Ann Johnston
MASTER ARTIST
Unlock Your Artistic Potential
Mentorship is the fastest way to go from where you are today, to where you want to be!
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Mentoring Emerging Artists
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MEDIUMS: Textiles | Quilting | Fibre
SPECIALTY: ✔ Stitching ✔ Finding Your Artistic Style ✔ Fabric DyingÂ
Welcome to the world of painting dye on fabric! This includes just about any way you want to put it on, not just with a paintbrush, but also with stamps, printing, rollers, squeeze bottles, gloved hands, resists, masking out. Dye does not change the surface of the fabric as does paint, so it keeps its original hand. I use Procion MX dyes because they are safe, economical, easy to use, and most importantly, high on the scale of wash and light fastness. I compare dyeing fabric to following a recipe for making cookies. You need the right ingredients, you measure, follow the steps, and when you understand the process, you can adapt it to your own interests. The members of the group will be familiar with using dye on fabric and want to learn how to make it work for their artwork, whether quilts, mixed media, or wearable art. My book Color by Design: Paint and Print with Dye may be familiar to some and would be a good resource to see some of the possibilities.
I will begin by illustrating the various uses of dye for surface design and reviewing the recipes and ingredients, with handouts. I will want to know the experience participants have with dyeing fabric and which techniques they want to pursue as a group, so I can organize the topics and narrow our focus. I encourage all questions throughout our sessions and I will continually loop back and forth by reviewing and explaining.
I will assign small tasks and/or exercises with dye at each gathering so we can deal with the questions and challenges that they may have encountered. I will assign different homework for some participants as needed to address particular questions. I have images of fabric samples for any exercise I may assign, as well as finished artwork. I will demonstrate as needed, usually by showing short videos. My goal is to teach how much fun it is to be able to dye fabric. A lot of it, like everything else, is practice, and the better your skills, the more power you have to create the artwork you want.
Participants should bring these to first session:
1. Chose a piece of fabric you have dyed, for introductions.
2. Bring a question you have already encountered about dyeing fabric.
Ann’s EXPERTISE
Listed below are this Mentor’s specialty skills. Join this group if you want to grow in these areas.
Specialty: ✔ Artistic Process & Mindset ✔ Finding Your Artistic Style ✔ Color
Technique:
Color and Composition
Technique Demos
Providing Art Critiques
Teaching How to Self Critique
Studio Setup for Art Production
Supplies and Tools – what to use, where to save, and where to spend
“Mastrius is a perfect balance of accountability, community and fun.
It feels like family. Family that makes you a better you.”
~ Elizabeth, Emerging Artist
JOIN NOW
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If the group you’re interested in has a waitlist, you have the option to join another group to get started. When your group opens we can transfer you over.
Your Membership Includes (click here):
- Mentorship Session: Meet via video conference for a monthly 2-hour session with your Mentor and small group. You choose the mentor, we provide the group!
- Mid-Month Session: Meet via video conference for a 1-hour session with your small group and Navigator to connect, share progress, encouragement, and support.
- Weekly Events: Attend LIVE weekly events online, on hot topics like Finding Your Style, Composition & Critiques, plus master DEMOS. Access event recordings!
- MyStudio: Access your private online studio space equipped with business tools and Mentorship Session Recordings.
- Chat Group: Access your private online chat group to connect with your small group and Navigator (group facilitator) anytime.
- Discounts: Enjoy member discounts on LIVE and ON-DEMAND courses, art supplies, and more!
Emerging
Mentorship MembershipNext session: January 28, 2025
On the 4th Tuesday of every month
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM MST Tue
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MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST
Artist statement
I chose stitching as a means of expression, and more than 45 years later, the desire to manipulate cloth is still an irresistible force. I start with white fabric, create my colors and make my marks. I use dye to allow the surface qualities of the fabric show through the colors, and a wide combination of stitching techniques to add textures that are an integral part of my compositions.
I am extremely interested in how an idea gets a physical form. The only way I can start to understand this is in my own work, observing my own thought processes. While many of my quilts directly treat the theme of balance vs chaos for example, or the complexities of a landscape, they are also indirectly about how the ideas develop as I make choices. As many ways as I have tried to set an idea in cloth, I now find myself with even more ideas and ways to approach it in my designs. I continue to learn as I explore—I think my body of work is about this exploration.
Artist Biography
Ann’s wide-ranging interests are suggested by her BA in literature from Stanford and her MA in geography from the University of Oregon. She attributes her artistic interests to an open mind and her desire to keep learning, independently and continuously. Her ongoing mastery of color and design is focused through her fabric dyeing and quiltmaking; cultural geography and geology frequently inform her textile work.
Ann has been exploring techniques that work best with Procion MX dyes for about 50 years. Since she wrote Dye Painting! In 1992, she has taught hundreds of in-person workshops; her students appreciate her openness and generosity. Her books, videos, articles and lectures are resources for fiber artists around the world. Ann’s art quilts have been seen and enjoyed in museums and other venues in the US and internationally for many years. She continues to produce innovative and powerful work that fascinates her viewers and collectors.Â
