Looking for a meditative, hands-on creative practice to start 2025 in a state of calm? Want to make something beautiful and useful with a lovely group of people led by an incredible local artist? Look no further!

In this introductory workshop taught by Bay Area artist Lena Wolff, participants learn the techniques, materials, and methods of Sashiko, a meditative form of embroidery that draws from a lexicon of lyrical and geometric patterns that developed in Japan in the mid-1600’s.

Together we’ll make a pair of indigo-dyed coasters embellished with sashiko embroidery. A brief history and the basic principles of Sashiko will be introduced, including an array of stitches and how to read and draft patterns onto fabric hand with ease. Reference material will be given to all students as fodder to springboard future projects to embellish clothing, quilts, or other home textiles. This workshop is suitable for experienced sewists or beginners alike. All materials and tools will be provided (and some snacks, too!).

This workshop is open to participants ages 16 and up of all genders on a sliding scale. For our sliding scale, please pay what you are able to, acknowledging the value of artists’ time and talent.

Lena Wolff is an artist, craftswoman, and activist for democracy in equal parts. Her work extends out of American quiltmaking traditions while at the same time being rooted in minimalism, geometric abstraction, Op art, social practice, feminist and political art. Wolff’s interconnected artistic output includes drawing, collage, sculpture, frequent collaboration, and public projects. Her work is in the permanent collections of ONE National Lesbian and Gay Archives, the Berkeley Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Oakland Museum of California, among others. She lives with her wife, artist Miriam Klein Stahl and their daughter in Berkeley, California.