Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World by Victoria Finlay I’m so engrossed in Victoria Finlay’s new book, Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World, that I’m wondering, will she get firsthand knowledge about barkcloth without the benefit of fifteen bodyguards and a helicopter? I don’t notice my bumpy flight until water slops …

My art practice took an unexpected turn when I summoned the courage to enter a collection of 18 small textile works in Expressions of the Sacred, an exhibition in 2002 at the University of Denver. When that work—which depicted signposts on Jesus’ journey to the cross—received the Juror’s Award, I began receiving requests to create …

Surface Design Association is excited to announce The Fusion of Fiber Arts, Fashion & Design: SDA International Exhibition in Print, our Fall 2022 edition of Surface Design Journal. This year’s International Exhibition in Print pushed artists to explore the various ways fusion as a concept can be expressed and incorporated into fashion and fiber art. …

My work reflects on the relationship between human existence and coexistence within nature, which is a mutualistic relationship with mankind. Humans and nature are indispensable and during this era of Covid-19, space and artwork about how we return to nature are being practiced and actively created. My work combines and materializes the connection between humans …

The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women’s Lives by Barbara Burman & Ariane Fennetaux I finished this book while having to pack a carry-on bag for a weekend away, and wished I had the sartorial accessories of pockets, as discussed in this book. They would have been very handy for holding my book, headphones, knitting …

What does it mean to call oneself a fiber artist? When I transitioned to that title, after years of being a textile artist, I didn’t know how relatively recent the term “fiber art” was coined—the 1950s. It’s not that fiber art didn’t exist before then, but pieces that were made through weaving, knitting, crocheting, quilting, …

Living in the isolation of the pandemic has caused a shift in my impulse to make–-my conceptual underpinnings and the imagery I employ reflect my current sense of absence and presence. Missing from my days is a consistent active engagement with others; present in my days is an increased awareness of my immediate environment. The …

The Southwest region of the United States stretches across an expansive landscape that ranges from a variety of soaring monoliths of red sandstone pinnacles to lush snow capped mountains. The high desert plateau repetitively cracks open to reveal cavernous canyons and hidden spring-fed creeks. The overwhelmingly gorgeous scenery combines with the powerful presence of indigenous …

Follow the Flock: How Sheep Shaped Human Civilization by Sally Coulthard Among the many book reviewers for Surface Design Journal, I am on the fiber beat. I continue to be fascinated by the physical materials and processes that form the foundation of all textiles and the books written about them. Further, I am on the …

It’s no surprise that responses to Covid-19 have been as numerous and diverse as we are individual. Interestingly, many artists I’ve spoken to have found a silver lining in the hours and days of uninterrupted solitude the pandemic gave them to work. I count myself among that fortunate contingent. More than 15 months ago, SDA …