanks to the Shivers Fund and its many supporters. In addition to the collection, the Shivers Fund at PPLD also provides opportunities for our community to celebrate history, culture, and the arts. The Fund hosts concerts and other events, as well as helps expands educational and cultural opportunities for young people to encourage tolerance and diversity. Our Library District and Foundation applaud the Shivers Fund for its continued investment to create more tolerance, diversity, and community in the Pikes Peak region. Learn more about the history and work of the Shivers Fund.