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Take part in this special activity organized in cooperation with the Cotton Printing Factory located close to Kunsthal KAdE, in national monument De Volmolen. A morning where you will learn more about the art of Mella Jaarsma, and then get to work yourself with the printing technique she uses during an introductory cotton printing workshop.
As part of the Trouble Skirts exhibition, Mella Jaarsma worked as Artist in Residence at De Katoendrukkerij to create new work for the exhibition. Jaarsma has lived and worked in Indonesia for forty years, exploring cultural diversity and identity through themes such as the body and its covering and the role of food (consumption and production). She creates a dialogue between different cultures and challenges the viewer to look critically at how "the other" is defined and perceived.
During this activity, you will start with a tour of Kunsthal KAdE and discover more about Mella Jaarsma's methods and artworks together with a museum docent. Then you will walk together to the Volmolen to get started yourself. Inspired by Jaarsma's works, you can unleash your own creativity in the art of cotton printing. Choose your printing blocks and discover how patterns are created, at the end of this hour-long workshop you will go home with your own creation.
When: August 30
Time: 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Start location: Kunsthal KAdE
Cost: €45 (excluding entrance fee KAdE)
About The Cotton Printing Company:
Nathalie Cassée established her existing artisanal workshop, De Katoendrukkerij, at the Volmolen in Amersfoort in 2020. In this city, the first cotton printing workshop in the West was opened in the 17th century. Here they worked with a then newly acquired technique from India, namely textile printing using wooden printing blocks and natural dyes. This history is the inspiration for the programming in today's Cotton Printing Factory.Here Nathalie now handprints paper and textiles with mostly self-designed blocks, sells her designs to individuals and works on commission for fashion houses and artists, among others. Nathalie likes to investigate how she can create a new layered print with old printing blocks - often parts of a multi-colored pattern from days gone by. She pays attention to color use, layering, white space and the combination of print and print material.
The Cotton Print Shop has a collection of about 1,000 printing blocks in a wide range of motifs and patterns. Nathalie often designs new blocks and has them engraved in India, keeping the collection constantly changing. In addition, Nathalie conducts workshops at all levels in which she works with participants to create their own personal prints, guided by design principles in surface design. No preconceived pattern is used, as is traditionally customary. The focus is on spontaneous design and personal preferences of the participants. For more information, visit her website: The Cotton Print Shop (www.dekatoendrukkerij.nl)
