Expressive + Effective Mending and Embroidery

Saturday, May 17, 1-4pm

Class level: All levels welcome

Age requirements: Ages 16+

Registration fee: $40

Teaching artist: Dean Amethyst Dvorak (@dean.amethyst.art)

Join us for another session of Expressive + Effective Mending and Embroidery. Now an hour longer for more time to work in community and to practice what you’ve learned, including larger scale embroidery (like the tree sweatshirt seen in the above photo) for those who are interested!

Learn how to embroider and mend your clothing in ways that express yourself while giving your clothing a second life and avoiding overconsumption. Want to add some vibrant flowers to a pair of pants that cover stains, wear-and-tear, or other damage? Have you found a treasure at a thrift store and want to learn how to cover some minor damage to customize it into the garment of your dreams?

Together we will learn the basics of decorative and functional embroidery, visible mending, and patching holes. We will begin class by becoming acquainted with our space, doing a brief art warm up, and introducing ourselves to one another. Next we will focus on learning and practicing techniques on scrap cloth, with both written, projected, and verbal content options. There will be a brief 5 minute break. Then the final hour will be spent applying what we have learned (with support upon request) by embroidering clothing that you have brought with you, all materials (scrap cloth, thread, needles, and scissors) provided except for clothing to customize. I encourage you to explore your closet, do a clothing swap with a friend, or browse a thrift store to find some clothing to use as your canvas. The last 10 minutes of class will be saved for showing off your pieces (if you want), asking questions and sharing information with the group, and wrapping up our time together.

This 3 hour workshop is open to all skill levels and ages and is intended to follow universal design for learning principles. Accommodations are available for those that need them (including help threading needles, cutting fabric, or any other access concerns upon request). I am a neurodivergent instructor and I intend for this to be a neurodiversity-affirming class.​

Required Supplies:

• clothing to mend/embroider

Note: All other supplies are included.

Note: Scholarships may be available for this workshop. Please email us here to learn more.

REGISTER

Bio:

Dean Amethyst is a self-taught multi-disciplinary artist and a professional counselor. They are non-binary, queer, White, and Autistic and find elements of their identities to be a driving inspiration behind their art. They have been highlighted in the Wally Duomo student gallery, the Sound Mind/Sound Body disability empowerment show, an interactive community art event at Patchwork Tattoo Collective, and in the Queer with Disabilities zine. They have taught undergraduate courses at UW-Madison on clinical communication and suicidality. Some of Dean’s influences include adrienne marie brown and Black radical feminists, Dr Devon Price and Autistic adults, and contemporary artists such as Brit. They aim to create community spaces to support folks in learning, honoring and alchemizing difficult experiences in the pursuit of pleasure, connection, and collective liberation. They are currently based in Madison, WI and work as an artist and a professional counselor.

Social: @dean.amethyst.art