Workshops & Lectures

Creative learning experiences in fiber art, color, surface design, and personal expression.

Older woman with glasses and gray hair holding a drawing of a girl and animals, inside a room with windows and blinds

I love to teach. My workshops are lively, hands-on experiences designed to expand participants’ creative vocabulary and encourage individual expression. I also offer engaging lectures for quilt guilds and other creative groups.

Hands-On Workshops

Creative, playful classes designed to encourage experimentation and individual expression.

Close-up of embroidered and stitched leaf designs on fabric, with a larger collage of similarly designed fabric leaves in the background.

Thread Play

Create richly textured leaves using fabric, thread, color, and surface-design techniques. Participants will experiment with materials and stitching while developing their own unique interpretations of nature.

Three-hour Workshop - Maximum 20 participants

A collage of colorful and abstract backgrounds with a central image of stamping supplies, including rubber stamps, ink pads, and ink sticks.

Backgrounds & Blocks

Explore the possibilities of oil paintsticks, stencils, resists, and more. Create richly layered fabrics for distinctive backgrounds, blocks, and accents while experimenting with playful ways to add color, texture, and depth.

Two-hour Workshop - Maximum 20 participants

Left side features three pink fluffy flowers with long stems. Right side displays a colorful abstract collage with bird and plant shapes against an orange background.

Attainable Abstract

Think you could never create abstract art? Yes, you can! Using a favorite nature photograph, participants learn to simplify shapes, explore composition, and transform the image into a striking abstract fiber art piece. The emphasis is on making abstraction approachable, playful, and achievable.

Three-hour Workshop - Maximum 20 participants

Additional Workshop Offerings

Additional hands-on workshops can be tailored to the interests of your group.

Create a landscape quilt using fabric collage and decorative hand-stitching.

Landscapes in Layers

Three-hour Workshop

Experiment with everyday objects to print unexpected patterns and textures on fabric for future quilts.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

Three-hour Workshop - Tables and access to sink required

Transform favorite fabric scraps into a colorful quilt inspired by the beauty of stained glass.

Stained Glass Windows

Three-hour Workshop

Discover the surprisingly simple art of Canadian smocking and create beautiful texture with hand stitching.

Canadian Smocking

One-hour Workshop

Create a playful, improvisational flower bouquet inspired by Freddy Moran’s joyful “no perfection” approach.

Fun Freddy Moran Style!

Three-hour Workshop

Create a whimsical underwater world with fabric and thread while exploring color, texture, and imaginative design.

Under the Sea

Five-hour Workshop

Engaging programs for quilt guilds and creative groups, blending inspiration, practical ideas, and a little fun.

Lectures & Programs

The Nature of Creativity

What sparks creativity—and what can we do when inspiration disappears? Drawing on brain science, Systems Theory, and the practices of working artists, this engaging program explores the creative process and offers practical ways to generate ideas, renew confidence, and turn inspiration into art.

One-hour Presentation - Projector & Screen Preferred

Patchwork to Pictures

This lively, interactive lecture and trunk show traces one artist’s journey from traditional quiltmaking to creating pictures with fabric and thread. Along the way, guild members get a behind-the-scenes look at the techniques, discoveries, and creative processes of art quilting.

One-hour Presentation - Projector & Screen Preferred

Beyond the Pattern

You’ve mastered crisp lines, perfect points, and familiar patterns—but are you ready to put more of yourself into your work? This encouraging program explores simple ways to move beyond the pattern, make personal design choices, and take those first steps toward creating original work.

One-hour Presentation - Projector & Screen Required

Why Color Works (or Doesn’t)

Not Color Theory 101! This approachable exploration looks at why some color combinations sizzle while others fizzle. Through relationships, value, contrast, and personal preference, participants discover practical ways to make more confident color choices in their own work.

One-hour Presentation - Projector & Screen Required

Texture Changes Everything

An exploration of how surface design elements such as hand stitching, couching, ink and the addition of unconventional fibers can transform a simple fabric design into richly-textured art. Many of these materials may already be in your studio. Come discover new ways to use them!

One-hour Presentation - Projector & Screen Required

Looking for a workshop or program for your guild or creative group? I’d be happy to help you choose an offering—or tailor one to your members’ interests.