2020 Program Archives
Calendar of Events
List of Services
- November 23, 2020
Dissolve, Sparkle, and Crunch: Creating Texture with Mixed Media, a lecture by Laura Smith
- October 26, 2020
The HOPE File, a hands-on program by Andrea Davis, LPC-S, ATR-BC and founder of Dallas Art Therapy
- September 28, 2020
Adventures of an Aging Art Quilter, a program by Carolyn Skei
- August 24, 2020
Artist Trading Card (ATC) Exchange and Board Installation
- July 27, 2020
Members' Online Show and Tell / Entry Skills Workshops on Zoom
- March 2022
Cancelled due to COVID; rescheduled to 2022. New Life to Old Books program by Kiki Baughman
- February 24, 2020
A Passion of Choice program by Terri Thoman. Mini-workshop is Simplifying the Engraving.
- January 27, 2020
List Item 1
Mixed Media Mania! featured three great projects. Chuck Baber showed us how to make Chinese Button Knots; April Soncrant helped us make Collaged Name Tags and Linda Bonner showed us how to make Felt Bookmarks.
- 50th Anniverary
2020 is our 50th Anniversary! Welcome to Funtastic Fiber!
2020 is our 50th anniversary of exploring fiber arts!!! Celebrate with us throughout the year.
November 23, 2020:
Dissolve, Sparkle, and Crunch: Creating Texture with Mixed Media, a lecture by Laura Smith
Join us to be inspired by artwork from Laura Smith and her students as she tells us about mixed media that are useful for fiber art. The lecture will answer the questions:
- What are mixed media?
- Are they safe and archival quality for work with textiles?
- What can I do with them and how do I start?
In over 50 examples from Laura and her students, you’ll see several mixed media in action: Lutradur®, (heavy and extra light), Tyvek®, soluble fabric, heat sensitive fabric, acrylic gel media, Angelina fibers, and more. Cautions about a few mixed media that are used by painting artists but are not compatible with textiles are given. Pointers for designing with mixed media as well as aspects that judges consider for fiber artworks that include mixed media are discussed.
Best of all, seeing all the artwork will put your motivation to stitch into high gear!
Laura Smith is an embroidery innovator and nationally known designer working in textiles and mixed media. Her art has been shown all over the U.S.
Laura holds the Master Craftsman designation in the Embroiderers’ Guild of America (EGA), and chaired the EGA Master Craftsman in Color Program for 12 years. She is past Chairman of EGA Fiber Forum, a group of embroidery designers, and former director of an arts center. Her education in chemistry has helped her understand mixed media that are compatible with textiles.
Her website is www.Stitch4Fun.com
By the Rio Grande
Fabric collage with gel media, sheer cut with a heat tool, soluble fabric.
Night Blooming Tree is mounted on a page of a folding book called The Golden Road to Samarkand based on the poem of the same name. It was free machine stitched on heat sensitive fabric, beaded, removed from the fabric by heating, and placed in the book using archival quality acrylic gel medium as a fixative.
Glossary & Safety Guide for Mixed Media Materials
What are all these new-fangled fabrics and fibers? Glad you asked! For "Dissolve, Sparkle, and Crunch: Creating Texture with Mixed Media", a lecture by Laura Smith, Lu has put together a Glossary and Safety Guide for Mixed Media Materials for you to download.
November 2020 mini-workshop: Make a Folded Mini Book
Led by April Soncrant, this mini-workshop taught members how to make their own tiny books!
Finished size: 2 ½” x 3” x 1” thick
Carol will give us ideas to make a "Thank You 4 You" card to give or send to a friend. Start collecting your own bounty from your yard or garden. You can share your cards at the November Show and Tell.
October 26, 2020:
The HOPE File, a hands-on program by Andrea Davis, LPC-S, ATR-BC and founder of Dallas Art Therapy
Andrea Davis has worked with various nonprofits, providing individual and group art therapy services. She is a past president of the North Texas Art Therapy Association (NTATA) and volunteered for a number of committees through the AATA and the ATCB on behalf of the profession. She is active in local and international art exhibitions and projects.
Andrea earned her MA in Humanistic Psychology at University of West Georgia and went on to complete post graduate art therapy work at the Art Therapy Institute in Dallas and towards a second masters at University of Dallas. She is passionate about accessibility to art therapy services, and her dream is to see art therapy licensure and insurance reimbursement in every state.
When asked how art therapy is effective, Andrea says, “Just talking about a problem does not take away the bad feeling that resides in the body. Making art has the innate capacity to transform this negative visceral energy, releasing it.”
Join us as we create together virtually and explore the virtues of hope in hard times. We will assemble a simple book to capture images, colors and forms as a reminder of the good that emerges from times of struggle and pain. We will explore helpful pandemic coping skills and add them to the book for future reference.
Suggested Materials:
- One file folder (new or used, any heavy stock paper is fine.
- Acrylic or watercolor paints
- Brushes, water cup, paper towels
- Magazines and/or pretty papers for collage
- Markers
- Scissors
- Glue stick (gel medium, stapler, tape are optional)
- Any variety of odds and ends in your collection that you wish to use.
September 28, 2020:
Adventures of an Aging Art Quilter, a program by Carolyn Skei
Carolyn Skei will be DAFA’s presenter via Zoom on Monday, Sept. 20. She is no stranger to DAFA, having been a member for many years and having served on the board for five years in positions like program chair and webmaster. She tells us, “DAFA and DAFA friends have been at the heart of my growth as an artist. I’m very excited to tackle this Zoom presentation — especially since I’ll get to visit with DAFA friends for the first time in months!”
A native Texan who has also lived in Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Georgia and California, Carolyn spent much of her career as a university editor and publications director. Retired to McKinney since 2000 and now an octagenarian, she is pursuing her lifelong interests in art quilting, collage, and photography.
Carolyn’s art quilts have been juried into several traveling exhibitions of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA). And in the last two years she has seen her quilts juried into the prestigious Form not Function exhibition at the Carnegie Center for Art and History, and Interpretations at San Diego’s Visions Art Museum. At the 2019 Dallas Quilt Show, her largest piece to date won a Judge’s Choice Award and a blue ribbon in Pictorial Quilts. She was recently interviewed for an upcoming artist profile in Quilting Arts magazine.
Carolyn will share slides of a few of her most successful quilts, will give us a peek into her “improvised” studio, and then show the steps she takes to make one of her popular “Small World” pieces, working with recycled sari strips.
Zoom will allow members to type in questions for a short Q&A session at the end of the presentation. “It isn’t rocket science — certainly not as complicated as making a quilt,” Carolyn says. “I’m sure we can do this!”
August 24, 2020: Artist Trading Card (ATC) Exchange and Board Installation
The deadline to sign up, email your photo and mail your ATC is August 17. Don’t delay – sign up now.
Create one new Artist Trading Card (ATC) to share online and exchange via mail. Send one ATC through the mail and get one back!
July 27, 2020: Members' Show and Tell / Entry Skills Workshops on Zoom
Members' Show and Tell
Zoom Entry Skills Workshops
Monday, June 29th, 7 - 8 p.m. Contact Lisa at if you want to attend this session.
Thursday, July 9th, 7-8 p.m. Contact Carrie at if you want to attend this session.
Announcing The Entry Skills Workshop
Headshot. Our own Sherrie Tootle is providing this photography service to our members. $30 for one pose.
June 24 Mini Workshop
Our famous Purge and Swap takes the place of the mini workshop. It's time to look in the corners of your workspace and start boxing those treasures up! Who knows what fun things you'll find to fill in all that space you made. Starts at 5:30 p.m .
March 2020 (CANCELLED DUE TO COVID): New Life to Old Books program by Kiki Baughman
The life of a book does not have to end at the recycle bin. Artist Kiki Baughman will talk about the process of taking a book from trash to artwork.
“I love all things book related. So it is only proper that I should choose old books and ephemera to create my pieces of art. The books and ephemera I use have all been recused from recycling bins, dumpsters, flea markets and a variety of other places to live new lives as works of art.”--Kiki Baughman
A good book will live on forever.
About the Artist
Kiki Baughman graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh with a degree in Visual Communications and worked as a graphic designer for many years. Taking a break from the graphic design world, Kiki started working for the Half Price Books flagship store in Dallas. It didn’t take long before art was part of this job, too. Kiki found her niche as the Display Specialist, creating custom displays for events, holidays, author events, and large scale installations for multiple stores. When she saw books and other items headed for the recycling bin, she got the idea to repurpose the books into her displays.
Kiki’s artwork goes beyond her day-to-day work at Half Price Books. She creates book sculptures for a variety of clients, including a dress she recently made for the Louisiana Fashion Prize fashion show. Her work can be found at
KikiDiditDesign.com.
February 24, 2020: A Passion of Choice program by Terri Thoman. Mini-workshop is Simplifying the Engraving.
A Passion of Choice program summary
Throughout our lifetime we are constantly challenged with choice. As an Artist there is a conflict, the choice of financial stability or creative freedom. This a story of survival, what it takes to remain true to your instincts. A journey through three decades to come full circle and begin again.
Terri was born in Japan. She received a BFA Degree in Printmaking from Swain School of Design 1982. She was
assistant Printer at Peregrine Press from 1982-83.
She founded
PAPER ROUTES in 1983 and ran it until 2004. Her business resurfaced as
PAPER ARTS in 2005. She established the
Dallas Artisan Fine Print Studio in 2018.
This presentation was developed for Caran D’Arche, to enable our public school educators to teach the fundamentals of printmaking in our public schools, without a budget and adhering to a non-toxic principle. Using commonly found tools and materials, this exercise sets the foundation for understanding the basics of Intaglio printing. Please bring your to-go kit. Fee $5.
January 27, 2020: Mixed Media Mania
Featuring three great projects for you to learn. April Soncrant will help us make Collaged Name Tags, Chuck Baber will show us how to make Chinese Button Knots, and Linda Bonner will show us how to make Felt Bookmarks.
Please bring your To-go Kit. Fee $10.
April serves on the DAFA board as Community Service Director. She has led various special efforts for the group, including a new community service project, Priority: Fiber Arts Education for Dallas area art educators. She has many fiber specialties, one of which is making creative uses of paper including name tags.
Chuck dabbles, as he says, for fun. A Boy Scout at heart, he is self-taught in the arena of knots and he has 15-20 books on the subject of knots. Chuck recommends Ashley’s Book of Knots which he says is the “bible of knot books”.
He has made folded cloth in origami patterns for an Alzheimer’s show and unique large-scale origami works of art. His favorite knot is the Chinese decorative knot.
Chuck likes to learn new things and teach new things which is why he is a member of the Dallas Area Fiber Artists!
Linda joined Dallas Area Fiber Artists and immediately entered two beautiful fiber paintings into our shows – both using recycled fibers. She has exceptionally good sewing skills and for the Recycled Runway program in October, she modeled a reversible cape and handbag made out of old drapes.
Linda’s paper collage artwork is part of the national network of “Artists in Cellophane”, a network that creates art for internationally distributed Art O Mats. Ask her about her delightful ball gown series of paper art.
2020 is our 50th Anniversary! Welcome to Funtastic Fiber!
2020 is our 50th anniversary of exploring fiber arts!!! Celebrate with us throughout the year.
Dallas Area Fiber Artists members are challenged to create a fiber artwork using the gold-themed supplies provided. The exhibit will showcase the diverse approaches to this challenge and reflect each artist’s creative expression and interpretation of the celebration and the color GOLD into art.
Packets of supplies will be available for purchase at monthly DAFA meetings for $5 per pack. If you would like a packet mailed to you, contact secretary@dallasfiberartists.org to arrange shipment and payment.
July 27, 2020: Artwork delivered to CC Young along with completed entry form
July 29 – August 24, 2020: Exhibition Dates
August 24, 2020: 6:00 p.m.: Closing Reception and Award Ceremony at the August DAFA meeting. Work will be picked up at the closing ceremony.
$20 for two entries
$30 for three entries
Entry Skills Workshop Sat., June 20, 2020
Entries Deadline Wed., June 24, 2020, 11:59 p.m.
Jurying Period Mon., June 29 – Thursday, July 9, 2020
Notification of Accepted Entries Sun., July 12, 2020
Deadline to Deliver Entries Mon., July 27, 2020
Show Installation Tues., July 28, 2020
Show Dates Wed., July 29 – Mon., August 24, 2020
2020 Closing Reception Mon., August 24, 2020, 6 p.m.
