Elnaz Yazdani: Rethinking Embroidery

We're thrilled to have Ruth Woods returning to Making Zen! Ruth is an expert in basketry, and we are so pleased to be able to have her talents at our retreat! It was great to talk to her about the threads that connect textile arts and basketry, and how practicing in different mediums can help us open our minds to new ideas and possibilities.

Many of you know that I value stitching as a meditative act, and I have a kindred spirit in Emma in that regard! In our chat, we dive into stitching as mindfulness practice, and discuss Emma’s workshop for the event, where she’ll teach us to make a healing meditation cloth.

A delight to sit down with Kiala Givehand. Kiala was a speaker at the very first Making Zen retreat, and this is her first time back since then! I’m thrilled to have her back and teaching at this one, and we had a lovely chat about her workshop and the growth that’s happened in the space between the first retreat and this one.

What a lovely chat with Clarissa Grandi! Clarissa’s work is breathtakingly elegant. We’re delighted that she’ll be sharing her skills with us and teaching us Parabolic Paper Stitching as her workshop.

It was lovely to sit with Rebekah Johnston and welcome her to our retreat. Her Making Zen project is all about using what you have and making coasters from scrap fabrics, which, of course, I adore!

It is always such a pleasure to sit down with my friend Amy Maricle of Mindful Art Studio, and talking about Making Zen is especially fun! I love Amy's insight about how beneficial it can be to our art to do things like retreats and residencies, where we are surrounded by other artists and immersed in different techniques and projects.

Mollie is a fantastic stitcher who is going to be showing us how to add beautiful mums and marigolds to a stretched canvas. We got a chance to talk about the tools and accessories we use in our stitching and how helpful they can be, and of course about Mollie’s workshop and VIP bonus!

Elnaz Yazdani is new to the Making Zen retreat. It was lovely sitting down with her and talking about her Rethinking Embroidery workshop, as well as departing from the "rules" of traditional embroidery and using found objects and things you have on hand to make beautiful works of art.

What a lovely opportunity to chat with our new friend Kat Waters! Kat is introducing us to tambour embroidery - a skill she picked up when making her wedding dress in 2017! In our chat today, we got to talk about how special and fulfilling it is to make your own clothes - especially for a big occasion like a wedding.

We're excited to have Kirsty Freeman joining us for this retreat! Kirsty is a modern hand stitching artist who designs kits for embroidery and cross stitching. It was a treat to talk to her about her designs and inspiration!