Several months ago, I joined a wonderful organization --
TAFA, The Textile and Fiber Art List. With several hundred members from all around the world,
TAFA is a juried online community of artists, small businesses, and entrepreneurs, all rooted in textile and fiber art products and traditions. Among its members are quilt artists, studio weavers and embroiderers, wearable art designers, art doll makers, vintage textile purveyors, art educators, and many more types of creative people passionate about fiber art.
TAFA has a vibrant
website and an
active presence on Facebook.
TAFA members frequently participate in art and fine craft exhibitions and shows. You can buy work by many
TAFA members
online. I am happy to be part of this marvelous organization, and I want to introduce you to just a handful of its members. Visit
The Textile and Fiber Art List online to learn more and see work by many other talented
TAFA members.
Salley Mavor of
Wee Folk Studio is an award-winning fiber artist who creates three-dimensional, extraordinarily detailed fabric relief miniatures. Her work has been used to illustrate numerous children's books, and the original fabric relief illustrations from her most recent project,
Pocketful of Posies, are currently touring the country. I recently purchased one of Salley's (autographed!) books as a gift for my new nephew, and I was thoroughly enchanted by the magical worlds she creates with needle, thread, fabric, and found objects. See Salley at work and hear her talk about her work in
Rabbitat.
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Salley Mavor. Self-Portrait: A Personal History of Fashion.
The original fabric relief sculpture incorporates miniature dolls, which represent a year in the artist's life. The dolls spiral out from the center, passing through time, from birth to age 52. Each 1" to 3" figure is dressed in an outfit she would have worn that year. The piece is stitched entirely by hand, including the endless french knot pattern in the border.
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Dianne Koppisch Hricko has had a long career in art education and now works as a fiber artist specializing in
wearable and
non-functional dyed and painted silk. I am drawn to the use of botanical and abstract motifs and unusual color palettes in her work.
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Dianne Koppisch Hricko. Cascade2007
18 x 54 inches
Two sided lined hanging. Hand painted, stamped and breakdown printed with MX dyes on silk organza.
Serged, hand stitched and beaded. |
Lotta Helleberg is a contemporary textile artist and surface designer whose work I have admired for several years. She uses plants from her Virginia garden for fabric dyes and also includes them in natural printing techniques such as leaf-printing. I met Lotta through Etsy a while ago and was fortunate to meet her, however briefly, in person, when she came to visit me at the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore in February 2012. I have a growing collection of Lotta's work, and as someone who continually experiments with new techniques and directions, she never ceases to surprise and intrigue me. Her
online shop currently has a bounty of art quilts, home linens, and artist books.
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Lotta Helleberg. Forest Floor.
leaf printed, plant dyed linen, wool thread,
hand stitched
21" x 33" |
Betty Busby, a RISD graduate in ceramics, has worked as a fiber artist for nearly two decades. Her magnificent, very richly hued art quilts and collages have won many international awards. I am particularly drawn to the textures and mesmerizing patterns of her
"Macro" series. In her
online shop, Betty has work that would please the tastes and budgets of new and seasoned fiber art collectors alike.
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Betty Busby. Tentacular
art quilt, 59" x 52" |
TAFA, the Textile And Fiber Art List, owes its existence, spirit, and success to its visionary founder, amazing woman, and friend,
Rachel Biel. In addition to running
TAFA, Rachel heads up an emporium for textile addicts,
Rayela. Find out more about Rachel's journey, art, and services for other artists and creative entrepreneurs on her website,
Rayela.Com.
