Rebekah Meier

CREATE Retreat Chicago!

Next month I am looking forward to teaching 2 classes at the CREATE Retreat.  On Thursday I will be teaching Fragile Fusion Mixed Media Book and on Friday a Surface Design for Fabric Class. I will teach my favorite techniques and discuss the products I like using. I hope you can join me for 2 fun days of creating!

Fragile Fusion Mixed Media Book (6 hours) Date: Thursday, August 25 Time: 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Technique: Art Journaling/Book Making Instructor: Rebekah Meier Price: $145.00 Materials Fee: $15.00 Interfacing, fusible web, paints, inks, and other cool ingredients are the focus for creative expression in this mixed media class. We will create a very unique material made with tissue paper and fusible web that can be fused to just about anything. In this class the tissue material will be used to create pages for a simple book that will also be made from interfacing.    Students Should Bring: 1 bottle metallic gold acrylic paint (such as Lumiere Brass color), 2-3 favorite thin acrylic paints such as golden fluid, Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow, or Liquitex acrylic ink, small bottle Matte Medium (can be shared), watercolor paper 3 sheets 140 lb weight, 11" x 15" (any brand). Optional items for decoration: metal embellishments (such as Vintaj), beads with button thread and needle, wood discs, favorite stencils and rubber stamps(including ones with script), gift tissue paper and 1 ply paper napkins (a good variety in various colors including neutral colors)--prints with script work well and also dress tissue pattern pieces also work well, 2-3 flat paint brushes, 1 stencil brush, scissors, rubber stamps and pigment ink (such as Brilliance, if you have it) or Staz-On (black), smock or apron, container for water Surface Design for Fabric (6 hours) Date: Friday, August 26 Time: 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Technique: Printmaking/Surface Design Instructor: Rebekah Meier Price: $145.00 Materials Fee: $5.00    In this workshop, students will learn surface design techniques for creating collage style fabric. Transform plain white fabric into your own custom designed piece of art that can stand alone or be used for any mixed media project. Monoprinting, layered design, resists, dripping, dropping, and adding images will be covered.    Students Should Bring: 3-4 Yards PFD white cotton fabric, scissors, apron, water container, 2 flat paintbrushes, 2 foam brushes, 1 stencil brush, favorite rubber stamps, Staz On ink (or other archival ink in black and other colors of choice) and stencils--include stamps with a script design and foam stamps (optional), 3-5 acrylic paints (bring your favorite brand and colors, 1-2 favorite metallic paint colors (If you have Dye-na-flow paint, bring it also) 1 small bottle white and black acrylic, plastic paint spreader, ephemera (optional that can be applied to fabric with gel medium) small jar Gel Medium (optional if adding images to fabric, can be shared), freezer paper

Look what the mailman brought me

Last year Lesley Riley asked me to create a  project for a book she was working on.  This week my copy arrived.  What a awesome book!   Lesley has so many accomplishments that I really admire.  Known for her image transfer techniques, she brought us Transfer Artist Paper (TAP for short).  In her new book, Create with Transfer Artist Paper, she teaches us all we need to know about using and creating with TAP.  It is a very cool product that transfers inkjet images and art materials  onto  many different kinds of surfaces.  

My project is a tribute to my mother.  I love the photo of her when she was 5 years old.  One of my favorite things  about TAP is how nicely images can be layered upon each other, creating a collage effect.  

Shake Rag Alley

Last week I had the best time teaching at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point Wisconsin, a very cool artsy town!  I taught  Inside Out which is a mixed media fabric collage class.  Materials usually used on the inside of garments or quilts such as batting, interfacings, and fusible web are surfaced designed to create unique pieces of art.  I love that each student is instruction for the techniques and they create in their own style, colors, and point of view.  

 

 

Getting Ready for CHA

 

                                   

This is a busy week getting ready for my trip to southern California to attend CHA.  It is a mecca for those of us that love to create.  All of the new products are released there for both the art and craft industries.  This year, I am very happy to be able to walk a lot of the show, but I will also be in a couple booths. Please stop by and say hi, I would love to see you.  Here is my schedule.

January 29

C & T Publishing (booth #1811) 10:00-12:00 

Simplicity (booth 1933) 2:30-4:30

 

January 30

Simplicity (booth #1933) 2:30-4:30

 

Teaching Mixed Media in Portland

I have been traveling a lot teaching the past couple of  months.   Preparing to travel and teach is very time consuming and exhausting, but so worth it!  So that, and getting used to my iMac has been my absence from blogging.  Going  from my PC to a Mac system has been a slight learning curve.  I love my Mac but need some One to One time.  My first stop was.

                          

                           
To teach at 

                          
The classes I taught were Mixed Media Fiber Mosaic and Inside Out:  Textured Fabric Art.  Both classes incorporated lots of techniques (from my book Fabric Art Collage) and students used my model as a guide but created their own art. My students were GREAT!!!  We had a full class and it rocked! Honestly, I am always blown away how the students take my ideas and techniques but make the composition their own and create beautiful works of art.  So much better than what I come up with!!   My camera crashed and I did not get a lot of class photos.    So thanks to one of my students (Pam Austin) I have a few good pics from class.  Thanks Pam!

                          

                                          Pam's beautiful Fiber Mosaic

                            

                           

                            
                                                Inside Out            

                                      

                                             

I loved Portland.  My husband came with me and after I was done teaching, we explored the area.   We went to Astoria and then down the coast to Seaside.  

                        
                                    Scenic route to Astoria

I love architecture and Astoria did not disappoint.  

                         

                         
                          

 
Seaside was so beautiful!  Any time I can be near the beach I am the most relaxed and at peace.  

                           
                            

                           
                          

   

                          

                              This carousel was inside a building                                      
                          
                                Love the colors of these bottles!

Next stop was Houston.  More about that soon.

Interweave Cloth Paper Scissors CREATE Retreat

I have been in catch up mode after preparing for and teaching at the first Cloth Paper Scissors CREATE Retreat last week.  By all accounts the retreat was a big success! So much creative talent all in one place was amazing.  It was fun catching up with friends and also meeting new ones.  My students rocked it!  It was a 3 hour surface design  technique class where we painted both paper and fabric.  This was the first time I taught this particular class and will love (with a few adjustments) teaching it again.  Now onto preparing for Art And Soul and IQF Houston

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

How to Embosss Quilt Batting

When I was writing my book Fabric Art Collage, I wanted to create new ways to combine my mixed media materials with my quilting supplies.  One of  those supplies was bamboo batting that I had picked up at a show.   I loved the soft feel of it and at that point, thought it would dye nicely and could be used in my projects.  It did dye nicely, and it also got me thinking what else I could do with it.  I love embossed textures, and thought if velvet could be embossed, could I emboss batting?  It is a really versatile technique that I have used to make wrist cuffs, embellishments, and backgrounds for my art quilts.  For these tags I used the batting as a layer. 

Embossed batting used for tags

Embossed Batting Covered Journal

Embossed Batting Technique

Materials:

• *Fairfield Nature-fil Bamboo Batting (available at JoAnn Fabrics)
• Doily or lace pieces
• Textile medium (any brand)
• Metallic Acrylic paint
• Spray bottle
• Baking parchment paper (available at grocery store)
• Water
• Scissors
• Iron

*Note:  I have not found another batting that work as well as the Nature-fil.  That is not to say there is not another one that works equally as well for this technique.  I just have not found it yet. 

Instructions:

1. Cut a piece of bamboo batting slightly larger than the lace or doily.
2. Mix 1 part textile medium with 1 part water.  Pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
3. Place batting onto the parchment paper and mist with the diluted textile medium.  The batting should be moist but not saturated.
4. Place the lace onto the misted batting.
5. Cover the lace with parchment paper.  At this point, the batting should be sandwiched between 2 pieces of parchment paper.  With an iron set to the hottest setting, press the parchment paper, ironing firmly onto the batting.  Turn the parchment/batting over and press again. 
     
   
   
   
6. Remove the parchment paper.  Gently pull the lace from the batting to reveal an embossed lace image.  Let dry.

     

   

Once the batting is embossed it can be painted to permanently keep the design.  Fill a spray bottle with 1 part water to 1 part acrylic paint.  Shake and mix well.  On a protected surface, spray the batting with the paint mixture.  Use several light coats, letting each dry before proceeding to the next coat.  You now have a really versatile piece of material that can be used for many types of projects.  

If you try this technique I would love to see what you make with it. 

Sneak Peek

This is a sneek peek of a project that I will have published late next fall.  It is a Christmas project with lots of sparkle and glitter.

Maggie's Quilt

Isn't this quilt beautiful?  My friend Maggie Weiss exhibited and won an award for her quilt  at International Quilt Festival in Chicago.   It is just stunning!  Maggie is also a great teacher.  Check out her class schedule on her website. 

Sneak Peek

This is a sneek peek of a quilt that I was asked to create for a friend's upcoming book.  Can't give details yet but it will be a very cool book!