An International Fiber Symposium
March 6 – 8, 2008 The University of the Arts, Philadelphia

M a t e r i a l t y + M e a n i n g : Examining Fiber and Material Studies in Contemporary Art and Culture

I just found this thesis blog that belongs to a painting MFA candidate at SCAD. He has a list of links to (mostly) thesis blogs.

Titanium White: MFA Painting Thesis Journal of Kevin Strickland

And his website: http://www.kevinstrickland.net/ He has a section on the importance of artists having a web presence and he gives a shout out to wordpress…

Anna Keck is one of our Fiber grad students and her blog has been featured on design*sponge and creative blogs.

All-We-Can-Waste-Buffet, 2007. Paper and interfacing.

Christine received her MFA from Southern Illinois University in 2007.

Allison completed her MFA in the painting department at SCAD in 2005. She took several fibers classes during her studies.

Cranbrook Academy of Art has been a hothouse environment for graduate studies in the visual arts for more than seventy-five years. In particular, the program in fiber under the successive leadership of Gerhardt Knodel and Jane Lackey has contributed to the rethinking of the field, redefining and shifting it in new directions. Hot House: Expanding the Field of Fiber at Cranbrook, 1970-2007 presents work by Knodel and Lackey as well as over 150 of their 275 graduates, all of whom have contributed to the ever-expanding field of fiber. From the introductory essay by Gregory Wittkopp

It’s 2007 and we are a bit behind on the fibertext project! Let’s work on getting the conversation going again. Please send links to your personal websites for inclusion in the practice section.

I just heard about an MFA textile listserv located at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MFAtextiles/

This is a direct link to the keynote presentation by Dennis Stevens at the 2006 CODA (Craft Organization Development Association) conference in Portland, Oregon. Watch/listen to the talk and post your responses.

As a critic, an object maker and a former gallery owner, Stevens interprets contemporary art and craft practice with an interdisciplinary perspective and an eye towards the future.
Dennis Stevens is working on his doctorate at Teachers College in NY and writes Redefining Craft.

I am putting together projects for my first fiber art class, and looking for suggestions on what to include. Any ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks.

This is my first time teaching fiber arts at the college level, and most of the students have never even heard of fiber arts, much less have any experience in the subject matter. It is a special topics class in the art dept, so I can do whatever I want with it.

Jennifer Jenkins completed her MFA in Fibers at the Savannah College of Art & Design in 2005. This is her new website.

More of a coffe-table book than any sort of academic/critical/ground-breaking book, By Hand was just published by Princeton Architectural Press.

In a response to the sleek forms and perfect angles of late-1990s objects, many of today’s artists are returning to handmade work such as hand lettering, hand drawing, and hand sewing. By Hand features an international collection of the most noteworthy artists and shows their work in detailed photography and insightful texts.