Review - Mastered Creative Embroidery Class With Diana Springall

I was recently contacted by the wonderful people at Mastered to preview their Creative Embroidery class taught by Diana Springall, author of numerous books on embroidery and textile arts. This class lends itself to "designer-makers" who want a spark to push them in a new direction, and it's a unique opportunity to learn from and interact with a leading person in the textile arts. In addition to Diana Springall's wonderful presence, the class also benefits from another skilled maker in the room - Anna Alicia, author of the book Make It Your Own.



Gorgeous sampler by Diana Springall

Students begin with painting exercises designed to spark their creativity and provide an inspiration point for the later exercises. After a discussion on basic color concepts, there is advice on how to choose a motif, how selection of embroidery stitches can enhance that motif, where to graphically place the motif on your finished piece, and best practices on sewing your finished piece. There is also a "Take it Further" section at the end of the lessons with examples of other designer-makers offering their own perspectives and gems of advice.


One of Diana's gorgeous samplers - I love the circuit-like quality of the interacting stitches

Diana is a delight to learn from, and her approach is warm, knowledgeable, and encouraging. Having taken in-person art and design classes in the past, I'd have to say that this online class is the closest I have come to that experience. You are not told exactly what to do or stitch so much as you are given a series of concepts and ideas to form the springboard for your own interpretation.

I think this class is ideally suited to someone who has already started on the design path, so maybe not a beginner but a moderate to advanced beginner,  although it can also function as an inspiration class for someone interested in embarking on a designer-maker career. Being able to have constructive, quality feedback on your work from a respected person in the field is something not easily found, even in our expansive world wide web environment. Overall, I think this class is a unique and wonderful opportunity for designers looking to add some creative spark to their craft. While this class is clearly not meant to be a compendium of every stitch you could know, it is instead a wonderful first step in your journey down a creative path.

I'd like to thank the kind people at Mastered for giving me the opportunity to preview their wonderful class. Visit Mastered for more on all the classes they offer!