Virtual Workshop, hosted on Zoom, by Anne Tomlin

Anne Tomlin is a milliner and 3D botanical artist inspired by the Sussex countryside around where she lives. She studied textiles at Farnham, graduating with a first-class degree in 1983, followed by millinery at The London College of Fashion. She was one half of the renowned hat label Bailey Tomlin with an international reputation, selling to many top stores including Liberty, Harrods and Saks 5th Ave.

She now makes bespoke hats and headpieces, and miniature wild meadows that reflect her life long love of the natural world. Using fine silks, wire, paper clay and millinery materials to create one of a kind hats that are made with attention to detail and often with a sense of playfulness. She also makes studies of nature and wildflowers showing her concerns for our loss of wild meadows. These are displayed under glass where she interprets the essence of each flower and its personality combining old flower making techniques with her own, developed over 30 years.

Outline of the workshop
In this short course, you will learn some skills to make a silk velvet rose without any specialist flower-making tools.
Anne will demonstrate how to prepare silk velvet, back with bondaweb and we will discuss and demonstrate ways to stiffen fabric.

Anne will show you ways to hand-paint silk velvet petals, using a variety of brushes and building up colour.. Some pots of concentrated silk dye in the form of a paste has been included in the kit but you may want to use your own.

You will prepare wires that will be bonded between the velvet and the silk backing. This will provide a way to shape the petals and add structure.

Anne will show you how to construct the rose, attaching stamens and hand colouring them, making the calyx and leaves.

These techniques can be translated to other flowers and Anne will discuss all the different heated tools available and ways to shape petals.