Monday, October 30, 7-10pm
Facilitated by Eliza Fernand
$16 Member* / $20 Regular
Max 10 participants

Member price accessed with discount code at checkout. Are you a member and don’t know your code? Email [email protected]! Not a member but interested in these perks? Join here!

In this class we will have a discussion about artistic practice as resistance as well as activist artwork, while participants learn patchwork quilt techniques. In the American quilt-making tradition, we will use scraps of discarded clothing and bedding to piece together patchwork. We will focus on my pattern for a square that boldly states, NO. I would like to give participants the space to say NO to the things in their lives that are not serving them or that outright oppress them- taking home this square will be a reminder and a jumping off point. Each student will leave with their own patchwork and two instructional patchwork zines. Quilting, tying, basting, and binding techniques will also be covered so that students can make a finished project. Bring your own sewing machine, and special fabrics you may have saved, or share the instructor’s equipment and supplies.

*No sewing experience necessary*

Eliza Fernand lives and works as an artist, a teacher, and an activist. Her own large-scale fabric installations act as pedagogical tools and aim to spur conversation about history, women, art, disparity, consent, and our present-moment struggles. After studying sculpture, video, and performance in Portland, OR, Fernand has led a cross-country career, attending over a dozen artist residencies and directing her own field study of American quilt-making traditions. Fernand founded and directed the artist residency Shared Space Studio in Pentwater, MI, and acted as residency facilitator and podcast producer for the Have Company residency in Grand Rapids, MI. Her upcoming goals include producing a public access TV show and connecting elementary school students to critical thinking and contemporary art through extra-curricular programming.

*All members get 20% off paid programming. A limited number of free spots are also available for Warrior & Goddess level members. Email [email protected] to inquire about free tickets.

Our program costs go directly towards compensation of the instructors and staffers who work the event. We want to make programming as accessible as possible to anyone who is interested, however, so we offer volunteer opportunities in exchange for membership, as well as free community tickets to each program (number varies depending on capacity of the class). Email [email protected] for more info or to find out more about these opportunities for a specific event.