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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This month’s SDA Book Club features of review of Fray: Art and Textile Politics by Julia Bryan-Wilson and reviewed by Faith Hagenhofer. Fray: Art and Textile Politics by Julia Bryan-Wilson It is essential to read the Introduction to Fray, as Julia Bryan-Wilson outlines the very considered, serious academic work ahead. While it may appear so, this …
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This month’s member spotlight is on Jennifer Lee Morrow. Based in Westbrook, Maine, Jennifer’s uses found and altered papers and other found materials to create incredibly detailed and intricate three-dimensional collage works. Alchemy, Tinkering, and Stitching: Transforming the Mundane I was raised near Niagara Falls where my family ran an independent bookstore. No one close …
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This week’s blog article is an emotional and moving journey by K. Johnson Bowles about healing and processing of trauma through the making of art. In 2019, I started a new body of work called Veronica’s Cloths. I had been in a job where I was subjected to threats, harassment, sexual assault, discrimination, retaliation, and defamation. …
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Surface Design Association is excited to announce our Spring 2020 edition of Surface Design Journal: Interwoven: Collaboration in Fiber. “Collaboration can take on many forms. Artistically speaking, it can have the wondrous effect of strengthening community, at home or across the globe. The 2020 Spring edition of Surface Design Journal explores what happens when creative minds …
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Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts just recently announced their first Appalachian Craft and Culture Fellow: Geri Forkner—a fiber artist working at the intersection of art and craft. Many SDA members have taken classes, taught, and had residencies at Arrowmont, and this new project they’re launching is another exciting option for fiber artists out there! …
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