My making is intuitive and resourceful, I appreciate and value the time and natural materials that combine, intersect and grow, reflecting both love and life. I have always been drawn to embroidery, weaving and gardening: powerful and diverse mediums that connect me with other makers, working together in communities or at home. I honor those …

For me there is nothing more satisfying than harvesting materials respectfully from the land, processing them and creating something beautiful. I admit, I am obsessed by raranga (Māori weaving). Making through raranga processes has been a source of cultural reclamation and grounding that I otherwise would not have experienced. Harvesting and preparing the materials is …

Exporting Shibori from Arimatsu to Africa, Machine Sewn-Resist and Complex Substrate (Episode 4), was the final episode of Slow Fiber Studios’ online talk Conversations with Cloth. Hosts Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada and Ana Lisa Hedstrom ended the premier series on how Arimatsu artisans created new textile designs when faced with foreign trade opportunities, post WWII. Highlighting …

Michelle Mayn is a New Zealand Aotearoa artist based in Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau. Mayn’s practice, situated within the field of process art, explores a world beyond sense perception through durational methods of making to create intra-active installations and mixed media sculptures. Mayn has regularly exhibited in solo and group shows in New Zealand and the …

When we think of weaving or plaiting as an art form, our initial response is to consider it in relation to traditions associated with women. However, there has been a shift in Aotearoa New Zealand over recent decades. A growing network of kairaranga tāne (Māori male weavers) has been working within their whānau (families) and …

This month, Conversations with Cloth, debuted Episode 3: Itajime Shibori/Clamp-Resist, hosted by Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada and Ana Lisa Hedstrom, from Slow Fiber Studios. The focus of the series continues on the core concept of the transformation of cloth, 2D pliable plane to 3D shapes, a dimensional transformation that is the essential concept of shibori, explained in Yoshiko’s …

Thank you to everyone who made this year at SDA possible! Without the work from our dedicated staff, board, volunteers, committees, and members, none of this would have happened. 2020 has been a rollercoaster of a year, and the fact that anyone was still able to accomplish something is no small feat. Here’s a look …

Surface Design Association is excited to announce Aotearoa New Zealand, our winter 2020 edition of Surface Design Journal, will be arriving in mailboxes shortly! This Journal provides a glimpse into the creative community of Aotearoa New Zealand. From vibrant fabric sculptures and the wool industry, to the conservation of Māori Textiles, readers will find a …

This year SDA spotlighted many amazing members on our blog, and we wanted to round them all up in one place to remind you of all the work they’ve done! Below is the work of Judy Bales, Polly Bech, Angela Dale, Julia Feldman, Leslie Horan Simon, Susan Hotchkis, Saberah Malik, Susan Moran, Jennifer Lee Morrow, …

Greetings from Canada! The Canadian Crafts Federation / Fédération Canadienne des métiers d’art has declared 2020 as a year-long celebration of Canadian fine craft. In Craft Year 2020 member artists are encouraged to push themselves to do something new. In our monthly newsletters, Susan M. Clark (SDA Membership Committee) highlighted a Canadian SDA member from …