Patrick Bongoy: Sacred material

Do you need to learn the traditional rules of quilting before you break them? How do you know when a quilt is finished? And does your thread colour really matter?Take Two Creative Director Jo sits down with artist and quilter Julian Jamaal Jones to answer your most-asked questions about his practice.Julian shares how he came to quilting through fashion photography and his family’s quilting legacy. He explains how he turns emotion into gestural marks, prints his drawings onto fabric and builds a composition without a pattern. We’re sharing it to celebrate the launch of Julian’s new course with Take Two Art, Gesture, Colour, Quilt, our first ever dedicated quilting course.In this episode:– How did Julian find his way to quilting?– Did he learn the traditional rules of patchwork before breaking them?– Who decides what counts as “proper” quilting?– What fabrics and printing methods does Julian use?– Does he paint or draw directly onto fabric?– How do you bring structure to a bold, colourful composition?– How do you know when a quilt is finished? (Hint: if it feels done, it’s done.)– Does thread colour matter, and does a quilt always need binding?– Can you make a quilt from your own fabric stash?– What equipment do you need to get started?– Why Julian hopes your quilts look nothing like hisFeaturing: Julian Jamaal Jones – self-taught artist and quilter from Indianapolis, Indiana, USAHosted by Jo, Take Two Creative DirectorEnrol in Gesture, Colour, Quilt with Julian Jamaal Jones: https://taketwoart.com/courses/julian-jamaal-jonesExplore all Take Two Art courses: https://taketwoart.com/coursesTake Two Art on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/taketwoartcourses/View this episode on Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TakeTwoArtCoursesVisit our website to explore our courses, or dive into more articles and interviews. 

Memphis-based abstract painter Hamlett Dobbins creates paintings full of colour, pattern and movement, each beginning with a small, everyday memory of whole-body pleasure. Breaking those moments into shape, rhythm and colour, he returns to them in the studio again and again. In this conversation, Hamlett explores how an experience becomes an artwork, the role of drawing, and why finding your voice may begin with paying attention.Take Two Art on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/taketwoartcourses/View this episode on Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TakeTwoArtCoursesVisit our website to explore our courses, or dive into more articles and interviews. 

What is tufting, which tufting gun should you buy, and why isn't your tufting gun working? Take Two Course Creator Tara Axford and Content Manager Nicola Rough answer your most-asked tufting questions. With clips from Kerri Hollingsworth's previously unreleased course interview and US tufting artist Melissa Monroe, they explore what tufting is, how to choose a tufting gun, why your frame matters, how to work with recycled yarns, carving, and caring for your body as you tuft. We're sharing it to celebrate the launch of Kerri's new tufting course with Take Two Art, Tufting. In this episode: – What is tufting, and how is it different from latch hook and punch needle? – Is tufting hard to learn? – What equipment do you need to start tufting? – Which tufting gun should you buy? – Why isn't your tufting gun working? (Hint: check your frame.) – What yarn can you use for tufting, including recycled fibres? – What is carving, and how does it shape a tufted piece? – Is tufting hard on your body? – Why Kerri tufts furniture people can sit on Featuring: Kerri Hollingsworth – fibre artist and furniture upholsterer from country Victoria, Australia Melissa Monroe – tufting artist making wall pieces and sculptural furniture Hosted by Tara Axford, Take Two Course Creator, and Nicola Rough, Take Two Content Manager Enrol in Tufting with Kerri Hollingsworth: https://taketwoart.com/courses/tufting-art-kerri-hollingsworthExplore all Take Two Art courses: https://taketwoart.com/courses

Rhode Island collage artist and printmaker Sarah Z Short gives discarded books and paper ephemera a second life. Printing with vintage wooden type chosen for its shape rather than its words, she cuts and layers rescued pages into bold, abstract compositions. This conversation explores working with repurposed materials, building from the grid, and the happy accident that sparked her boro-inspired series.Take Two Art on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/taketwoartcourses/View this episode on Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TakeTwoArtCoursesVisit our website to explore our courses, or dive into more articles and interviews. 

What happens when we let go of perfection and give ourselves permission to experiment?Join Angela and ceramic artist Juz Kitson as they explore creative reinvention, impermanence and the joy of breaking the rules.From extraordinary sculptural installations to her new online course, Curious Matter, Juz shares how curiosity can shake up your practice, alongside practical insights into what students can expect.Learn more about  Curious Matter here: https://taketwoart.com/courses/juzkitsonThe Art House Milton - Porcelain Queen shop https://www.thearthousemilton.com/shopJuz Kitson on Instargamhttps://www.instagram.com/juz_kitson/Take Two Art on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/taketwoartcourses/View this episode on You Tubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TakeTwoArtCoursesVisit our website to explore our courses, or dive into more articles and interviews. 

New York City based mixed media artist, instructor, author and designer Seth Apter shares how a chance gallery visit and years of handmade mail art turned a psychologist into a full-time artist. Known for richly layered, textural work built from thread, found objects and vintage ephemera, Seth reflects on community, creative generosity, and why every artist is always one layer away from magic.Visit our website to explore our courses, or dive into more articles and interviews. 

Croatian-born, Chicago-based artist Ana Zanic embraces watercolour as a spontaneous, layered practice built from washes, drawn marks and a loose, improvisational hand. Her series, including Migration, made around her US citizenship, explore movement, memory and identity. In this conversation, Ana talks about accidental burn marks discovered with her son, working at scale, and how becoming a mother led her, unexpectedly, into ceramics.Visit our website to explore our courses, or dive into more articles and interviews. 

Congolese-born, Cape Town-based artist Patrick Bongoy transforms reclaimed rubber inner tubes into intricately woven sculptures confronting histories of extraction, displacement and survival. A 2024 LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize finalist now representing the DRC at the 2026 Venice Biennale, Patrick reflects on his family's early resistance to his path, the enduring legacy of Congo's rubber trade, and how ritual and spirituality shape his practice.Visit our website to explore our courses, or dive into more articles and interviews. 

French Canadian textile artist Catherine-Marie Longtin, based in South London, builds quilts and stretched fabric artworks from collected linens and solids, favouring analogous colour and hand-pieced geometry over pattern and print. A former academic, she left that career in 2008 and has just published a book exploring 100 variations of the traditional log cabin block. In this conversation, Catherine reflects on breaking quilting's unwritten rules, trusting colour instinct, and building a long project one block at a time.Visit our website to explore our courses, or dive into more articles and interviews. 

Dutch, London-based artist Anne von Freyburg creates large-scale textile paintings that reimagine Rococo portraiture in hand-sewn tapestry, sequins and PVC fabric. In this conversation, she unpacks the hierarchy between painting and textile, why pleasure and excess are acts of resistance, and the six-month process behind her recent Saatchi Gallery installation. Anne also previews Pleasure Garden, her upcoming solo show with HOFA Gallery.Visit our website to explore our courses, or dive into more articles and interviews.