Dressing With Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia edited by Carrie Hertz The full cover of Dressing With Purpose is a photo of what appears to be a celebratory procession, prominently featuring flags of Norway and Sápmi, the Sámi people’s land. All the participants appear to be wearing culturally significant clothing. This image begs questions: Who are they? When are they? Where are they? The conversations in this book center around issues of sartorial choices and expressions, which can “alter social and conceptual spaces… (by) influencing the world around us- aligning with or di ..read more

The Art of Ruth E. Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture, from Do the right Thing to Black Panther by Ruth E. Carter It seems to me that the debate of form versus function might be an eternal struggle for a costume designer. One might love the look of a costume, but will it work? A costume is most often born of the designer’s diligent research and imagination, but it is imperative that it also serve the director’s vision and the story arc. It must support the individual character’s storyline and enhance the overall visual narrative. A costume must be authentic so an audience ..read more

I have a naturally tight craft hand, but this neatness is betrayed with one glance at the back of one of my pieces. I begin my embroideries with as little planning as possible—inviting colors to build and shapes to form as I stitch—leaving long floats in my wake. These floats look like brushstrokes, deliberate marks that seem to endear them to people who love Abstract Expressionism. For many years I resented this fetishization of what I considered an unintended consequence of my work. Recently, I have embraced this messiness—working on both sides of the cloth, leaving loose threads visible, an ..read more

Wild Textiles: Grown, Foraged, Found by Alice Fox You would be forgiven in assuming Wild Textiles to be a “how to/field guide,” were you simply perusing. It is both more and less than that. Minimal instruction or directions are given, with the exception of a lengthy discussion on nettles. Wild Textiles is, however, a powerful invitation to the use of sustainable vegetable materials in the creation of art, and a logical outgrowth of Alice Fox’s previous writings. Fox’s quote of author Robin Kimmerer’s words early on form an ideal lens through which to experience the entirety of the book: “One ..read more

My current project, 3 Dykes Walk into a Bar…, involves tapestries, embroidered work, and textile sculpture that reveal three characters who are young dykes—coming of age between the 1990s and now. This work unfolds in a non-linear way, reflecting on the chaos and instability of the characters’ experiences.  Dani Lopez, WE RECRUIT!, 2023. Handwoven cotton with double weave pick-up, text is from a protest sign made by The Lesbian Avengers, a 1990s, NYC-based, direct action group that attempted to address the lack of visibility lesbians had throughout the media, 24 x 27.5 inches. Photo by t ..read more

Thank you to everyone who made this year at SDA possible! We are fortunate to have such passionate staff, board, volunteers, committees, and members who continually help us grow, learn, and expand. From the launch of our Online Workshop Series, to 4 unique Surface Design Journals and more, we accomplished quite a bit this year. Here’s a look back at some highlights from SDA for 2023, and we can’t wait to see what comes next in 2024! (EM)power (EM)brace (EM)body ONLINE GALLERY Curated by Katayoun Bahrami, (EM)power (EM)brace (EM)body, includes artists whose work explores concepts of bodies from ..read more

Surface Design Association is excited to announce Seeing / Being Seen: LGBTQIA+ Writers on LGBTQIA+ Fiber Artists, our Winter 2023 edition of Surface Design Journal. Led by Guest Editor, Rebekah Frank, this special edition of the SDJ focuses on LGBTQIA+ writers exploring LGBTQIA+ artists, highlighting the complexity of intersectional identity and how it informs creative practices in fiber at a time when LGBTQIA+ rights are increasingly under attack. “I hope that this collection of articles, essays and interviews demonstrates that to know someone who identifies as LGBTQIA+ is to know just one t ..read more

We had another lovely year of reviews to add to our ever-growing collection for the SDA Book Club. 2023’s reviews included recurring authors Faith Hagenhofer and Vivien Zepf, with the addition of Zia Gipson, who joined us in the summer and will be reviewing more books to come in 2024. Here’s a combined list of all the reviews, as well as where to purchase each book!  All That She Carried by Tiya Miles | reviewed by Faith Hagenhofer  Publisher: Random House (buy it here) ISBN: 9781984854995 Patternalia: An Unconventional History of Polka Dots, Stripes, Plaid, Camouflage & Other ..read more

Spirituality of Rust: A Sacred Language of Iron Through Art by Rio Wrenn Depending on who you talk to, you can get some pretty heated or positive thoughts on rust. To some, it shows unsightly wear and tear and needs to be removed. To others, like author Rio Wrenn, it is a conduit for creative expression, a way of seeing the world, and something that should be honored like any other patina. Spirituality of Rust is a mix of poems, technical advice, personal stories, and a look into one’s creative process.  Wrenn’s musings cover many facets of her creative and personal journey through worki ..read more

“The impetus driving the work in this exhibition does not arise from the need to abolish cohesive traditions. Instead, each work possesses an energetic momentum to protract all-too-familiar art forms by translating, rearticulating, unwinding and rewinding the components of material practices. Yet subtle disloyalties to traditional assumptions regarding craft, tradition, language, meaning, and interpretation murmur. But destabilization is not evident, nor is it the goal of the artists represented in the exhibition… The binary oppositions between functionality and non-functionality, skill and co ..read more