Jo Dixey Class Coming Up

In April 2015, I went to the Australian Quilt Convention in Melbourne with my great sewing friend Lisa Johnson. We had a wonderful time. Have you ever been to AQC? It’s an incredible extravaganza of all things quilting. Lisa and I splashed out on a Gold Pass which gave us entry to all the events, Gala Dinner, Cocktail Party, artist’s talks, four days of classes and the most amazing lunches and refreshments you’ve ever seen at an event! I would definitely have gone this year except that I have my new little shop to look after.

One of the workshops I did was with Jo Dixey, an incredibly talented needlewoman, as I like to call her. Needlewoman seems to fit; as she is Royal School of Needlework trained embroiderer who earns her keep through traditional embroidery commissions, making quilts, textile art and other mixed media pieces. Lucky for us she also teaches embroidery, quilting and various other stitch related techniques.

Jo is originally from the UK and is now, lucky for us, living and working in New Zealand. Her connection with the Royal School of Needlework interested me as I had done a weekend workshop there about four years prior. The school is within Hampton Court Palace, an atmospheric venue! It has high light filled rooms overlooking the formal garden of William III. That was a wonderful experience but a bit off topic.

Because I loved Jo’s class at AQC so much, I’ve decided to bring her to Berry for a two day class on the 16th and 17th April this year. The class is titled: (by me attempting to be a bit descriptive) Drafting a Portrait Quilt. Jo calls the workshop making a Head Quilt. Both are accurate really. The class is all about the skills needed to turn a photograph of a head into a piece of textile art.

What I learned, which can be applied to almost any subject matter, is how to enlarge the photo while simplifying it to the necessary elements for your design. How to break your design up into areas of tonal difference and then, how to render this in fabric. The techniques Jo teaches are age-old techniques that do not rely on technology. This is a refreshingly computer free class! The old school materials of pencils, paper, rulers, scissors, needles, thread and fabric are all we need in this class to create a really potent and meaningful work.

I’m still finishing off the needleturn on this portrait of my gorgeous daydreaming daughter Milly who was a year off becoming a teenager in this photo. In years to come, it’s going to be a really poignant reminder of how serene and elegant she is at this age. I’m thrilled with how it turned out. A piece I couldn’t have even imagined making without Jo’s experience in rendering shading across all kinds of textiles and her calm no-nonsense methods of walking us through a simple but unfamiliar process.