Masterclass Britta Ankenbauer Working in series 2

This course is very compatible with “Working in series1” – you could use the surface design pieces you already worked in the first course. Missed the first week? Doesn’t matter, you can also join the week as a funny and experimental single course

Tell your stories through stitching and other complementary and combined textile methods. In this week we’ll explore different creative and playful approaches to work in series with textiles. You can find out more about your personal processes to express your ideas and inspiration. By using and experimenting with creative textile methods like stitching, mini-weaving, crochet and other textile techniques you can tell your own stories. We are focusing on stitching but all other techniques can also be used to find new fresh ideas and content for your series.

Following your own pathway, you’ll learn to combine threaded elements and other different textile materials. You’ll produce at least one series, coming from the inspirational material you’ll bring or find in this week. We are going to explore beautiful colour schemes, lines and shapes, the arrangement and composition. We ask about “touch” and creative elements of stitch. Appliqué can be a wonderful and beautiful  “collage-like” method to play around with difference and contrast. Did you ever tried creative colour changes and layering with textiles? How do you approach an idea from the beginning to the end?  This week is again full of interesting exploration, processes and wonder.

At the end of the course you have a range of different examples, coming together in a series. Make a  book of it, a 3D object  or frame your series for the wall.  However – this week moves you in terms of creativity, following your own pathway and find out more about narrative and experimental textile methods.

If you’ve joined the surface design course in June, you are very welcome to bring your designs for further development through stitching. If you are a beginner in textile works or stitching, don’t worry – you’ll go out of this week with lots of creative ideas for your own way to working in textiles.

Artist statement Britta:

Textile art is poetry, storytelling, and combination

I love telling stories and asking questions.
Embarking on a journey of exploration with tactile materials, placing them in intriguing new contexts, and transforming the material into art—this is my way of engaging artistically.
Creating art happens primarily in my studio, working with textiles, paper, and occasionally in combination with other natural materials.

I favor "slow, rounded" processes. I often begin with raw materials, followed by dyeing, printing, painting wool and fabrics, spinning or weaving, sewing together, taking apart again (deconstruction), and reshaping. The subsequent embroidery serves as the integrating factor, bringing everything together: lines, surfaces, connections, and cohesion.

I’ve always been fascinated by mixed forms (mixed media). In relation to textile art, I explore how multiple textile techniques can be integrated into a single work without overpowering one another. It’s a kind of dialogue between traditions that have walked separate paths for centuries.
In my textile works, I strive to create new forms of "mixed tapestry" and "art quilts," which, in essence, represent themes of integration and communication. In doing so, I draw on both historical and contemporary contexts in my textile art.

My works closely resemble collages yet remain distinct.