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RUTH B. McDOWELL 5 DAY MASTER CLASS 2006

Ruth accepted NANZQ's invitation to conduct three 5 day Master classes entitled 'Nature' in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in May 2006.

Ruth specializes in Art Quilts and is also known for her use of fabrics. She says, "Each student develops her own design which may be based on a freehand drawing, or working from a photograph. 'Nature' can be almost anything: plant, animal, bird, fish, human, landscape, rock or abstract design. There have even been rocket ships, classic cars, chairs and architecture in student quilts. The technique will be machine (or hand) piecing. You will explore how the image is to be translated into a pieced design and what are the various ways to go about that. The interplay between the piecing technique and the visual design of an art quilt is the focus of the class. Since each student works in quite a different project, with different seaming, fabrics, border conditions etc, the students will find the class a very rich experience."

14 people participated in Christchurch, 13 in Wellington and 18 in Auckland.

3 participants were from Australia.

Feedback from participants is that Ruth was a wonderful tutor with a great sense of humour. Living on site, with all meals provided allowed students to concentrate on their project, share fabric and ideas and achieve excellent results. All in all a very rewarding experience that has already produced some amazing results. The cost when broken down per day for tutor, meals and accommodation really does work out very reasonably, although it seems a lot in a lump sum.