I offer talks in person to groups and also via Zoom. Please contact me for fees and expenses.
Dyeing From a Natural World
This light hearted talk covers my experiences of dyeing from plants, trees, vegetables and so much more from the natural world. You will hear about the many different ways I collect plants to dye with and techniques used to apply the colour and get texture into the fabric and threads. This talk is accompanied by a Keynote presentation and stitched textiles.
Woad – Blue As Old As time
Come and listen to how the woad plant has been used for blue dye since Neolithic times and it’s rich history and heritage. Hear the often humorous tales of how I have grown, dyed and stitched with the woad plant and the places it has taken me. This lecture will take you from the Celts, Queen Elizabeth I, to Robin Hood and his Lincoln Green. Discover how in later years the woad workers became known as “black hands”. and how this plant was used to dye RAF uniforms in World War I. This lecture will be accompanied by a presentation and quilts.
Colour My World
Take a trip around the world looking at how people have used traditional plants, animals and minerals to colour cloth for centuries around the world. The process of natural dyeing has changed very little over time. You will hear about traditional European plant dyes, travel east to view tribal mud resist dyeing to the blue indigo vats from Japan. This talk includes a Keynote presentation and stitched textiles.
Kantha – 500 Years of Stitch
In this interactive talk you will hear about the traditions of Kantha work, and just how relaxing it can be today to stitch. Kantha work is a hand stitching technique originating in India, based on just a running stitch used to create representational pictures and abstract patterns. Angela will tell you about the amazing history, and how for the women of Bengal this type of stitching became an important process of documenting their personal story. You will learn about how Angela stitches, and the tools and threads she loves to use. She will talk to you about how many beautiful variations of running stitch there are that can be used in any Kantha design. Angela will have one of her vintage Kantha quilts with her as well as stitched samples from her books and own work. Angela is not responsible for the ability of this type of relaxing stitching to become quite addictive!!
This talk is accompanied by a Keynote presentation and stitched textiles.
This can be a full one hour talk or a 30 minutes talk with a 30 minute mini Kantha workshop of a paisley design.
For current prices please contact me.