There is a renaissance in the world of textiles. It has been led by a new generation of designers who have found inspiration in the roots of traditional handicrafts, yet energized by urban culture and global vision, they have challenged our perceptions of what can be created with fibers, surfaces and structures. In this program, the traditional marries the non traditional as the artist works with materials that range from supple and sumptuous to experimental and provocative. Textiles and fibers have unlimited potential for personal expression, and offer the artist texture, pattern, light, colour and movement. Artists and designers interested in sculpture, fashion, textile design, interior design, art clothing, theatre, and industry will find this program offers them a dynamic medium for expression.

 

Program Highlights

 

Why Choose Fleming?

 

What it Takes to Succeed

• appreciation of textiles and fibre arts                           
• oral and written communication skills
• an open mind and interest in exploring your creativity
• willingness to learn
• manual dexterity
• ability to commit to intensive format

 

Career Opportunities

You have started a life-long learning experience in the realm of fibre arts, with endless options in your pursuit of a career in this field. This program will appeal to the serious fibre arts student who is seeking to build an excellent foundation portfolio of work before pursuing further studies, to apply their learning to another medium, or to explore apprenticeship, freelance, or teaching career options.

 

Minimum Admission Requirements

OSSD with the majority of credits at the College (C) and Open (O) level, including:

• 2 College (C) English courses (Grade 11 or Grade 12) 

When (C) is the minimum course level for admission, (U) or (U/C) courses are also accepted.

Mature Students
If you are 19 years of age or older before classes start, and you do not possess an OSSD, you can write the Canadian Adult Achievement Test to assess your eligibility for admission.

 

Selection Process

 

Related Programs

The Fibre Arts Certificate comprises 14 of the elective credit requirements for the Visual and Creative Arts Diploma - also available at Haliburton School of The Arts.

Graduates of the Fibre Arts certificate will be considered for entrance into the Sheridan College Crafts and Design advanced diploma program. Successful applicants will enter directly into the second year of the program. All applicants will be required to present a portfolio as part of the admission process.

 

Additional Costs

A $756.00 materials fee has been included in the tuition/fees noted above.

 

University Transfer Agreements

• Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Course	Hours
Semester 1
Applied Design for Textiles	47.50
Art History VII: Textiles	47.50
Design - Fibre Arts	47.50
Drawing - Fibre Arts	47.50
Fabric & Fibre Construction	47.50
Innovation - Fibre Arts	47.50
Marketing/Portfolio Development	47.50
Textile Dyeing & Pigments	95.00
Textile Embellishment	95.00
Textile Manipulation	95.00
Textiles: Fibre to Fabric Science	47.50

Semester 1

Applied Design for Textiles

Course Number: ARTS443

Develop skills and techniques required for the design and construction of two and three-dimensional fibre arts forms, addressing structural supports, using a range of tools and processes. These include basic pattern-making, cutting, assembly techniques, the application of trimmings and notions, and finishing. Work sequence and small-scale production techniques will be examined in the translation of designs into viable and professionally finished works.

Units: 47.50
Hours: 47.50

Art History VII: Textiles

Course Number: ARTS444

"You can concentrate the history of mankind into the evolution of flax, wool and cotton fibre into clothing." (Dewey). This survey course offers an introduction to the major periods and styles of textiles and fibre arts from 20,000 B.C. into modern times. It provides an important framework for the study of fibre, its characteristics and qualities and the ways in which these attributes have been used in the production of companion cloth. It explores influences on production such as fibre availability, quality and access to skilled artisans. The historical associations between garments and the encoding of social rank and culture will be examined through the selection of materials, design, colour and embellishment as well as the ways in which textiles today embody statements of personal creativity, social status, cultural origins and comfort. The use of textiles from fibres for furnishings to body coverings and art medium will be explored through investigation of historical and contemporary case studies. Topics will include pivotal influences such as the development of colorants, the evolution of the weaving loom, and the mechanisation of production during the Industrial Revolution. The work of designers of influence will also be examined including William Morris and the promotion of surface embroidery as decorative art, and textile designer Anni Albers who captured the `heart and soul' in fibre arts.

Units: 47.50
Hours: 47.50

Design - Fibre Arts

Course Number: ARTS989

This course will provide the fibre arts student with a basic understanding of the impact of the design process on textiles, fashion, and other functional and non-functional fibre-based forms. Through research and presentation, students will explore the specific elements of design that apply to a broad range of examples in the work of fibre artists from which will be discussed in relation to the principles and elements of design as well as students' personal interests. Students will use journals to gather research material that can be explored in the development of future themes and projects.

Units: 47.50
Hours: 47.50

Drawing - Fibre Arts

Course Number: ARTS990

This course will engage the student in basic drawing processes as they relate to the design and description of works in fibres and fabrics. Focusing on line, proportion, light, texture, colour, pattern, and motif, students will produce sketches, working drawings and presentation renderings. Simple yet powerful processes will be used to help develop both representational drawing skills and concept drawings. The use of sketching for creative design processes will be explored. Exercises such as observational drawings from a variety of natural and man made objects and patterns will also be used to build a rich resource for the design of sculptural forms and surface embellishment. Basic colouring techniques for drawings will be examined using materials such as watercolour, gouache, soluble pencils and pencil crayons. Students will use journals to gather research material and ideas.

Units: 47.50
Hours: 47.50

Fabric & Fibre Construction

Course Number: ARTS991

This course invites students to explore some of the many exciting ways in which material surfaces can be created in processes such as weaving, felting, knitting, interlacing and papermaking. Using traditional yarns and fibres, as well as non-conventional materials, students will experiment with the nature and behaviours of these materials as well as the method of assembly. Consideration will be given to the processes which will support the development of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional surfaces.

Units: 47.50
Hours: 47.50

Innovation - Fibre Arts

Course Number: ARTS445

In this course, students will discover and develop a personal sense of design style, the 'feel' that sets them apart from the crowd, and gives them a sense of who they are, and what they want to say. Using techniques and tools developed in other courses that best represent their passions and own unique approach; students will enjoy the risk taking in experimental design. Students will present both finished works and proposals for future projects in fibres and textiles, using journals to gather research material and concepts in the development of these personal themes and interests.

Units: 47.50
Hours: 47.50

Marketing/Portfolio Development

Course Number: MKTG053

Practicing artists can choose from many different paths to advance their personal and artistic goals. This course examines the ways in which artists can assess choices in further education, financing and operating their own studio, presenting themselves, and promoting and marketing their work. Students will analyze the various aspects of developing a portfolio, photographing and editing quality images for promotion and documentation, and writing an artist's statement, cv, cover letters, and promotional materials. They will research and evaluate the services of trade/support organizations, marketing venues, the process for grant applications, artists residencies and internships. Resources for learning the issues in successfully operating a studio, along with the business practices and legal implications of these operations will also be investigated. Students will summarize their personal goals to establish their own specific set of options for continuing their artist's practices. In class sessions will involve research, writing, presentation, and critical discussion.

Units: 47.50
Hours: 47.50

Textile Dyeing & Pigments

Course Number: ARTS446

In this course, the direct and indirect applications of dye and pigments will be introduced, with a strong emphasis on safe applications and procedures for dye chemistry in the studio. The properties of colour and how they behave within colour systems will be explored in both theory and studio practices. Working with fibre reactive dyes, acid dyes, water-based pigments, and metallic pigments, students will create a sample swatch book. Studio projects also include painting, printing (both with dyes and pigments), and immersion dyeing with fibre reactive and acid dyes. A wide range of resist techniques will be explored in relation to students' personal preferences of imagery. These can include methods such as tape, photo emulsion silk-screens, paper stencils, wax, water-based resist and physical resists. The Japanese art of Shibori will be introduced. Detailed note keeping will be required in recording material sources, processes and outcomes.

Units: 95.00
Hours: 95.00

Textile Embellishment

Course Number: ARTS447

In `Textile Embellishment' students practice and experiment with techniques that enrich and add colour, light and pattern to surface textiles. In the needlework tradition, students will develop skills in hand embroidery, machine embroidery, appliqué and reverse appliqué. Design exploration will include applied pattern exercises that will generate ideas for printing repeat designs, monoprints and motifs. Students are encouraged to pursue their own personal interests and style development in embellishing textiles two- and three-dimensionally for unique surface effects.

Units: 95.00
Hours: 95.00

Textile Manipulation

Course Number: ARTS448

Learn construction techniques that physically manipulate textiles to create three dimensional form, including gathering, folding, darting, filled relief and quilt piecing. The deconstructive processes of slashing, embossing, tearing, and burning will also be investigated, along with a sampling of semi-transparent overlays and reverse textured pigment printing. Sculptural effects will be explored with wiring, laminating and padding different forms. Integrating their learning from the program so far, students will develop a form and appropriate surface enrichment that reflects their own emergent style and interests.

Units: 95.00
Hours: 95.00

Textiles: Fibre to Fabric Science

Course Number: ARTS450

Natural fibres have been used for apparel and home fashion for thousands of years, but textile technologies have continued to change, expanding in 1910 with the discovery of rayon and continuing today with micro-fibres finer than the finest silk. This course will examine the construction of fibre objects and the design, care, preservation display and merchandising of these articles in relationship to their properties. Studio projects focus on the effective selection and use of fibres and fabrics in the construction process, through understanding of their structure and characteristics as well as their care and handling. The properties of modern textiles will be explored through a range of projects including blending natural and man-made fibres. Chemical reactions of natural colourants and their mordants, as used on textiles.

Units: 47.50
Hours: 47.50