In October 2020, I was contacted by Diana Akiyama, the first Japanese-American woman elected a bishop in the Episcopal Church, to create her vestments. Diana has a deep reverence for the natural world which she wanted reflected in her vestments. She knew nothing about katazome except that it was a traditional Japanese technique and she …

SDA-sponsored Textile Talks provide engaging theme-focused presentations by member artists. In April, Textile Narratives: Vintage, Found & Transformed, with Maggy Rozycki Hiltner, Susan Lenz & Jennifer Lee Morrow, along with moderator Merill Comeau, generated enthusiastic audience questions with insufficient time for answers. Revisit this popular program and read on for a continuation of our Q&A. …

Surface Design Association is excited to announce Spontaneity and Play in Fiber Art, our Summer 2021 edition of Surface Design Journal. Fiber and textile work can often require large amounts of forethought, planning, and precision. This edition of Surface Design Journal celebrates the improvised, playful, and spontaneous way many artists have chosen to pursue when …

This month, we have a bonus addition to the SDA Book Club! A few months ago, Vivien Zepf visted Catskill Merino, the farm from which Clara Parkes received her wool for “Vanishing Fleece,” to learn more about the history, process, and lambs. Check out more in this bonus book review / travelogue below! “Vanishing Fleece: …

This month’s addition to the SDA Book Club is “Why We Quilt” by our recurring reviewer, Faith Hagenhofer. “Why We Quilt” “showcases a stunning collection of quilts from a wide range of contemporary makers, accompanied by their testimonials about what inspires and imbues their craft with meaning.” “Why We Quilt : Contemporary Makers Speak Out. The …

Slow Fiber Studios, Conversations with Cloth, Series Two completed it’s online program with Episode 4: The Americas: Shibori and Four-Selvedge Weaving in Mexico, Peru, Chile and Argentina, with Jim Bassler in his California studio. Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada and Ana Lisa Hedstrom shared how truly blessed to be part of the new world, by honoring the …

Like the town crier in a fractured fairy tale, “Be My Herald of What’s to Come” rings in Vickie Pierre’s premiere solo museum show at the Boca Raton Museum of Art (Florida, US). Grounded in the Arts and Crafts movement, her installations have a storybook feel. A fractured fairy tale is, after all, a new …

Allouche Gallery (New York, NY) presents “Operation Varsity Blues,” a group exhibition exploring the structural inequities of the American higher education system through the lens of the recent high-profile college admissions scandal. The exhibition features new, commissioned works by thirteen artists—Lindsay Adams, Debra Cartwright, Kevin Claiborne, Malaika Temba, Lindsey Brittain Collins, Alteronce Gumby, Lanise Howard, …

2020 Hindsight: Breathe is a series of 52 unique masks representing the 52 weeks in 2020 and symbolizing humanity. During the most chaotic year of most our lives many of the things going on around us were out of our control. If we were lucky, we “learned” to BREATHE. I am a fiber artist who began …

On Earth Day, Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada and Ana Lisa Hedstrom, hosted the third episode of Slow Fiber Studio’s Conversations with Cloth online series to celebrate the artistry and skills of shibori artisans and artists who create textiles treasures in Asia. The episode traversed cultural landscapes from Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas, to Southeast Asia and …