Making Faces in Fabric: Workshop with Melissa Averinos: Draw, Collage, Stitch & Show

116 Pages·2017·48.17 MB·English

by  Melissa Averinos

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Making Faces
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Making Faces
in Fabric
Workshop with Melissa Averinos
Draw, Collage, Stitch & Show
MELISSA AVERINOS
Text copyright © 2018 by Melissa Averinos
Photography and artwork copyright © 2018 by C&T Publishing, Inc.
PUBLISHER: Amy Marson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Gailen Runge
EDITOR: Liz Aneloski
TECHNICAL EDITOR: Debbie Rodgers
COVER/BOOK DESIGNER: April Mostek
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Tim Manibusan
PRODUCTION EDITOR: Alice Mace Nakanishi
ILLUSTRATOR: Mary E. Flynn
HAND MODEL: Kristi Visser
PHOTO ASSISTANT: Mai Yong Vang
STYLE PHOTOGRAPHY by Lucy Glover and INSTRUCTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
by Diane Pedersen of C&T Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted
Published by Stash Books, an imprint of C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456,
Lafayette, CA 94549
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon
may be used in any form or reproduced by any means—graphic, electronic,
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information
storage and retrieval systems—without written permission from the
publisher. The copyrights on individual artworks are retained by the artists
as noted in Making Faces in Fabric. These designs may be used to make
items for personal use only and may not be used for the purpose of personal
profit. Items created to benefit nonprofit groups, or that will be publicly
displayed, must be conspicuously labeled with the following credit: “Designs
copyright © 2018 by Melissa Averinos from the book Making Faces in Fabric
from C&T Publishing, Inc.” Permission for all other purposes must be
requested in writing from C&T Publishing, Inc.
Attention Teachers: C&T Publishing, Inc., encourages you to use this book as
a text for teaching. Contact us at 800-284-1114 or ctpub.com for lesson plans
and information about the C&T Creative Troupe.
We take great care to ensure that the information included in our products
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Averinos, Melissa, author.
Title: Making faces in fabric : workshop with Melissa Averinos - draw,
collage, stitch & show / Melissa Averinos.
Description: Lafayette, California : C&T Publishing, Inc., [2018]
Identifiers: LCCN 2017028921 | ISBN 9781617455445 (soft cover)
Subjects: LCSH: Appliqué--Technique. | Textile crafts. | Face--Miscellanea.
Classification: LCC TT779 .A925 2018 | DDC 746.44/5--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017028921
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
As always, this book is dedicated to my adorable husband, Stuart,
DEDICATION
for believing in me until I believed in myself.
Acknowledgments
I would not be teaching Making Faces had it not heart go pitter-patter. (And thanks for all the
been for the encouragement of Penny Layman, excellent hugs!)
who offered me such a fun and forgiving oppor-
Most of the art knowledge I have and use every
tunity to try teaching that I couldn’t say no. I
day I learned from my high school art teacher,
didn’t know how much I would love teaching.
Carl Lopes. Thank you, Carl, for creating a safe
Thank you, Penny.
space for a troubled, weird art kid like me—it’s
It’s a treat to again be working with Roxane the only reason I made it through school.
Cerda at C&T, who held my hand through my
Thanks to my dad, Tony Averinos, for encour-
first book-writing experience in 2009. Roxane,
aging my creativity with gifts of art books and
thank you for your humor, your friendship, and
supplies all through childhood and since.
your confidence in me.
Thanks to my mom, Linda Averinos, for letting
Liz Aneloski at C&T, thank you for taking the
me raid your craft supplies and draw on the
reins so gently. You are a dream to work with.
walls.
To the Modern Quilt Guild / QuiltCon, all the MQG
Thanks to my dear Debbie Kimball, who helps
chapters I’ve visited, and the students in Making
me stay on track in work and in life.
Faces with Melissa classes … It’s through my
And finally, thanks to my adorable husband,
work with you that I’ve fine-tuned the process I
Stuart, for being my rock while I figured all this
teach in this book. The excitement I see in your
out. You’re the best thing ever and I’m so lucky.
faces when you realize you can do it makes my
Contents Introduction ....................6
About the Author ........111
Chapter One Chapter Two
Draw 7 Collage 37
...................... .............
“Before” Drawing ..............8 Fabric ...............................38 Eyes ............................................47
Solids ........................................38 Nose ...........................................50
Let’s Get Started ...............8
Prints .........................................39 Mouth .........................................51
Color Choices............................40 Chin ............................................52
It’s All about the
Proportions ........................9 Assess Your Work ...................53
Supplies ...........................42
Hair .............................................54
Drawing the Head ......................9
Adhesives ..................................42
Ears ............................................55
Drawing the Neck ....................13
Going Beyond the Basics .......56
Placement of the Features ....14 Tools .................................44
Scissors ....................................44
Additional Details ..........58
Drawing the Features ...21
Tweezers ...................................45
Cheeks .......................................58
Drawing the Eyes .....................21
Jawline ......................................59
Drawing the Eyebrows ...........26 Make the Collage ...........45
Wrinkles ....................................59
Drawing the Nose ....................28 Add Markers of the Face
Drawing the Mouth ..................31 to the Base Fabric....................46 Making Men’s Faces ................60
Drawing the Hair .....................33 Step Away from the Project ..47 Gluing Edges .............................60
“After” Drawing ..............35
Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five
Stitch 61 Show 73 Gallery of
.................. ..................
Author Work 87
.....
Stabilizers .......................62 Pillow Cover
74
Which Stabilizer
Should I Use? ..................62
Thread .............................63
Embellished Tote
All-Purpose Thread ...............64
78
Poly or Nylon Thread .............64
Stitching ..........................65
Free-Motion Stitching .............65
Stretched Canvas
Feed-Dogs-Up Sewing ...........66
Wall Art
Stitching around the Edges ...68
82
Basic Stitching
Instructions .....................72 Embellished Shirt Chapter Six
Gallery of
84
Student Work 97
...
INTRODUCTION
I’ve been making art since I can remember. In Chapter One: Draw (page 7), you’ll learn a
When I started painting in middle school, it simple formula to get the correct proportions
was always faces. In high school, I continued of the face and I’ll guide you through drawing
to explore this theme through self-portraits, the features. In Chapter Two: Collage (page 37), I
glazing pottery with faces, and sculpting clay share the basics of collaging with fabric, simple
into little face pendants to use in jewelry. Any ways to create features, and tips for how to tack
medium I tried would soon show someone them down in preparation for sewing. Then in
staring back at me! Chapter Three: Stitch (page 61), you’ll learn a
handful of stitching options to add texture and
It was only a matter of time before this trend
secure the fabric.
would show up in my quilting. After sharing
my work on Instagram and exhibiting at Once you’ve spent some time with the tech-
QuiltCon, I found that other people wanted to nique, check out Chapter Four: Show (page 73),
make faces too—and my “Making Faces with where you’ll find a handful of easy projects into
Melissa” workshop was born! I now travel which you can incorporate your collage panels.
all over the country teaching quilters how to Peruse Chapter Five: Gallery of Author Work
make these raw-edge appliqué faces. I love it (page 87) to see a collection of my quirky faces.
so much. And finally, Chapter Six: Gallery of Student Work
(page 97) is full of some of the incredible work
People in class are usually intimidated by
created in my workshops—many from people
faces; they are sure they won’t be able make
with no art experience!
a decent one. I remind them that they just
haven’t learned how yet! My favorite thing is I invite you to approach this book with a willing-
seeing people light up when they get it—and ness to experiment and an attitude of play. The
they always do. Since not everyone has access more you can let go and have fun with it, the
to classes, I crammed this book full of my best better your work will be. I’d love it if you would
tips and tricks (and the occasional pep talk), share photos of your collages with me on Insta-
so it will be just like I’m there with you. gram (see About the Author, page 111). I can’t
wait to see the faces you’ll make!
6 Making Faces in Fabric
Chapter One
Draw
While there are endless variations that make us look different from
one another, we all have the same essential facial features. In this
chapter, you’ll learn how to draw a basic human face, to which you
can apply your own artistic style in fabric collage. If you follow
these instructions and practice a little, you will be able to draw a
face—I promise.
Chapter One: Draw 7
“Before” Drawing THE MAGIC OF PRINTER PAPER
Once you dive into this chapter,
you’ll learn the basics very Though it happens to the best of us, fear of making
quickly. Right now, before you’ve mistakes is detrimental to creativity. The less
learned the proportions of the precious you can make your process, the more
face, I encourage you to take a freedom you will feel to mess up or do a “bad job.”
moment to do a “before” draw- Making mistakes, learning from them, and correct-
ing. You won’t be able to go back ing them is how you get to the good stuff.
and do this after you’ve learned One of the best ways to make drawing less precious
some stuff! is to use plain printer paper instead of a sketchbook.
To create your “before” draw- It’s liberating to draw on such a cheap and ubiquitous
ing, simply grab a plain piece type of paper—you feel totally free to ruin it! If you’d
of printer paper, set a timer for like to keep the pages all together, you can use
90 seconds, and just draw a binder clips, a clipboard, put them in a folder, or use
face. It may look like a child’s a three-hole punch and keep them in a binder.
drawing and that’s perfectly
fine! Remember, the worse
your “before” looks, the better DISCLAIMER! Yes, the “basic” face that I base my
your “after” will be! instructions on is my own face! I’ve always painted self-
portraits, so it’s the face I know best. Don’t worry, I’ll give
Let’s Get Started you plenty of tips and options for how to customize your
collage to make it look however you like.
What makes a drawing of a face
successful is mostly a matter of
proportions. Placing the features
PEP TALK
in the correct spots and making
them the right size in relation to Learning how to draw a face is like going to a new
one another is the key to drawing friend’s house that you’ve never been to before, in a
a face that looks right. town you don’t know. At first you may have to drive
To get started, you’ll need a stack slowly and pay close attention to the map or directions
of plain white printer paper, a and you may even make a few wrong turns. After a few
times going to the house, you will start to feel more
pencil, and an eraser.
comfortable with the area and you’ll know where to go
and not need to consult your map. That’s how it is with
drawing the face. Don’t expect it to go perfectly right
from the start! You are exploring new territory. Fret
not; I’ve got a good map for you to follow.
8 Making Faces in Fabric
It’s All about the Proportions
This section guides you through the basic proportions of the head, neck, and ears, as well as guide-
lines for the placement of the features.
Drawing the Head
Notice how some lines are slightly off, but with all the Circle, centerline, and chin marker
light lines combined, it creates a decent circle.
1 Start with a sheet of 81/2˝ × 11˝ printer paper 2 Draw a line vertically through the center of the
(vertically oriented) and draw a circle roughly circle all the way down to the bottom of the page.
the size of a grapefruit in the center. I usually
Now make a little mark where the bottom of the
use my whole arm to make the circle shape
chin will be a little below the bottom of the circle,
lightly and quickly, a few times around.
roughly one-third of the circle’s height down.
REMINDER This is your last chance to do a
“before” drawing! Don’t miss the opportunity
to record your progress!
tip I use cheap plastic mechanical pencils, such as those often given away as a promotional item. I love
mechanical pencils because they are always sharp.
Chapter One: Draw 9