Creative Textiles

Course Description:

This course allows students to learn the design process in the textile design field by providing them with the necessary practical and theoretical knowledge to put into practice the first steps in the creation and production of designs and fabrics. Students will explore a wide range of textile techniques and surface pattern design with a strong emphasis on experimentation. This course appeals to students who love drawing, but also those who are intrigued by how patterns can transform a surface.

Students will learn to become confident with creating different design compositions and exploring the different formal qualities of shapes, color, textures, and patterns as an expressive language through textile processes such as: silk-screen printing, monoprinting, experimental painting, printing techniques a Shibori dyeing. Students will also learn the basics of the design methodology which includes: what a “textile collection” means, putting together a collection of materials necessary to develop ideas, as well as how to create a mood board and sketchbook.

The course is project based with each project running over a couple of weeks and based on different design themes using a variety of materials and equipment. The class will visit manufacturers and museums to understand how textiles are perceived in our society over time, in a continuous dialogue between innovation, tradition and sustainability.