Surface Design Association is excited to announce Hunter / Gatherer, our Spring 2024 edition of Surface Design Journal. “As hunter-gatherers, our paleolithic forebearers foraged natural resources until about 12,000 years ago when archaeological evidence of agricultural practices started to appear. Our nomadic lifestyle waned as humans built permanent settlements and domesticated plants and animals. This issue …
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Patternalia: An Unconventional History of Polka Dots, Stripes, Plaid, Camouflage & Other Graphic Patterns by Jude Stewart “This is going to be fun,” I thought as I flipped through Jude Stewart’s book Patternalia for the first time. The book’s graphic style and layout were ideally suited to a book about pattern. Skimming over a few sentences suggested …
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All That She Carried by Tiya Miles This book is all about a small cloth sack, where “she” in the title is not the maker, but becomes the carrier. As the book unfolds, we learn this sack carried not just past, tangible things, but it has become a means, a carrier of stories. All That …
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Autobiographically driven, my work combines a variety of sources and materials. From figurative and digital imagery, to hand- and machine-woven fabrics with drawing and painting, the sculptural pieces I create are infused with the emotional, often humorous themes of heartbreak. Weaving and sewing are meditative, even when the result is uncomfortable—capturing romance’s physical pain. Conversely, …
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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 …
Read More »Pastoral Song: A Farmer’s Journey by James Rebanks Early on a summer Sunday morning, as I prepared to write this piece, an urgent call came from my neighbor. The sheep we’d put in her hay field to grass, had escaped. Suddenly, I’d not only read James Rebanks’ paean to English sheep farming, but I was …
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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 …
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I Wanted to Bubble… In a time of uncertainty, art is the first thing people think we can put aside. Who’s spending money on a painting when they aren’t confident about the economy, or fear their job is in jeopardy? Who’s adding to the beauty of their home when no one is visiting? Who is …
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Surface Design Association is excited to announce Looped & Knotted: Contemporary Basketry, our Spring 2021 edition of Surface Design Journal. This issue, developed in collaboration with the National Basketry Organization and Guest Editor Carol Eckert, explores all the different ways artists express enthusiasm for basketry – a tradition that spans the globe and takes many forms. …
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Surface Design Association and American Tapestry Alliance (ATA) are excited to partner our blogs and announce a series of professional practices articles for fiber artists. Initially posted on ATA’s blog, these articles will focus on shipping, promoting your practice, artist statements, insurance, and validation. With the help of Barbara Burns, we’ll be bringing you a …
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