Meetups
SDA Meetups connect individuals from around the globe in virtual groups. Whether you’re looking to be in conversation with other makers about studio practices, interdisciplinary approaches, working with different materials, exploring a regenerative practice within your work, volunteer facilitators are excited to dive into these topics with you. Scroll down to read more about each Meetup. Makers from all backgrounds and experience levels are valuable participants.
HOW IT WORKS: Meetups are open to all current SDA members. The same group of participants would meet online for three sessions with your Meetup facilitator. Our Meetup sessions are not recorded. We recommend you sign up for Meetup groups that work well with your schedule. We understand that unexpected conflicts can occur, but please make a serious attempt to commit to all the sessions before you sign up.
QUESTIONS? Please see the FAQ section below or contact us at info@surfacedesign.org
Democracy in Stitches with Christy Strickler and Adrianna Hinds
This informal co‑working group offers a supportive space to connect with others and openly explore thoughts and concerns about contemporary geopolitics, without pressure or judgment. Members can work on their own project or choose to work towards a finished piece to share with the Democracy in Stitches Craftivism project.
Discussion Prompt: In what ways can a slow stitching practice serve as a form of self-care or emotional anchor when the world around us feels chaotic?
Dates: Wednesdays, September 9, October 14, November 11, 6PM ET (convert timezone)
Surface Conversations: Exploring Perception, Material, and Meaning in Contemporary Fiber Art with Ipsita Roumoulik
Surface Conversations is a space for thoughtful discussions inspired by fiber and the ways it shapes perception, material, and meaning. Through open conversation rather than critique, we’ll explore how thread, texture, and process influence both making and viewing. Artists of all backgrounds are welcome to bring their curiosity, observations, and questions as we learn from one another.
Discussion prompt: What do we hope viewers experience when they encounter fiber?
Dates: Saturdays, September 12, October 10 and November 14 at 10AM ET (convert timezone)
Repurposing to Create: Reducing, Reusing and Recycling with Felicia Reed
This meetup will be focused primarily toward those who create with repurposed fibers. We will discuss the different techniques and purposes for our works, plus share useful tips and resources. Each participant is invited to share their creations.
Discussion prompt:What repurposed goods have you found that you are using to create your surface designs?
Dates: Tuesdays, September 15, October 20, November 17, 7:30PM ET (convert timezone)
Getting Started with Natural Dyes for Wool with Jean Haley
By the end of this mini-workshop, you will know how to prepare wool for colorfast natural dyes.
Day 1 – How to scour your wool and why it’s critical for success.
Day 2 – How to mordant wool and what are mordants anyway?
Day 3 – Top tips for extracting color from plants you grow and forage.
This mini-workshop is customized for wool artists/artisans, whether you use wool fabric or wool yarn. Preparing cellulose fiber (fiber that comes from plants, like cotton, linen, and hemp) is a different process and will not be covered in these lessons.
Dates: Monday, September 21, Tuesday, September 22, & Wednesday, September 23, 5:30PM EDT (convert timezone)
The Textile Body: Soft Sculpture, Wearable Narratives and Embodied Memory with Selma Eduarda Pereira
How can textiles embody memory, identity and lived experience? This discussion-based meetup explores how soft sculpture, wearable art and textile installations become powerful narrative forms through materiality, tactility and the relationship with the body. Participants are invited to share ideas, artistic practices and references in an open, interdisciplinary and international conversation.
Discussion prompt: Can textiles tell stories that words cannot? Share an artwork—your own or someone else’s—that has changed the way you think about the relationship between textiles, the body, and identity.
Dates: Mondays, September 21, October 5, 1PM EDT (convert timezone)
UnFinished Business with Theda Sandiford
Every artist has a project that never quite made it across the finish line. UnFinished Business invites participants to share an unfinished work with the group for constructive feedback, fresh ideas, and encouragement. Together, we’ll explore creative roadblocks, spark new possibilities, and help bring dormant projects back to life. Participants will be invited to share their progress at subsequent meetups, creating both inspiration and accountability.
Discussion prompt: What made you stop working on this piece, and what would need to happen for you to start again?
Dates: Mondays, September 21, October 5, October 19, 7PM EDT (convert timezone)
Fiber Arts Roundtable with Ana Tieche and Christy Strickler
Join us for an informal gathering where we explore current exhibitions, impactful articles, and share inspiring work from fellow artists in our community. Bring a favorite topic or resource to share or just drop in to join in the conversation.
Discussion prompt: Have you recently encountered an artist whose work feels fresh and unexpected?
Dates: Mondays, September 28, October 26, and November 30, 2PM ET (convert timezone)
Japan Topics with Seiko Purdue and Susan M Clark
Japanese arts and crafts—especially textiles—have captivated audiences around the world. Join us for a wide-ranging exploration of Katazome, Kurume Ikat, Tokyo museums and galleries, and the innovative printmaking and art practice of Kurume Wakaki, the youngest recipient of the Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art.
Discussion prompt: What captivates you about Japanese textiles and techniques?
Dates: Wednesdays, October 7, October 21 and November 4, 7PM ET (convert timezone)
Slow Practices in a Hyperconnected World with Selma Eduarda Pereira
This discussion-based meetup explores how contemporary textile and craft practices create spaces for slowness, reflection, and care within an increasingly accelerated and hyperconnected world. Through conversation and participant exchange, we will reflect on making as a creative methodology that values time, material engagement and meaningful human and more-than-human relationships.
Discussion prompt: How has slowing down influenced your creative practice? Can you think of a textile or making process that has changed the way you relate to time, materials or yourself?
Dates: Mondays, November 2, and November 9, 1PM ET (convert timezone)
Making an Artist Presentation with Adrianna Hinds and Susan M Clark
Join us for a practical Meetup on what makes an artist presentation clear, engaging, and technically smooth. To get the most from this Meetup, please come prepared to make a recorded 10-minute presentation about your work and share it with fellow participants by our final sessions. Anyone who chooses to present will receive kind, supportive feedback with helpful direction, so you leave with a stronger presentation you can post, share, or build on.
Discussion prompt: What makes an artist presentation clear, engaging, and technically smooth?
Dates: Tuesdays, November 3, November 10, November 17 and November 24, 7PM ET (convert timezone)
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