An ancient technique with a modern twist: you will make a wind light during this workshop.
A wind light or lamp made of wool gives off a beautiful diffused light that you will continue to enjoy. Not only will you learn the basics of wet felting, but you will also apply the techniques of transparent and three-dimensional felting. You work with loose wool fibres that you place around a mould, then wet with water and soap. Friction creates a solid substance.
You will go home with a wind lamp, including a tea light and holder and a hardener, so you can make another lamp at home if necessary. You don’t need any experience for this workshop. We work with wool from Dutch sheep.
WOL IT Felt atelier is located in Kollum. Hennie Henstra: “About 15 years ago, I came into contact with wet felting. It has been my passion ever since. After following a course at the Dutch Felt Academy, I started a business where I enjoy giving workshops. Passing on knowledge and gaining new knowledge is fantastic. The possibilities of felting are endless. The many types of wool, with their different properties and structures, still challenge me. Which wool is suitable for which product? Felting is about meeting yourself. You have to work calmly, especially in the initial process. And that in a time when everything goes fast. Making choices: colour, shape, add something else? Felting is making your world smaller for a moment and being busy creating.”
This workshop is organised in collaboration with the Pleed Foundation.
“Wool is a beautiful natural material that has kept us warm for centuries. Yet most wool from the 800,000 Dutch sheep is discarded as waste or ends up in the incinerator. At the same time, we massively buy cheap clothes made of polluting synthetic fibres from low-wage countries. Community initiative Pleed explores how wool can be made of value again.”
Buttons have been used for centuries as a special accent to a garment; think of the silver Zeeland buttons worn as jewellery.
Handmade buttons from fabric, ribbon, beads and embroidery threads are made around a simple ring or fabric button. You can make them as simple or elaborate as you like; you can embroider them!
In this workshop, you will make two craft buttons of your choice. Monique will bring several examples and many materials, such as ribbons and bands, beads and embroidery threads so that you can customise your buttons to your taste. She will teach you how to make a button using beautiful materials, a simple ring, a needle, and thread.
Monique van Munster has immersed herself in craft techniques for over thirty-five years and is now an embroidery specialist. She has a fascination for the infinite possibilities of needle and thread. Wanting to know how something is made, she researches many techniques and applications. The research does not focus on being able to reproduce historical and traditional embroideries but serves more as inspiration and interpretation. Monique values preserving her craft and wants to share her skills with others, so she teaches in her studio in Tilburg, wherever she is invited to share her knowledge, such as now at the Ambacht in Beeld Festival.
“Drawing with the sewing machine” is what Riëtte Sommerdijk calls her craft. Among connoisseurs, it is also known as free-motion embroidery. A specific sewing machine setting allows the needle to move freely over the fabric. Quilters widely use this craft. Using this technique differently, you can draw yourself, using the needle as a pencil, on cloth. You can create the most beautiful representations by moving the fabric with your hands under the needle. You can stitch freely or use an existing image as a starting point. Various transfer techniques can be used. Furthermore, you can endlessly vary and combine with other techniques.
During the workshop, you will learn the principles and create a small drawn embroidery in a short time. You will work with stencils that you transfer to fabric with a water-soluble marker. Feel free to bring your fabric (size A4, not stretchy.) Or else use my second life textile. You will go home with a homemade thread drawing in an embroidery hoop. No experience is needed. You will surprise yourself.
Under the name ‘Riëtte geeft VORM‘, Riëtte works in a beautiful studio near the Textielmuseum in Tilburg on products related to textiles. In different ways, she (re)uses fabrics. Among other things, she is inspired by old painters and nature. The products are characterised by refinement and humour. She also makes personalised butterflies, panels, comfort gifts and stitched portraits on commission. Now and then, she picks up her old profession as a costume designer.
Language: English or Spanish
Embark on a captivating journey into the art of Mexican “Randa de unión” embroidery! A traditional craft deeply rooted in the culture of Xochistlahuaca, Mexico, which beautifully adorns the “huipil” garment’s chest, neck edges, sleeves, and seams, as well as bringing beauty to tortilla napkins.
Join us in celebrating the rich legacy of Amuzgo women in embroidery as you discover their captivating narratives and deep-rooted beliefs. Under the guidance of a skilled artisan, Gabina Valentín López, and translator/facilitator, Inês Queirós, you will learn the art of embroidering two pieces of cloth together using four types of stitches: “randa de 3 puntadas”, “randa de diente de iguana”, “randa de 5 puntadas”, and “randa de gusano”. You’ll create samples of each stitch in the workshop and receive a video tutorial for future reference. Take home your samples and unleash your creativity, using this versatile skill to beautifully finish garment seams or create stunning patchwork pieces.
By participating, you gain practical embroidery skills and contribute to preserving and reviving this exquisite craft, which faces significant challenges due to the prevalence of commercial fabrics and a shrinking market.
Join us in honouring the dedication of Amuzgo women to keeping the tradition of “Randa de unión” embroidery alive. Unleash the potential of this technique and explore its diverse applications with us. Let’s celebrate the rich heritage of this craft together!
Gabina Valentín López is an Amuzgo weaver from Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, on the Costa Chica of México. From age nine, she started weaving and learning the traditional symbology of her indigenous community, side by side with her family elders. Forced to migrate to the urban areas of Mexico City, weaving became, for some years, a night activity to keep practising her knowledge and feel closer to her roots. With her passion and strength, Gabina dedicates her life to preserving and maintaining her textile culture. She travels around México to sell the work of the Amuzgo weavers, safeguarding their ability to gain independence as women while keeping their culture alive.
Inês Queirós is a Portuguese textile artist and researcher based in Amsterdam, devoted to safeguarding endangered textile cultures and the unique multicultural expressions of the ethnosphere. Through TuYo Foundation and her expertise in natural dyeing and weaving techniques, Inês motivates communities to revive ancestral textile practices while exploring new possibilities. She sees textiles as a tangible medium for storytelling, social engagement and a powerful tool for women’s emancipation. She will be the translator and facilitator of the workshops taught by Gabina Valentín López.
Filography is an art form that originated in the Middle East and spread to both the West and the Far East. Although more information is needed about its origins, it is known that it was widely practised by many people in the Ottoman Empire. This art form is relatively new in Europe.
During this workshop, you will create your own filography artwork with a beautiful 3D effect. The primary material of filography is 0.30 mm copper wire and a specially coated filography nail.
Following the lines in the pattern, you hammer nails into the board and then remove the pattern paper. You choose the suitable coloured copper wire and start threading between the nails. First, the basic part, then a visual feast is presented by threading in accordance with the pattern. With about 17 different wire techniques, many patterns can be made.
Filography requires patience. It calms the soul and creates beautiful psychological effects. Another beauty is that there is no pattern limitation, and the patterns increase at the same rate as the imagination.
Kezban Arslan will teach this workshop. Born in Amsterdam, she studied art history and art therapy.
After engaging in various art forms, she became interested in philography in 2016. She developed a passion for this art form. In Bursa, Turkey, she received training from highly experienced professional masters. In July 2018, she obtained her certificate and approval from her teachers.
In March 2020, she organised her first exhibition in Amsterdam, presenting 100 designs. This was also the first filography exhibition in the Netherlands. In December 2021, she received the titles of Filography State Artist and Bearer of Cultural Heritage (UNESCO) from the Turkish Ministry of Culture.
This workshop teaches you how to turn loose wool fibres into thread with a spinning wheel. The washed wool will be carded with carding brushes to make spinning easier. You will go home with a nice thread.
Tineke van der Zweep runs an artisanal machine wool spinning mill in northern Friesland. “I have been working with wool and making woolen clothes for years. I teach workshops in spinning, knitting, crocheting, weaving and sewing. My inspiration is the wad, both for the designs and the colours. Wool is a fantastic natural product with many benefits and is widely available. It is warm, durable and has endless possibilities for processing. It is a wonderful product that I can’t get enough of.”
This workshop is organised in collaboration with Pleed Foundation. “Wool is a beautiful natural material that has kept us warm for centuries. Yet most wool from the 800,000 Dutch sheep is discarded as waste or even ends up in the incinerator. At the same time, we massively buy cheap clothes made of polluting synthetic fibres from low-wage countries. Community initiative Pleed explores how wool can be made of value again.”
Festival address:
NDSM Loods
NDSM-Plein 85
1033 WC Amsterdam
Postal address:
Stichting Ambacht in Beeld
Kalf 158
1509AH Zaandam
The Netherlands
