SDA Members Show - Merge and Flow

Of the nearly 4000 SDA members worldwide who were invited to submit, this exhibition showcases the creativity of nearly 200 who each interpreted the Confluence theme of "Merge and Flow".

Materials used ranged from woven fibres like silk, linen, wool and hemp, to the more unusual and unexpected: wire, plastic, foil, rice paper, digital imagery, metal and re-purposed clothing. And similarly, traditional to innovative approaches were employed to create the pieces: weaving, stitching, knitting, discharging, wax resit, mom-printing, printing, dyeing, felting, beading, foiling, crocheting, digital printing and collage, among others.

The walls were packed, as well as the floors around them.

Here are some of my favourites out of the 200 pieces...

Swarming Krill
Pole-wrapped, hand-dyed cotton and linen. Pieced, appliqued, embroidered.
Kristin Rohr, North Saanich BC, Can

Confluence 2
Dyed and stitched burlap.
Joan Schlichting, Redmond WA

Filling The Void
Cotton, paper, metal wire, Arashi shibori, weaving, painting, knitting, crochet, hand and machine stitch.
Christine Hager-Braun, Durham NC

Refractions
Silk organza, shibori dyed, French seams.
Candace Edgerley, Alexandria VA

Silhouette #7
Silk, cotton, shibori resist dyed, fused, quilted.
Rebecca Cross, Oberlin OH

Three Generations
Cotton, polyester thread, random stitch.
Shin-Hee Chin, McPherson KS

Handwork: Drawing
Cotton, hand painted, screen printed and monoprinted with fibre reactive dyes.
Astrid Bennett, Iowa City IA

Remnants 17
Fibre, encaustic, oil stick, waxed linen, knotting, stitching.
Deborah Kruger, Amherst MA

Insatiable
Sculptural crochet with polyester, floral wire and paint.
Jodi Colella, Wellesley MA

Metonym
Cotton, quilted, hand painted.
Deidre Adams, Littleton CO

Ebb And Flow
Hand stitched loofah sponges.
Meredith Strauss, Glendale CA

Postmark Bluewater
Batik with beeswax, printing, stitching.
Diane Rutherford, Grand Rapids MN

Movement In Time
Applique and hand stitching on hand-dyed cottons.
Mary Ruth Smith, Waco TX

Offset
Natural pigments, fibre reactive dyes, silk, Katazone.
Kathryn Eastman, St. Paul MN

Travelers' Meeting Place
Disperse dyes on silk.
Marie-Therese Wisinowsk, New South Wales AUST

Ancient Skills
Salvaged napkins, vintage crochet, buttons, pins, buckles, trapunto.
Diane Savona, Passaic NJ

Mid-Winter Thaw
Disperse dye on polyester, Peltex, stitching, burning.
Kimber Olson, Eden Prairie MN

Daegu 1
Recycled cotton and linen, screen printing and hand embroidery.
Karin Soderholm, Daegu, South Korea

Secluded Willow
Warp painting, weaving, drawing and hand embroidery.
Jane Evans, Grandora SK, Can

Untitled
Martha Brownscombe, East Lansing MI

Turning Point
Merino wool, cotton gauze, zipper, reverse nuno felting, machine embroidery.
Barbara McCaffrey, Victoria BC, Can

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Jingzhe
Incense burning and screen printing on Lutradur.
Xia Gao, East Lansing MI

Sea Urchins
Handmade cut paper, nuno-felted wool, silk, embroidered, beaded.
Deborah Johnson, Magnolia DE

Healing Sutra #19
Hand embroidered antique cotton fabric stained with Walnut ink.
Erin Endicott, Port Republic NJ

(This piece won First Place based upon visual interest, craftsmanship and innovation.)

What can you say? WOW, eh?
And that was the end of Day 1 at the 2011 Surface Design Conference!