Priscilla Bianchi
Ethnic Waves: Intuitive and Spontaneous Improv Curves and Circles
Sunday, April 4, 2027, 5:30 pm: Meet & Greet
April 5 - 9, 2027
$1,395
What if you could design and sew a quilt that is an innovative, joyous expression of you as an artist?
You can.
In this five-day quilting retreat, you will learn liberating art quilting techniques that will enrich your quilting repertoire and provide the flexibility you need to create original work.
We will cover both foundational design elements and principles, as well as easy ways to create curves, waves, and circles.
You will be encouraged to work spontaneously and intuitively without a plan, rulers, measurements, or templates. Experiment, discover, and stretch out of your comfort zone into true self expression.
You will be given an assortment of hand-woven Guatemalan textiles to use as the basis for creating an attractive design with color, movement, and ethnic flair!
Skill Level: Confident beginner to advanced quilters.
Learning Objectives
Ethnic Waves: Intuitive and Spontaneous Improv Curves and Circles Retreat offers a comprehensive learning experience focused on intentional color usage. The key learning objectives for participants include:
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You will discover how your color and fabric decisions determine the mood of your design so you can be more intentional in your choices.
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You will learn how to bring your personality into your art so the piece better reflects your unique viewpoint.
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Learn to use liberating improvisational quilting techniques such as
Free-form rotary cutting
Stack-cut-shuffle-sew
Flip & Sew
Simple paper-piecing
Appliqué by machine
Sewing soft curves without pins and more.
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Find out how to blend hand-woven, hand-dyed Mayan Guatemalan textiles with commercial cottons to achieve a unique look that can be ethnic or contemporary.
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Elevate your designs with a basic understanding of design principles of color, shape, balance, movement, and unity.
What's Included In The Retreat
Meet and greet with hors d'oeuvres on Sunday, April 4th at 5:30 pm
Five days of instruction--Monday through Friday
Five lunches
Skill Level
Confident beginner to advanced quilters.
Retreat Schedule
The daily schedule is subject to change based on many retreat factors.
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Meet & Greet
We kick off our retreat with hors d'oeuvres and an informal gathering to meet the instructor and your fellow participants.
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9 am to Noon
Every day, class begins with an introduction to the day’s focus, a brief lecture and a technique demo.
Students then practice the technique and begin creating their own “elements” or units, which they will incorporate into their own design.
12 to 1pm
Lunch
1 pm to 4pm
Continue working, cutting and sewing parts.
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Throughout each day, Priscilla continually weaves through the class, helping individual students. She offers constructive criticism, suggestions, and advice to facilitate everyone’s progress.
Priscilla Bianchi
Priscilla Bianchi, a Guatemalan textile artist, designer, writer, and teacher, is a one-of-a-kind figure in the fiber arts world. Her unique art quilts combine the richness of Mayan Guatemalan hand-woven textiles with American quilt-making techniques, to create fresh, modern designs that showcase rich cultural heritage. Her chief inspiration for her geometric abstract work comes from Mayan Guatemalan costumes.
World-renowned, Priscilla exhibits her prolific multicultural artwork nationally and internationally, and the Museum of Arts & Design (MAD) in New York City, the Hyatt Centric Hotel in Guatemala City, the Hotel & Museum Casa Santo Domingo in Antigua, Guatemala, and many private collectors have acquired her work. She lectures and teaches about art quilting and Guatemalan textiles globally, with invitations from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Europe.
In December 2010, the Guatemalan Postal Service issued a Postal Stamp Edition entitled “Guatemalan Textile Art” featuring 10 of her art quilts. Priscilla, a resident of Guatemala, has organized unique textile tours and developed fabric collections for Robert Kaufman in California. Her work has been published extensively: she has written three books “¡Caliente Quilts!” (Krause Publications, 2007) “Guatemalan Textile Art and Design” (Banco Industrial, 2010), and her latest “Priscilla Bianchi, Guatemala Art Quilts”. Many articles in international magazines have also featured her work.
Priscilla’s website is priscillabianchi.net
Find her on Instagram @priscillabianchiartquilts
Facebook: priscillabianchiartquilts
Pinterest: priscillabianchi
Supply List for Priscilla Bianchi Retreat
Basic Student Kit Will be provided in class
$40 (payable in cash only to the instructor)
The kit includes 12 eighth (⅛) cuts of assorted hand-woven, striped Guatemalan textiles, pre-washed and ready to use in your project. (Please note that Guatemalan hand-woven fabrics are 34” wide.) You will need to supply additional coordinating fabrics; see below.
Priscilla will also bring a few of her coffee table books Guatemala Art Quilts for inspiration. If you would like to purchase one, they are $50, and she can autograph it for you.
Basic Sewing Supplies
Basic Sewing & Sewing Machine Supplies
Sewing machine with 1/4” foot
Measuring tape
Rotary cutter, mat & ruler (at least 12” long)
Fabric scissors
Blue masking tape (optional)
Notebook & colored pencils (to sketch and take notes)
2 yds. FLANNEL (neutral color) for a design wall (at least 72” long) – This is crucial!
Coordinating fabrics for your improvisational “waves”: (to mix-'n-match with the Guatemalan textiles):
Bring 20 – 30 fat quarters in assorted colors and patterns. Suggestions: basics, tone-on-tones, batiks and other ethnic fabrics (e.g. African, Japanese, Australian), hand-dyes, plaids, stripes, geometrics. In reality, anything you like goes!
For the background of our first “wavy” exercise: 1 yd. of a wonderful hand-dyed fabric in LIGHT value, may be gradated. It should be calm not busy. The background is there to complement all the other fabrics, not to compete or draw too much attention on itself.
Iron & ironing board (The Estelle Center provides this)
Heavy duty, multi-plug extension cord & table top lamp
Optional
Priscilla will bring extra assorted Guatemalan fabric kits that students can purchase if they wish. Washing & care instructions will be provided.
Rent a Sewing Machine
Retreat Sewing Machine Rental
We rent the Bernina 350 Ricky Tims' Special Edition which is a great machine for quilters. Standard accessories for the sewing machine includes the slide-on extension table, the practical Free Hand System (FHS), the BERNINA walking foot as well as two additional feet for quilting and patchwork.
There are a limited number of machines available for rent. You can reserve yours when you register for your retreat. If you don't see a machine rental option, it means all the machines have already been rented.
$100 per retreat
Important Information Read Before Registering
Cancellation Policy
If the Estelle Center cancels a retreat, you will receive a full refund of all payments made.
The $500 deposit is non-refundable.
If you cancel your reservation and the Estelle Center is able to fill your space with another participant, your $500 deposit will be refunded minus a $100 cancellation fee.
If you cancel within 45 days of the retreat's Meet & Greet date, no refunds will be issued unless the Estelle Center is able to fill your spot. In that case, any refund will be subject to the $100 cancellation fee.
We have limited guest accommodations. If you cancel your room reservation at any time, you will be refunded your payment minus a $150 cancellation fee.
Payments
A deposit of $500 is required to register. The balance of $895 is due by February 4, 2027, 60 days before the start of the retreat.
After February 4, 2027, the full retreat cost of $1,395 is required to register.
Meals & Lodging
The Ethnic Waves: Intuitive and Spontaneous Improv Curves and Circles Retreat includes meet and greet with appetizers, five lunches, and five days of instruction. Other meals and lodging are not included in the registration fee.
Estelle's Upstairs guest rooms are available for retreat participants. There are single, double, and rooms that share a large bathroom down the hall. There is a separate button below where you can see which rooms are available and book a room.
Click here to learn more about our guest rooms.
Click here to find other accommodations in La Veta.
What To Expect Next
Please add office@estellecreativearts.com to your safe senders list to make sure you receive our emails.
Service Animal Policy
To preserve a calm and welcoming space for creativity and connection, we ask that guests do not bring pets or emotional support animals.
Service dogs, trained to assist and supported by law, are always welcome. Thank you for helping us hold this space with care. If you have questions or specific needs, we invite you to reach out ahead of your visit.
Click here to learn more about the The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Service Animal Policy.
