Teacher workshop with Alison Couchman
An introduction to the creative potential of Koloron Art Fabric
Alison Couchman workshops are popular among teachers at all levels. They open up the creative possibilities and the teaching opportunities this new Art resource affords today’s National Curriculum. This is what she had to say:
“Koloron is a medium with great creative potential and the range of outcomes can be enormous. The ideas shown here are a taste of what teachers are already achieving during my workshops and give a hint of where these workshops are going and of the possibilities ahead.
Fading Flowers is an example of a simple activity that gets a group handling
the fabric. A few pieces of wire are twisted together and opened like an umbrella
frame. The Koloron must be firmly attached to the frame by stitching with wire thread
as heat is used later in the process. At this point the leaves are bent into position
and painted. A heat gun is applied to mould and melt the Koloron into its final form.
Koloron can be used flat and 3D forms are produced by sandwiching wire between
two layers glued together with PVA. The fabrication must be completely dry before
further bending and shaping work is carried out.
The more heat you apply the more the disfiguration contorts the subject until the effect is lost completely. By double layering and working with different colours on each layer the heat will deform the top layer to reveal the second often to great effect. This is much used in generating stage scenery and backdrops.
On a smaller scale beads made from glued and rolled strips of pre-
Using a heat gun will deform Koloron into an array of fascinating shapes, sometimes it is more exciting to colour the Koloron first and watch how the heat transforms texture, shape and colour.
Alternatively wire strings of rolled beads can be heated to just melt point
when they will fuse into a complete piece of costume jewellery. Enamelled wires,
and natural objects can all be fused with Koloron, the effects and ideas are endless”.
Alison Couchman can be reached by contacting Dragonfly Training Ltd at
www.dragonfly-
