Crow Timber Frame Barn Art Retreats

Nancy Crow

Nancy has been teaching quiltmaking as an art form for over 30 years; she finds teaching both a very creative experience and uplifting. One of her goals is to help students find a path through roadblocks to a more flexible way of approaching composition. Composition is the focus of all of her 18 workshops in which she proceeds sequentially from beginning to very advanced composition while at the same time introducing many wonderful techniques which can be used in machine-piecing. Nancy promotes machine-piecing as one of the most important ways to work for a quiltmaker, paralleling it to oil painting. Nancy was selected for two national honors: Fellow of the American Craft Council and National Living Treasure by the Museum of World Cultures at the University of North Carolina. The National Living Treasure award honors Americans who work in traditional handicrafts. In addition, she has won many Individual Artist's Fellowships from The Ohio Arts Council. She leads art tours to Peru, Mexico, South Africa, France, and Guatemala, and is the author of seven books, including: Self-Portraits: Mono-Prints, Nancy Crow, Nancy Crow: Improvisational Quilts and Nancy Crow: Quilts and Influences.

Registration form

Nancy’s classes

• September 26-October 1 & October 3-8, 2021 | Improvisational Exercises: Parts I & II
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Improvisational Exercises: Parts I & II
• Level: Intermediate to advanced
• Prerequisite: Free-hand cutting skills/good machine-sewing skills
• Zig zag sewing machine: Yes
• Materials fee: No

• SORRY, class is full To be placed on waiting list, please send in registration & deposit. If space does not become available, a full refund will be issued.

Tuition & Meal plan for this special 2-week class with Nancy:
• $2180 | 10-day Tuition ($1650) & Meal plan ($530)
DESCRIPTION for Improvisational Exercises: Part I
This brand new 5-day class has been specifically developed for students desirous of being far more experimental using machine-piecing techniques. Students will be expected to work spontaneously and intuitively with nontraditional quilt-making techniques as they explore design exercises that promote improvisational approaches to composition without benefit of “pre-planning” and “intellectualizing.”

New Design Exercises will be used as a basis for flexing muscle memory in developing a more fluid approach to cutting improvisationally all sorts of SHAPES and LINES. Emphasis will be placed on forming NEW CONFIGURATIONS that could be used as the MOTIF or SUBJECT MATTER of a figure/ground composition. Students will learn construction and engineering techniques. Color, and the values of color, from light to dark, will be emphasized in all exercises so a great selection of fabrics must be brought to this workshop. Students will be working in SOLID COLORS the entire 5-days so there is no need to bring any printed or marbled fabrics, only solids whether commercial or hand-dyed.

PLEASE concentrate on bringing 5 value ranges in neutrals and in other solid colors. You must have these 5 value ranges in all of the grays and all of the browns. Those values are: LIGHT, MEDIUM LIGHT, MEDIUM, MEDIUM DARK, DARK.

DESCRIPTION for Improvisational Exercises: Part II
A sewing machine and lots of fabric will be used in this fast-paced and intense workshop designed for students who no longer need "hand-holding" and who are desirous of being far more experimental using machine-piecing techniques. Students will be expected to work spontaneously and intuitively with nontraditional quilt making techniques as they explore design exercises that promote improvisational approaches to composition without benefit of "pre-planning" and "intellectualizing." Emphasis will be on the continuation of a stronger understanding of figure/ground composition and freeing up.

• Students will concentrate on three distinct compositions during this 5-day class:

1. The first will be done in black and white.

2. The second one will be done in a full range of neutrals including white, off-white, very light grey, light grey, medium light grey, medium grey, medium dark grey, dark grey and various shades of black. This exercise in composition will target the absolute importance of value in defining visual planes of depth.

3. The third one will be done in a full range of colors, as many as possible, in as many values as possible. Only solid colors will be used in this class. Color and the values of color, from light to dark, will be emphasized so a great selection of fabrics must be brought to this workshop.

At the end of this workshop, students will have completed three compositions in which they have learned a far wider use of value and color and very important technical construction techniques. As always, students will learn to work more effectively, more efficiently from "instincts" and "intuition" so come with an open mind and no agendas, ready for growth and for risk-taking!

PLEASE concentrate on bringing 5 value ranges in neutrals and in other solid colors. You must have these 5 value ranges in all of the grays and all of the browns. Those values are: LIGHT, MEDIUM LIGHT, MEDIUM, MEDIUM DARK, DARK.

Students will learn to work more effectively, more efficiently from "instincts" and "intuition" so come with an open mind and no agendas, ready for growth and for risk-taking!

PRESENTATION
- Optional but important: Each student should come prepared with a digital presentation/laptop or 3-6 actual quilts and be prepared to make a short (3-5 minutes maximum) but articulate presentation about their work including future goals. The Crow Timber Frame Barn provides use of a digital projector connected to a laptop.
SUPPLIES
- Sewing Machine
- Needles/Bobbins
- Digital Camera/Printer (Canon SELPHY printer recommended)/Paper
- Scissors/Thread/Rulers
- Swing Arm Lamp
- 24” x 36” Cutting Mat
- 7’ x 7’ Batting/Flannel (White) on which to pin work (optional)
- Extra Large Rotary Cutter and Blades
- Iron/Iron Cleaner (optional as Barn has irons)
- Ball-Head Pins (very fine and regular size)
- Small Water Spray Bottle for Ironing
- Glue to Adhere Snapshots into Sketchbook
- Multiple Outlet Power Strip/Adaptors/Heavy Duty Extension Cords
- Sketchbook/Pens/Other Supplies You Want
- Packing Tape if shipping boxes (plus return labels)
Optional Books:
- COLOR IMPROVISATIONS 2 & CIRCULAR ABSTRACTIONS: BULL’S EYES QUILTS, 2016, (books from two exhibitions curated by Nancy) - signed/dated editions available at the Crow Timber Frame Barn
- CROSSROADS, 2007, Breckling Press (catalog from one of Nancy’s exhibitions) - signed/dated editions available at the Crow Timber Frame Barn
- NANCY CROW, 2006, Breckling Press (book covering Nancy's work from 1989-2005) - signed/dated editions available at the Crow Timber Frame Barn
- NANCY CROW, MONO-PRINTS: SELF-PORTRAITS: FOCUS, 2012 - signed/dated editions available at the Crow Timber Frame Barn
Unfortunately, the following titles are out of print, but your local library may have them or order on Amazon.com.
- GRADATIONS: FROM THE STUDIO OF NANCY CROW, Quilt House Publishing
- NANCY CROW: WORK IN TRANSITION, American Quilters’ Society
- NANCY CROW: QUILTS AND INFLUENCES, American Quilters’ Society
- NANCY CROW: IMPROVISATIONAL QUILTS, C&T Publishing
FABRICS for 1st week:
6 yards each of:
- SOLID BLACK and SOLID WHITE
2 yards each of:
- BRIGHT COLORS - bright red, orange, acid yellow, lime, turquoise, blue, apple green, pink, lavender, etc. (very saturated bright colors … the brightest color that are never darker than medium value)
- GRAYS (wide range in light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark)
1 yard or more of each color:
- SOLID OPAQUE COLORS (wide range in light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark values so you can be free to work) - reds, pinks, blues, teals, greens, limes, violets, browns, yellows, golds, oranges, purples, maroons, turquoises, rusts, etc.
- TANS (wide range in light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark)
- OFF-WHITES ...warm white, cold white, cream
FABRICS for 2nd week:
8 yards each of:
- SOLID BLACK and SOLID WHITE
3 yards each of:
- GRAYS (wide range in light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark)
1 yard or more of each color:
- SOLID OPAQUE COLORS (wide range in light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark values so you can be free to work) - reds, pinks, blues, teals, greens, limes, violets, browns, yellows, golds, oranges, purples, maroons, turquoises, rusts, etc.
- BRIGHT COLORS - bright red, orange, acid yellow, lime, turquoise, blue, apple green, pink, lavender, etc. (very saturated bright colors … the brightest color that are never darker than medium value)
- TANS (wide range in light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark)
- OFF-WHITES ...warm white, cold white, cream
- Bring BOTH the GLOWING and the FLAT versions of as many of these colors as possible.
- You must wash and shrink all fabrics before class! No need to iron though if you fold at end of drying cycle.
- We will use everything listed above so do not decide to leave anything out!
- DO NOT BRING FAT QUARTERS.
- Do not bring marbled fabrics.
- Bring enough variety so you are not hamstrung!
NOTES REGARDING FABRIC SUPPLY LIST
Yes, the rumor is true!!! Yes, I do ask that each student bring lots of fabrics. My personal theory embraces the belief that one will be freer to be creative if one has many fabric choices available in class. After 35+ years of teaching, I consider each class I teach to be on a graduate level and therefore I expect students to arrive prepared with all necessary supplies. In that regard, I have outlined those fabrics we will use in this class. For some students, my fabric supply list will seem overwhelming in quantity and variety, while for other students, the selection they bring will never be good enough.

About solid colors - the more shades you have to work with, the more you will learn about how to work with color. Color is Joyous!!! Color does not cause pain!!! Take DELIGHT in color!!!

Working in color does not mean only using BOLD colors or HOT colors; working in color means learning to be versatile in all types of colors.

I caution you to not bring mostly middle value solids, rather bring a wide variety, including:
- Light values
- Medium light values
- Medium values
- Medium dark values
- Dark values
• Please bring the glowing version… AND… the dull/flat version of as many colors as possible.

• Remember that ANY COLOR… AND… ANY VALUE of ANY COLOR can be glowing or dull/flat.

Many students arrive with their own hand-dyed solids or stacks they have purchased from other dyers. By all means, bring hand-dyed if you want… but not splotchy with white splotches on all colors.

But solids (dyed commercially) are equally acceptable.

I usually work with my own subtly dyed solid colors. My own palette includes approximately 500+ shades.

Regarding fabrics: I recommend 2 yard cuts or larger because I feel happier with a minimum of 2 yard cuts. But please feel free to come with 1 yard cuts if this will facilitate having a much broader range of values. But please do not blame me if you run out of any color as I have no way of knowing which colors you will use up.
• October 10-15 & 17-22, 2021 | Master Composition
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Master Composition: Finding your Voice
• Level: Very advanced / Post graduate - participants must have previously studied with Nancy Crow a minimum of 7 times and will have prepared a brand new body of work before class begins
• Zig zag sewing machine: Yes
• Fee for professional presenters: $150

• SORRY, class is full To be placed on waiting list, please send in registration & deposit ($500). If space does not become available, a full refund will be issued.

Tuition & Meal plan for this special 2-week class with Nancy:
• $2180 | 10-day Tuition ($1650) & Meal plan ($530)

DESCRIPTION
Note: Master Composition is designed only for those artists who have studied with Nancy at least 7 times but who are establishing their own voice or who have already established their own voice … and whose work is not derivative of Nancy Crow’s work! Each participant must be prepared to work self-directed and independently during the two weeks of class; each artist must come with brand new work finished within the past two years showing their progress; each must come with the designated professional presentations on both their own development and the specified topic for the two weeks. Group critique will be offered Friday of each week but individual help/critique will be offered everyday as desired.

This workshop is intended for students who:
• are serious artists
• are quilt makers and who have chosen quilt making as their medium
• are committed machine-piecers
• are disciplined about their work and are practicing on a daily/weekly basis
• are self-directed
• have ideas and who INTENTIONALLY GATHER IDEAS for their work
• are wanting to be more rigorous in their approach to their work with the intention of going deeper into their work to discover who they are
• are looking for honest critiques
• will not be producing any work derivative of my own work...I will not encourage nor support nor tolerate work derivative of my own body of work because it means that you are not working hard enough to find your own voice.

Specific directions will be emailed to all those enrolled and will include all expectations for the two weeks.
• October 24-29 & October 31-November 5, 2021 | Overall Figure/Ground & Spare Figure/Ground
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Overall Figure/Ground & Spare Figure/Ground
• Level: Advanced to very advanced
• Prerequisite: Must be excellent machine piecer, must be practiced at cutting freehand, must know how to engineer complex structure using machine-piecing, must be ready for intense study.
• Zig zag sewing machine: Yes
• Materials fee: No

• SORRY, class is full To be placed on waiting list, please send in registration & deposit ($500). If space does not become available, a full refund will be issued.

Tuition & Meal plan for this special 2-week class with Nancy:
• $2180 | 10-day Tuition ($1650) & Meal plan ($530)
DESCRIPTION for Overall Figure/Ground
The focus of this class will be on CUTTING LINE and SHAPE INDIVIDUALLY and then combining them together as PART or PARTS of NEW CONFIGURATIONS in NEW COMPOSITIONS that emphasize the quality and quantity of exposed grounds/backgrounds. Varying levels of depth will be explored in both the figures and the grounds. Students will come to understand what is meant by creating OVER-ALL COMPOSITIONS as distinct from other types of compositions. Once again, students will learn to work more effectively from instincts and intuition as they sharpen their eye on great figure/ground spacing and tension.

All exercises will be done only in solid colors, commercial or hand-dyed, so it will be very important that participants bring a sophisticated range of shades and values, flat and glowing, in as many color families as possible. Students will learn more about value and color usage as they cut directly into their fabrics using either a large rotary cutter or scissors. All parts of each composition will be pinned to wall as it progresses so students must please bring 2-3 boxes of good ball-head pins (both very fine and regular size CLOVER pins if possible).

DESCRIPTION for Spare Figure/Ground
This workshop will concentrate on LARGER BACKGROUNDS & MULTIPLE GROUNDS with a much sparer use of FIGURES, both primary and secondary. Students will become more sensitive to the placement of figures on such grounds. The INTENT is to strengthen one’s eye to evermore beautiful spacing which is that “allusive tension” that makes any composition so much stronger. Composition will be explored using the principles of figure/ground. Figure/ground is loosely defined as positive/negative or the relationship of figure or motif or subject matter or configuration(s) on a background or ground.

All compositions will be done using solid colors (commercial or hand-dyed), direct freehand cutting, and machine-piecing. It will be vitally important that each student come prepared with an excellent choice of colors and values (light to dark of those colors and flat and glowing) as most exercises will be dependent on value usage.

IMPORTANT:
• Please bring LOTS of IDEAS FOR FIGURES AND CONFIGURATIONS. These may be in the form of your drawings, sewn-together black and white configurations or POSTCARDS / PHOTOS / MAGAZINE PAGES of MOTIFS / PATTERNING / PAINTINGS ... any SUBJECT MATTER that EXPRESSES WHAT YOU LOVE and CARE ABOUT IN YOUR WORK. *** Some compositions may reference to these ideas that you bring along!
• Students need to bring (2 if possible) the LARGEST OLFA CUTTING MAT (24” x 36”)
• It will be assumed that anyone taking this class will be ready to abide by “time constraints” imposed on individual design exercises and that each will do their best to keep up with the work. Since the parts of each composition will be pinned to work walls, it is essential that students bring multiple boxes of excellent pins (namely CLOVER BRAND BALL-HEAD PINS - silk pins and regular ball-head pins).

All exercises will be done by direct machine-piecing. Come with an open mind and no agendas, ready for growth and for risk-taking!

PRESENTATION
- Optional but important: Each student should come prepared with a digital presentation/laptop or 3-6 actual quilts and be prepared to make a short (3-5 minutes maximum) but articulate presentation about their work including future goals. The Crow Timber Frame Barn provides use of a digital projector connected to a laptop.
SUPPLIES
- Sewing Machine
- Needles/Bobbins
- Digital Camera/Printer (Canon SELPHY printer recommended)/Paper
- Scissors/Thread/Rulers
- Swing Arm Lamp
- 24” x 36” Cutting Mat
- 7’ x 7’ Batting/Flannel (White) on which to pin work (optional)
- Extra Large Rotary Cutter and Blades
- Iron/Iron Cleaner (optional as Barn has irons)
- Ball-Head Pins (very fine and regular size)
- Small Water Spray Bottle for Ironing
- Glue to Adhere Snapshots into Sketchbook
- Multiple Outlet Power Strip/Adaptors/Heavy Duty Extension Cords
- Sketchbook/Pens/Other Supplies You Want
- Packing Tape if shipping boxes (plus return labels)
Optional Books:
- CROSSROADS, 2007, Breckling Press (catalog from one of Nancy’s exhibitions) - signed/dated editions available at the Crow Timber Frame Barn
- NANCY CROW, 2006, Breckling Press (book covering Nancy's work from 1989-2005) - signed/dated editions available at the Crow Timber Frame Barn
- NANCY CROW, MONO-PRINTS: SELF-PORTRAITS: FOCUS, 2012 - signed/dated editions available at the Crow Timber Frame Barn
- COLOR IMPROVISATIONS 2 & CIRCULAR ABSTRACTIONS: BULL’S EYES QUILTS, 2016, (books from two exhibitions curated by Nancy) - signed/dated editions available at the Crow Timber Frame Barn
Unfortunately, the following titles are out of print, but your local library may have them or order on Amazon.com.
- GRADATIONS: FROM THE STUDIO OF NANCY CROW, Quilt House Publishing
- NANCY CROW: WORK IN TRANSITION, American Quilters’ Society
- NANCY CROW: QUILTS AND INFLUENCES, American Quilters’ Society
- NANCY CROW: IMPROVISATIONAL QUILTS, C&T Publishing
FABRICS for both weeks:
8-12 yards of:
- SOLID BLACK
6-10 yards of:
- SOLID WHITE
2 yards each of:
- BRIGHT COLORS - bright red, orange, acid yellow, lime, turquoise, blue, apple green, pink, lavender, etc. (very saturated bright colors … the brightest color that are never darker than medium value)
- GRAYS (wide range in light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark)
1-2 yard or more of each color:
- SOLID OPAQUE COLORS (wide range in light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark values so you can be free to work) - reds, pinks, blues, teals, greens, limes, violets, browns, yellows, golds, oranges, purples, maroons, turquoises, rusts, etc.
- TANS (wide range in light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark)
- OFF-WHITES ... warm white, cold white, cream
- Bring BOTH the GLOWING and the FLAT versions of as many of these colors as possible.
- You must wash and shrink all fabrics before class! No need to iron though if you fold at end of drying cycle.
- We will use everything listed above so do not decide to leave anything out!
- DO NOT BRING FAT QUARTERS.
- Do not bring marbled fabrics.
- Bring enough variety so you are not hamstrung!
NOTES REGARDING FABRIC SUPPLY LIST
Yes, the rumor is true!!! Yes, I do ask that each student bring lots of fabrics. My personal theory embraces the belief that one will be freer to be creative if one has many fabric choices available in class. After 35+ years of teaching, I consider each class I teach to be on a graduate level and therefore I expect students to arrive prepared with all necessary supplies. In that regard, I have outlined those fabrics we will use in this class. For some students, my fabric supply list will seem overwhelming in quantity and variety, while for other students, the selection they bring will never be good enough.

About solid colors - the more shades you have to work with, the more you will learn about how to work with color. Color is Joyous!!! Color does not cause pain!!! Take DELIGHT in color!!! Working in color does not mean only using BOLD colors or HOT colors; working in color means learning to be versatile in all types of colors.

I caution you to not bring mostly middle value solids, rather bring a wide variety, including these 5 steps in value:
- Light values
- Medium light values
- Medium values
- Medium dark values
- Dark values
Any color can be GLOWING or FLAT:
• GLOWING tones are any colors mixed with yellow and which have a glow coming off the surface.
• FLAT tones are those colors mixed with black and which emit a dullness, energy draining very subdued nature.

Many students arrive with their own hand-dyed solids or stacks they have purchased from other dyers. By all means, bring hand-dyed if you want but they need to be opaque and not have multiple values swimming across them ... meaning white or light splotches on dark colors.

But solids (dyed commercially) are equally acceptable.

I usually work with my own subtly dyed solid colors. My own palette includes approximately 500+ shades.

Regarding fabrics: I recommend 2 yard cuts or larger because I feel happier with a minimum of 2 yard cuts. But please feel free to come with 1 yard cuts if this will facilitate having a much broader range of values. But please do not blame me if you run out of any color as I have no way of knowing which colors you will use up.