NICE TO MEET YOU

I'm Julie Garcia

Growing up in a creative home, I have been sewing for as long as I can remember. Most of my stitching skills I learned from my mother (who coincidentally also taught my 4-H sewing classes). From sewing matching tracksuits for myself and my Cabbage Patch doll, to embroidering flowers on pillows and fabric jewelry boxes, I loved everything about sewing. I have dabbled in other types of art and proudly classify myself as crafty (there is nothing I won't try!), but I've always returned to hand-stitching and textiles. 

I studied Clothing & Textiles at the University of Manitoba in a Degree program in Human Ecology. My courses focused on textile science and apparel manufacturing, but I continued to sew for fun and as a hobby.

In my early twenties, I enrolled in a fabric landscape course in Olds, Alberta with fibre artist Judith Baker Montano. The knowledge and inspiration gained in that course, completely changed my life. I loved the idea of creating art for my walls with fabric. What could be better than "painting" with fabric and thread?!! Judith is the artist who first introduced me to silk ribbon embroidery and crazy quilting techniques. Her proficiency at stitching and ability to combine and layer colour using fabric and thread was captivating! Using many of the techniques I learned in this class, I developed my own style of textile art. I used Mickey Lawler's SkyDyes book to teach myself the basics of painting fabric and over the years I've continued to develop my technique and use it in my fabric landscape art.