Lectures

ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE LECTURES

lectures are presented in slide-show format

To schedule a lecture please read her hiring information then, contact Lyric.

teh elements of art for every quilter

Kick-start your creativity and learn about the basic elements and principles of good design. Learn why some colors fizz while others explode, why some quilts calm and some excite. Examples from every genre in the quilt world show how you can use a broader color palette to showcase your favorite blue, or more intentional methods for using differently scaled prints.

This lecture will help you learn few simple tools from the artist's kit that will help you take your work, whether traditional or contemporary, to the next level. Audience participation keeps viewers engaged after the lights go down and the gorgeous quilts go up on your screen.

Lyric translates the language of ART into delightful and simple to understand concepts and presents them in such an entertaining and practical way that everyone goes home thinking, "I can do that!" She is on a crusade to convince every quilter that they can use the principles of art in whatever kinds of quilts they love to create.

"Elements of Art  was well organized, easy to follow, nicely paced , and included beautiful examples, all presented with Lyric’s trademark energy and humor. I have heard other similar lectures, but this was the best of the bunch.  A+" - Betsy Habich

"This is fantastic-I thought it would be beyond me, but instead it’s totally inspiring!" -Mio from MA

amish bar quilt, lady godiva quilt, log cabin quilt

"One of the most valuable presentations I have heard in the past few years.  She has such useful information for every level of experience!" Sue LaLone

"It’s not only valuable when looking at quilts but looking at art or nature or the world." Marita Hartshorn

 

The Elements of Art  lecture can be customized to appeal to different groups. Because the concepts of the visual language are universal they apply to every medium. For each variation of the lecture visuals are tailored to appeal to a specific audience. Feel free to request a lecture that suits your group.

The Elements of Art for Everyone: visuals include painting, sculpture, fiber, all media
The Elements of Art for Sewing Enthusiasts: visuals include textile art, art quilts, wearable art, home decor
The Elements of Art for Fiber Artists:
 visuals include quilts, felting, embroidery, paper arts
The Elements of Art for Mixed Media Artists:
visuals include paper collage, textile art, beading

line drawings of people on stage title for lecture called The Taming of the Hues, a Color Play

Are you struggling to find the perfect cast of colors for your next quilt? Does all the talk of color schemes just confuse you? It honestly doesn't have to.

In this playful and entertaining lecture Lyric takes you through a quick course on color, explaining each scheme with entertaining and easy to remember metaphors. She helps you understand how colors relate to each other and how they function alone, or together, because color is ALL about relationships!

Join her for an hour of laughter as you look at lovely quilts that will help you understand how colors work. You'll come away with truly useful and practical knowledge that will help make your color decisions much easier to make. Go back out seeing the world through a fresh pair of lenses and appreciate the joy of color.

color slides.006
living lyrically lecture

Living Lyrically: be inspired, create beauty, find joy

Take a lighthearted journey with Lyric along her circuitous and unexpected path towards life as  a quilt artist. Laugh along as she juggles fabric and family and deals with both duties and dreams. See her first quilts, current work, and a lot of the stuff in between, both the good and the embarrassingly bad.

But this lecture isn't really about Lyric, it's about YOU. Learn that where you are right now is the best place to start. Lyric will give you a a quick peek at the various studios she has inhabited and practical tips for how to carve out your own space. She will show you where to find the time to follow your creative passion. If she can do it with five kids and while running a business, you can find time to make a quilt. (You choose whether she is still sane or not!)

Come away fired up, ready to get out there and learn new things, do the hard work necessary and to be fearless enough to create your very own kind beauty.

be inspired with photos of lyric's artwork

All lectures and workshops will be available both virtually and in-person in 2022
To schedule a live VIRTUAL lecture please read her hiring information then, contact Lyric.

 

playful portraiture lecture

Playful Portraiture: making faces in fabric

Faces are fascinating! It's amazing how varied and beautiful humans are and how the quirk of an eyebrow or the twitch of a lip can convey an entire range of emotion.

This lecture looks at faces made of fabric from the entire range of the quilt spectrum. We will examine simple and cartoonlike funny faces, created with free cut collage appliqué as well as carefully planned and exquisite photo realistic figurative work.

Look at faces and figures made by quilters from around the world starting with simple collage and moving towards more complex construction techniques. Lyric will show you some of the process for her own figurative work and share her sometimes up, sometimes down journey through the fascinating world of making faces in fabric.

quilted portrait of billie holliday

Zoom Only: Hands On Mini-Workshops for Guild Programs 

Zoom meetings allow us to do more than we would be able to in a lecture hall. Attendees are home, comfortable, and surrounded by all their supplies. Lyric has successfully led short [30 minute] design exercises where attendees join in with very minimal supplies. The exercises are all excerpts from her longer courses and are fun, easy, and applicable to every level of experience.

Lyric will give a short introduction, explain the exercise, guide it, then stay on for a Q&A and short sharing of her own work applicable to each design exercise. Participants are offered a discount code for the corresponding online course but Lyric does not spend time "selling it." 

If you would like a longer presentation, including a longer visual introduction to her own work and the concepts in Abstract art, one exercise or both can be incorporated into a one hour lecture.

A Window into Inspiration

Learn how easy it is to find inspiration in any environment as you create your own unique abstract designs by following this very simple exercise. The elements of line, shape, and value will be explored as you generate a plethora of little thumbnails, jumping points for your own original modern designs.

Supplies: have paper scissors, sharpie, and several sheets of blank paper ready.

Cutting Edge Abstract Design

Abstract-A-Licious with Lyric

In this exercise, every participant starts with a recognizable object then learns to change it into a unique and original abstract design that could be the beginning of an original quilt. We discuss what "abstract" means and learn about some of the elements of art that are applicable to absolutely every kind of quilt.
Supplies: have scissors, a sharpie, and 6-10 sheets of tracing paper ready.

click here for an example of this exercise

Opposites Attract: an exercise using complementary colors

Colors are all about relationships and believe me when I say, opposites really do attract! If you have a favorite color try out this exercise and learn how colors change when paired with a complement. Make your favorite color sing and dance on the color stage as we create quick and simple color exercises to learn more about this exciting color scheme.

Supplies: Get ready some fabric scissors, access to colorful fabric scraps, a glue stick, and two 5" x 7" pieces of felt, stabilizer, or a thin batting ready to use as a postcard base.

Silly Selfie Postcards

This is a truly hilarious exercise in creating cartoon self portraits. Let's get some lighthearted learning in as we play around with this popular warm-up exercise from Lyric's Playful Portraiture workshop. She will teach you some easy concepts about placement and proportion as we play with all the scraps and get seriously silly with our selfies.

Supplies: Get ready some fabric scissors, access to colorful fabric scraps, a glue stick, and one 5" x 7" pieces of cardstock, stabilizer, muslin, or a thin batting ready to use as a postcard base. If you have a little mirror, have that available nearby.

Click HERE for hiring information

 

The following lecture is best suited to a live event and will be available in 2022 and beyond depending on availability of a safe and effective vaccine for Covid-19. This is a live participants fashion show.

Excuse me, is that a quilt you're wearing?Excuse me, is that a quilt you’re wearing?

Preen with the peacocks of the quilting world and learn to avoid some of its foibles during this romp through the wonderful world of wearable art.

The elements of art are discussed as they relate to quilts and to draping quilts onto the human form. How do our quilting passions best translate into moveable, touchable, practical, wearable art? Where to use batting and where to NOT use batting. How lines and colors attract the eye - and do you really want the viewer's eyes to linger THERE? Lyric's favorite quilted wearable and garment sewing techniques are shared and viewers are given ideas for how they can translate their love of fabric and quilting techniques into every day wearable clothing.

A rollicking participants fashion show will allow your guild members who just can't resist wearing their art on their sleeve to really strut their stuff. Lyric talks about each piece and points out something wonderful about each wearable as the makers strut their stuff. Lyric will bring several of her award winning wearables for you to examine, “up close and personal!” She doesn't have a "hands off" policy with her wonderful wearable art.

This is a fashion show - volunteer models and some sort of dressing room are required. Please download and read this information sheet to understand requirements.

You never know who and what is going to show up at a participant's fashion show. Lyric isn't afraid to ham it up!

 

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LECTURES

(which are also entertaining and informative but have narrower audience)

Want to Teach? things you should know before you go

If you are considering entering the national market as a quilt teacher it can be incredibly helpful to glean knowledge from someone already there. Before Lyric Montgomery Kinard, the 2011 International Association of Professional Quilters Teacher of the Year, started teaching she feasted at the table of wisdom from some very generous and well-established national teachers. Come share in an open and frank discussion about the realities of hitting the road.

Failure is the Best Option: why making bad art is vital to good artists

Overcoming the fear of failure, embracing it in fact, is a vital step towards becoming the artist you desire to be. Too many of us are held back by the fear of imperfection and never reach our full potential. Embracing the concept of making “bad art” might surprisingly lead to some of your best work.

Lyric will lead a structured discussion about the benefits of embracing failure and of treating art as a science in which every failed experiment leads you closer to the “Eureka” discovery. Participants will discuss and delve deeply into some thought provoking questions about their own studio practices.

The Elements of Art for Sewing Enthusiasts

Kick-start your creativity and learn about the basic elements and principles of good design. Learn why some colors fizz while others explode, why some creations calm and some excite. This lecture will help you learn few simple tools from the artist's kit that will help you take your work to the next level. Whether you make everyday garments or wearable art, quilts to cuddle with or hang on a wall, you can learn something to apply to your next project.

Lyric translates the language of ART into delightful and simple to understand concepts and presents them in such an entertaining and practical way that everyone goes home thinking, "I can do that!" She is on a crusade to convince every sewing enthusiast that you can use the principles of art in whatever kinds of work you love to create.

Audience participation keeps viewers engaged after the lights go down and the gorgeous images go up on the screen. Examples from every genre in the sewing world show how you can use the elements of texture, shape, line, color, and value to enhance your creations.

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