Craft a New Year: Painting with Thread with Beizar Aradini

Back by popular demand, the Tennessee State Museum’s Craft a New Year: Learning Craft Workshop Series, presented in Partnership with Tennessee Craft, returns in January 2023 with classes in Cherokee basket/mat weaving, book making, weaving and clay. For four Saturdays in January, the Museum will offer introductory classes in accessible and tradition craft mediums taught by some of the top artists and teachers in their fields. Each class is a one-day, seven-hour course designed to get you started in a particular Tennessee craft tradition. Think of it as an opportunity to learn something new … by learning something traditional. All skill levels are welcome, but classes are designed for beginning adults with little or no experience.

Thread painting is an approach that uses a combination of different stitches and a variety of colors to produce embroidery that has similar qualities to a painting. In this workshop, students will become familiar with embroidery materials and how to get started on an embroidery hoop. They will learn how to transfer a design onto fabric and use stitching to fill in their images. They will also gain useful tips on creating a palette and embroidery techniques to “paint” with thread. Students will get to take their hoops and materials provided home, so they are able to continue working on their pieces.

Beizar Aradini was born in Mardin, Kurdistan and immigrated with her family to Nashville, Tennessee. Her work unravels her family’s story as immigrants and examines cultural displacement through craft and fiber arts. Aradini has been featured in many exhibitions and has won multiple awards for her craft including Best in Show in the Best of Tennessee Craft 2021 Biennial exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum. She has been featured in local publications such as the Nashville Scene and on Next Door Neighbors on Nashville Public Television. In 2021, she was selected as an artist-in-residence at the Arquetopia International Artist Residency Program. There she completed an Andean Textile and Weaving workshop during her month-long stay in Urubamba, Peru, an opportunity that was funded in part by a scholarship from Tennessee Craft. Recently, Aradini has been focusing on commissions and teaching embroidery workshops in and around Nashville.

Source: Submitted