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 …

I make art to learn and understand what I am thinking and feeling. While it is always an internal investigation, I am engaged with the world and culture around me. There is much to horrify me: violence at home and abroad, global climate crisis, racism, rapacious capitalism and more. In  response, I began to collect …

Worn: A People’s History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser Organized by fiber type, Worn is absolutely a history of clothing, but to be more precise, a history of its manufacture, and the labor therein. These intersections allow Thanhauser to explore firsthand this attribute of being human—our need for clothing and what it means for those …

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 in fiber art. Check out the last three week’s OSA Spotlight: Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3. Congratulations to all …

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 in fiber art, and will continue to be spotlighted over the next two weeks. Check out the last two week’s …