Teaching Artist - Textiles & Mixed Media

Teaching is one of the greatest gifts of my creative practice! I love co-creating with folks and meeting like-minded makers. While my primary course focus on hand stitching, applique, embroidery and beading, I also teach indigo shibori dyeing, block printing on fabric, stitched collage, knitting, and traditional hand-stitched quilting.

My teaching style focuses on collaborative creative making in a low competitive environment and former workshop participants describe my instructional approach as empathic, kind, supportive, and individualistic. I am on the Teaching Artist Roster of the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which is a competitive adjudicated program that artists are selected based on excellence in artistic practice and teaching ability.

I have been teaching textiles and mixed media workshops for over 20 years, including at art and craft organizations such as Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, John C. Campbell Folk School, Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design, Cleveland Institute of Art, Society of Contemporary Craft, Appalachian Center for Craft, University of Kentucky, CraftSummer at Miami University of Ohio, and the Southwest School of Art.

See just a few brief workshop session descriptions below. Additional classes include block printing on fabric, mixed media stitched canvas, and collaged artist books. Reach out to me through the contact form if you would like to host me as a teaching artist! More information can be found at vca.virginia.gov/directory/jennifer-a-reis/

Indigo Shibori Workshop

This basic workshop introduces students to the magic of natural dyeing with indigo. Students learn how to prepare the dye vat; techniques of binding, stitching, clamping, and other pattern-making options; the dye process itself, and final preparation of finished products. Using functional items, students leave with napkins, tea towels, and/ or clothing of natural fiber (wool, silk, cotton) that they have prepared and dyed.

Mini Art Quilt Workshop

Fabric artwork including textile collage and art quilting are increasingly incorporating the unlimited potential of using mixed media to enrich and enliven through unique surface design. In this class, embellished textile techniques like applique, quilting, thread and bead embroidery, and utilizing photographic images are just a few of art textile techniques students will learn and incorporate into projects in the course. Other techniques will include hand quilting, appliqué, principles of design composition, and presentation of textile art.

Introduction to Hand Quilting: Pillow Cover or Wall Hanging

Hand sewing and quilting is a calming and accessible hobby that also increases understanding of composition and color theory as well as fine motor skills. In this class, we learn about and apply color and composition choices, fabric preparation and quilt structure, hand stitching, hand quilting, and project finishing options. Workshop can be tailored to create a wall hanging as an art object or finished as pillowcase top, and finished pieces are approximately 20 x 20” for ease of learning and completion.