From Confrontation to Catharsis: Fall 2021 EIP, Out Now!

October 18, 2021

Surface Design Association is excited to announce From Confrontation to Catharsis: SDA International Exhibition in Print, our Summer 2021 edition of Surface Design Journal. Our sixth annual EIP has both a subtlety and a boldness in its award winners and featured artists, who address the theme of “Confrontation through Catharsis.” This year we had the privilege of welcoming Keidra Daniels Navaroli, a frequent SDJ contributor and former assistant director and curator of the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech), as guest juror. Navaroli asks an important question of us when considering this year’s theme, “how can fiber art help to mend our connection to one another and the world at large?”

Here’s a preview of what you’ll discover:

Surface Design Award: Cari Clement

Cari Clement, Surviving Covid Coat, 2021. Wool and wool blend yarns, glass beads, hand knit, embroidered, 54 x 46 in.

Fiber Reinterpreted Award: Erin Fletcher

Erin Fletcher, Remedies, 2021. Leather, suede, handmade paper, wood veneer, beads, colored pencil, calf parchment, acrylic paint, googly eyes, hand embroidered, marbled, onlays, hand tooling, paper cutting, each approximately 3 x 3 in.

Guest Juror Award: Linda Anderson

Linda Anderson, The March for Love, 2021. Cotton fabric, polyester brocade, bamboo batting, polyester thread, Jacquard textile paints, hand painted, raw edge appliquéd; free motion stitched, 38 x 57.5 in.

Collaboration And Community Award: Danielle Hatch

Danielle Hatch, All The Soaring Of My Mind Begin In My Blood, 2020. Digital print from performance, dimensions vary. Photo: Emily Hawkins.

Material Exploration Award: Amy Deal

Amy Deal, Consumer Culture, 2020. Single-use plastics, fused, cut, sewn, 5 panels, each 7.5 x 3 feet.

Emerging Artist Award: Cecilia Mckinnon

Cecilia McKinnon, Present Storms, 2021. Cotton, silk, polyester dyed, pieced flag, 52 x 52 in.

Modern Meets Traditional Award: Drew Mckevitt

Drew McKevitt, Anxiety Doily 1, 2020. Cotton, vintage embroidery hoop, shuttle tatting, 5 x 9.5 in.

The EIP also highlights 24 Featured Artists: Christine A. Holtz, Dong Kyu Kim, Elizabeth Alexander, Fuzzy Mall, Kristin Nalesnik, Susan Zimmerman, Holly Cole, H. Mitsu Shimabukuro, Rosemary Burd, Elizabeth Fram, Caryl Gaubatz, Jess Jones, Bobbi Meier, Michael Sylvan Robinson, Kristy Deetz, Kate Kretz, Ann Morton, Martha Shade, Adrienne Sloane, Naomi Spinak, Christine Aaron, Kristina Daukintyte Aas, Terumi Saito, and Holly Wong.

Jess Jones, Weeping Quilt, 2020. Fabric yo-yos (gifted, purchased, and handmade), thread, pins, 78 x 126 x 2 in.

Christine A. Holtz, Covid-19 Work Blazer (front), 2020. Linen blend, hand and machine embroidery, 25 x 36 x 24 in.

Ann Morton (organizer), Violet Protest installation, 2020–2021. Mixed textile processes, each square 8 x 8 in, ~15,000 squares total. Phoenix Art Museum. Photo: Bill Timmerman, Timmerman Photography.

SDA’s Outstanding Student Awards and our Grants & Award Winners

Eleanor Anderson, Dream Portal, 2020. Cotton cloth, yarn, polyfil, wooden dowels, paint, double-woven, 15 x 10 x 3.5 feet. Photo: Robert Crossno.

To buy a copy of From Confrontation to Catharsis, go to the SDA Marketplace, or you can check out a free digital sample on our SDA Journal page.