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Melody describes herself as an artist whose medium
for the last 24 years has been quiltmaking. She was a professional
dyer for twelve years and formed a company with Laura Wasilowski,
called Artfabr!k. This creative duo traveled to quilt shows and
conferences selling their hand dyed fabrics and threads, while at
the same time making award winning quilts and teaching workshops
in fusing both here and abroad. The Chicago School of Fusing, a
completely imaginary school, became world renowned due to the musical
antics of these two artists. Her education includes a BA in painting
and drawing from Northeastern Illinois University in1981 and an
MA in Fibers from Northern Illinois University in1994.
In 2002 Melody was able to retire from Artfabrik in
order to spend more time making quilts and teaching her particular
approach to color and design. |
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Melody’s quilts have been exhibited in national shows such as,
all the Mancuso shows, the American Quilter’s Society, the International
Quilt Festival in Houston and Chicago, and five times in Visions,
and three times in Quilt National. Her major awards include a 1995
AQS Best Wall Quilt and in 1998, the IQA’s Pfaff Master of Machine
Artistry. She has also participated in exhibits in Japan, Great Britain,
the Netherlands and New Zealand. Her experiences in Japan and New
Zealand have had a major influence on her desire to focus on teaching.
Melody lives in Cary, Illinois, with David, her husband since 1978, and her cat Popeye who acts as the ferocious guard of the estate. You can read her daily musings on her blog. (Click HERE to visit Melody's Blog) |
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Tiny
Art Quilts
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Melody Johnson loves to make small format quilts as a way to experiment
with new ideas. The techniques she most enjoys are improvisational
fused collage and hand embroidery. In this workshop students will
incorporate fabric collage, strip fusing and hand stitching to make
contemporary designs. This quick method will give the student an
opportunity to freely improvise with color. An emphasis on easy
finishing techniques is included. Fusing allows endless possibilities
for easy construction of shapes and details that will open doors
of creativity for the No sewing machine required |
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Supply List Fabric Kit required ($20)-Consisting of two different half
yards of hand dyed rainbow cotton. The colors in the fabric allow
the student to have 8-12 colors in one piece, facilitating the exercises
and producing optimal results. |
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Tulip Party Kit fee: $54.00 - payable to Artist |
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| Fused piecing is one of the methods Melody
uses to make award winning quilts like Tulip Party. In this workshop
students will make a smaller version of this quilt, using fusing,
scissors and a rotary cutter. A kit of hand dyed cottons is required,
dyed specifically to produce the desired results. On Day Two, students
will learn the finishing technique known as the Escape Hatch Finish
which means no more binding! Sewing machine optional |
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Supply List Fabric Kit required ($54): Consisting of three half yards
Special Edition Hand Dyed Cotton, |
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