2020 Program Archives

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.

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

July 27, 2020:  Members' Show and Tell / Entry Skills Workshops on Zoom

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 .

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.