The Surface Design Association is an international community of artists engaged in the creative exploration of fiber and fabric. The Vermont members featured in this exhibit have produced an eclectic selection of work in fiber, textile and mix media techniques in both two and three-dimensional disciplines.
From woven tapestries to painted, dyed, rusted and distorted fabric, the diversity and creativity evident in these works are a fine example of the exciting work being done in the field of textile art today.
Dianne Shullenberger is a well known Vermont artist who incorporates natural fibrous materials such as red osiers twigs, bamboo, marram grass, pods and leaves. Many of these materials are cut open to expose different patterns, colors and shapes, and are then combined into elegant and intriguing collages.
The knitters in the group, Eve Jacobs-Carnahan, Leslie Roth and Mary Sawabini, have branched out from the traditional flat surface, employing various types of yarns to stitch 3-D shapes such as leaves, flowers, heads, or hands. With the support of armatures, these knitted bits become fantastical creatures or familiar natural forms.
The quilted works in the exhibit are not what you might expect. Judy Dale’s curved shapes and subtle color shifts undulate across the quilted surface; Roz Daniels collages bold large-scale printed fabric to create dynamic modernistic designs; Mary Lowe creates colorful abstract designs that dance with color and movement.
Many works fall into the mixed media category such as Sharon Webster’s assemblages created from a wide range of meaningful objects, Debra Kraemer’s book created from painted and marbled fabric, or Elizabeth Fram’s hand-dyed surfaces embellished with exquisite patterns of hand stitching. 