Unlearn the rules that are holding you back from truly activating your creative spirit with contemporary embroidery artist fleur woods.

Connecting with your materials and tools is the foundation to creating with confidence and in this module, Fleur shares her gold nuggets for removing creative barriers. 

• Learn some simple rules to create time and space to pick up a project and
  get stitching at any time! 
• Uncover how to edit and curate your supplies for each project,
  an important part of the creative storytelling process. 
• You will learn how to plan to have no plan, which gives you both a
  place to start and enjoy plenty of freedom for the work to evolve as you go.

Walk away feeling comfortable with your materials understanding the ‘what and why’ of the supplies needed throughout this course.

Colour can bring joy or utter confusion. As the most requested topic in Fleur’s live workshops, it was important to dedicate a full module to it so you become familiar with the ‘rules’ and then break them to create your unique colour stories.

• Identify your own personal colour palette. It’s the first step to
  creating authentic and recognizable artwork.
• Take a fun and relaxed journey through the basics of colour theory so you can
  bring balance to your work and enhance your storytelling.
• Discover how colour and composition work together, and how texture can
  affect colour and enhance your design.  

By the end of this module, you’ll be excited to create your own designs with the confidence to
resolve colour overload and understand how placement is key to making your composition sing! 

Find newfound freedom, from complete beginners to more advanced stitchers you’ll be amazed how every stitch is as individual as you. It’s time to discover your personal mark-making.   

• You’ll uncover Fleur’s go-to stitches, work with different fibres, play with scale,
  density and texture to learn how different marks can communicate form.
• Create a beautiful stitch sampler ‘sketch page’ to learn new stitches as a
  reference guide for projects and an ever-evolving place to warm up.
• Identify what stitches you enjoy the most and what materials resonate with those
  stitches so that you can sink in and enjoy the process. 

Be rewarded with a fresh perspective on stitch and with further creative restrictions removed you’ll begin to relax into your authentic mark-making and fall in love with your process!

Playing is something that we don’t do often enough as adults, this module is all about getting a little messy and having fun. Learn Fleur’s signature techniques to create beautiful backdrops that are lovely to stitch. 

• Learn the secrets to getting better results when creating your own unique backdrops,
  whilst still being easy to stitch through! 
• Explore several simple techniques to create beautiful washes,
  drips and water marks with abstract effects. 
• Create your perfect shade of linen to complement your individual colour palette to
  add depth and individuality to your work.

Your desire to paint and stitch will be quenched by learning this unique mixed media approach to creating individual embroidery artwork.  

Drawing and design will no longer be dirty words as you enjoy adding these essential elements of every unique embroidery artist toolkit into your own. 

• Unlock how a foundational design guides you and actually allows space
  for freedom of expression and organic evolution.
• Explore how drawing, tracing, and printed fabrics can create the base of
  your designs and learn to compose multiple images. 
• Get practical hands on experience by stitching your own floral arrangement
  embedding the importance of base layering and borders. 

Walk away with the confidence and multiple ways to transfer imagery onto your fabric, laying the foundations to build your artwork and tell your own story. Fleur has even included some templates for those just not into drawing!

The slow nature of hand embroidery is delightful, but it’s time to mix it up a little to achieve quicker results inspired by the natural textures found in nature. 

• Take a walk with Fleur to her most treasured beach and discover how you can borrow
  colours and textures from nature, transforming them into abstracted fibre forms. 
• Master the punch needling technique, from different needles and fabric and
  uncover tips for smooth and steady stitching.
• Use wool as a base to create textural rockpools, a forest floor or other
  textural or abstract pieces.

Feel your creativity boost, with new fibre tricks up your sleeve. Relish the fact that these simple techniques have opened up your creative practice and allowed you to approach your work from a more textural perspective, with the skills to create texture easily and quickly.

Set your inner child free and challenge its curiosity and sense of joy by making handbuilt elements to use for future textural works.

• Make clay beads and organic forms to use as elements in your artwork,
  it’s like playdough for adults and you’ll love it! 
• Enjoy hand-building fibre elements as a great way to add height,
  texture and form to your pieces. 
• Learn to group elements and audition them so that nothing is permanent with
  Fleur’s zero adhesive approaches. 

Your contemporary embroidery toolkit is beginning to overflow as you add another way to work with thread and fibre that doesn’t require the exacting techniques of some more traditional forms of embroidery.

To extend your learning from your mini floral embroidery project and your foray into natural textures, it’s the perfect time to geek out on all the details as you learn different ways to build up the textures and colours in your work with stitch.

• Work back into your stitching to explore intricate details, and undergo
  further explorations of colour and texture. 
• Build up the textures and colours in your work, and explore ways to add
  outlines and illustrative elements that will help define your stitched imagery.
• Take a deep dive into Fleur’s finished artworks to see examples of how important
  the finer details are when completing your artwork. 

You’ll be bursting with joy at the end of this module as the satisfaction you’ll get from seeing your work elevate into something more visually exciting and more meaningful is truly magic.

You’ve come a long way, and it’s time to celebrate the accumulation of your knowledge with a beautiful project to design your own textile collage. 

• Dig back into the stash of lovely treasures you created or collected at the start
  and explore how to make a base for your collage.
• Discover simple ways to attach your collage elements, and how to blend your stitches
  over the edges of collage pieces to create more cohesive imagery.
• Learn to troubleshoot challenges along the way and enjoy putting your colour and
  composition theory to practice as you create a unique design. 

You’re now ready to throw all those sensible ideas in the bin and just have a good old play and explore the process of textile collage in your way. You won’t be in a hurry to complete this piece as you’ll be so absorbed in the process and relaxed knowing you’ll know how to conquer any roadblocks that may cross your creative path.

Let Fleur give you a behind the scenes look into an often overlooked part of the process; how to complete and finish your fibre projects, honouring the creative process and beautifully presenting your work. 

• Learn ways to finish your piece in a contemporary way so you can
  display, exhibit or share with pride and discover budget-friendly display options.
• Enjoy finishing your work, being able to describe it to share the intention behind
  your creation knowing this is just as valid as making the work in the first place.
• Walk away with pride knowing you value your creativity and when the time is right
  you’ll have the knowledge to present your contemporary embroidery work in the best light. 

Congratulations, you are now ready to display your work shared space where others can appreciate it and experience some of the beautiful energy you’ve given it. Remember by honouring the creative spirit you’ve given others encouragement and permission to enjoy, engage and explore theirs more openly.