The winners of SDA’s Outstanding Student Awards were recently announced for the students who have demonstrated excellence in fiber arts. The work of these artists embodied inventive and innovative use of technique, materials and concepts not only in fibers and textiles, but in printmaking, sculpture, and more. It is an honor for the Education Committee to be …

Surface Design Association is excited to announce Textiles for the End of the World, our Summer 2026 edition of Surface Design Journal.  We are living in a period rife with conflict, inequality, and various forms of insecurity, both locally and globally. This Journal examines how contemporary makers are using their craft to adapt the role …

The winners of SDA’s Outstanding Student Awards were recently announced for the students who have demonstrated excellence in fiber arts. The work of these artists embodied inventive and innovative use of technique, materials and concepts not only in fibers and textiles, but in printmaking, sculpture, and more. It is an honor for the Education Committee to be …

The winners of SDA’s Outstanding Student Awards were recently announced for the students who have demonstrated excellence in fiber arts. The work of these artists embodied inventive and innovative use of technique, materials and concepts not only in fibers and textiles, but in printmaking, sculpture, and more. It is an honor for the Education Committee to be …

Women’s Work: From Feminine Arts to Feminist Art by Ferren Gipson The core of Women’s Work is a chronology of change. This collective biography of 34 artists opens with a brief history of the quiltmakers of Gees Bend, who have been making useful, beautiful, abstract, color block quilts since the nineteenth century. It’s organized by …

SDA Book Club: The Alphabet of Expectations: An ABC Primer for Today’s Girl by Kachina Leigh, interviewed by Vivien Zepf Presented with support from the Peters Valley School of Craft Words matter. We’ve all witnessed or experienced the positive and negative power of language, labels, implications, connotations, and/or assumptions. In my personal childhood experience, taunts …

Surface Design Association is excited to announce Traditions and Techniques in Lace, our Spring 2026 edition of Surface Design Journal.  “Exploring vast historical and material contexts, our Traditions & Techniques journals are always some of our most inspiring issues. Lace is no exception. The history of lace is one rich in luxury, ornamentation and skill. …

I have a favorite t-shirt, which reads “Name Five Women Artists.” A lot of people have risen to the challenge, invariably naming Georgia O’Keefe and Frida Kahlo, both of whom have arrived at a place of pop culture familiarity, both painters. Louise Bourgeois’ name rarely comes up, perhaps because images of her work aren’t as …

Textile Design Theory in the Making by Elaine Igoe I like the idea of a textile designer as a translator. Designers ask questions and respond to problems. They gather, reflect upon and respond to concepts as varied as zeitgeist and personal experience, function, fashion and philosophy. In the process, they “interpret and tidy images, words, …

Gathering Colour: Foraging Magic & Making Art from the World Around You Paperback by Caitlin Ffrench  With a book as enthusiastic as this one, I have considered some criteria regarding intent and results. Does the book inspire? Does it enlighten and inform? Finally, is it entertaining? There are many books published on textile crafting and …