Seeing Patterns: A Collage-Making Workshop with Zahra Almajidi

Have you ever seen a pattern and wondered how it was constructed? Are you always looking at a specific section of a rug and thinking about how that pattern would look on a poster or a vessel? What happens when you take a segment of a floral print and manipulate it until it becomes a new form altogether?

In this workshop, participants will learn various techniques to trace and/or replicate forms that can then be manipulated and multiplied to generate patterns. Participants will utilize basic art/design elements and principals (i.e. color, line, form, balance/symmetry, etc.) to identify and deconstruct existing patterns. They will learn how to make a versatile pattern that can be used for prints, jewelry, functional design objects, and much more.

While this is a physical object making workshop, participants will also be shown how these methods can be translated digitally.

All supplies are provided, but you are encouraged to bring objects, images, or already existing patterned imagery that is meaningful to you. 

Zahra Almajidi is a visual artist and metalsmith, born and raised in Detroit, MI, where she continues to live and work. Utilizing both traditional metalsmithing techniques and CAD/CAM processes, her work explores the ways in which objects and adornment allow displaced people to continue to uphold and practice their craft traditions while living in the diaspora.

She earned her BFA from Wayne State University and her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she received both the Art Director’s Fellowship and the Director’s Award. Her residencies include Talking Dolls Detroit (2021), the Arab American National Museum (2021), and Penland School of Craft.

Almajidi maintains an active studio practice and exhibits regularly. She currently serves as Central Materials Lab Coordinator at Cranbrook Academy of Art and as an adjunct instructor at Wayne State University.

Information on Public Parking:

In addition to street parking, lots are available at: The Sculpture Center, 12210 Euclid Ave.; at Circle Health Services (now The Centers), 12201 Euclid Ave.; and at the Little Italy Public Parking Pay Lot, 1922 E. 119th St., which is accessible from either Mayfield or Coltman roads.

Public Transportation is Available and Encouraged:

The Sculpture Center is served directly by RTA’s HealthLine with a bus stop located at E.123rd St. and Euclid Ave., directly across from The Sculpture Center. RTA’s Red Line University Circle-Little-Italy Station and #9 Mayfield-Hough bus lines are both within walking distance of The Sculpture Center. Visit rideRTA.com for information and route schedules.

Host or Publisher The Sculpture Center