Melanie Dossey, a self-taught fiber artist, transitioned from a thriving midwifery practice to pursue her passion for fiber art.

Her journey is fueled by her past experiences, travels, and genuine love for people.

Initially starting with a modest log cabin, Dossey’s exploration of fiber possibilities remains an ongoing endeavor. She actively utilizes current resources to discover innovative surface designs and 3D techniques.

As a member of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) and Dallas Area Fiber Artists (DAFA), Dossey established a SAQA Circle with fellow fiber artists in East Texas. Presently, she serves as a SAQA Representative of Texas, with the shared objective of elevating fiber art to the status of a legitimate form of fine art. 

MaryEllen Sax is an award-winning quilter and mixed-media artist from the Dallas area.

Since her early childhood in Minnesota, MaryEllen has loved working with fabrics. This love led her first to a degree in theatre, with an emphasis in costume design, at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  Since then, she has worked in costume design and has also lent her talents to museums, helping to showcase textile art and costuming for the general public. 

Today, MaryEllen's work includes both traditional and art quilting. In recent years her work has extended into mixed-media forms, incorporating a variety of techniques and materials acquired through her diverse career. A great enthusiast for adding embellishments to her pieces, she is known for giving new life to vintage lace, linens, and other items with a history.

MaryEllen is also an avid photographer, focusing on botanical themes and landscapes, which in turn influences her textile works.

Coleen Swafford is a retired computer engineer who discovered the joys of costuming 25 years ago.

She has been a member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Costumers Guild for 20 years, serving as secretary and president at different times. She has also been a docent and volunteer coordinator at Chestnut Square Historic Village in McKinney and is currently a member of the Allen Heritage Guild.

Swafford has won costume awards at numerous events including Festival of the West, All-Con, and Time Eddy.  She now enjoys spreading the costuming bug wherever she goes.

VET is a native Texas artist who incorporates environmental recycling awareness through her artwork, commissions, and workshops. Her murals and art installations combine the aesthetics of fine art with an inventive application of found and re-purposed objects. In addition to her wide variety of cultural-based and educational arts programs, she always shares innovative ways to re-think, re-purpose and re-design discarded items.

VET has been touring nationally and regionally for over 25 years, offering hands-on classes, workshops and other customized programming. She is a graduate of the University of Texas Dallas (BA Arts & Performance).

VET’s work has been on exhibit throughout the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Africa; she is the recipient of numerous grants that include The National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA), State Fair of Texas Creative Arts Department, Dallas Cultural Vitality Program, ArtsActivate, Dallas Community Fund Project, Dallas Community Artist, TACA Culture Bank, MetLife Foundation, and Urban Genesis. 

Additional board memberships and affiliations include The Mix Creative Space, Slant Collective, Art on Main Gallery, Dallas Area Fiber Arts – Past President, Irving Art Center, Irving Art Association- Past President, Visual Artists Cedar Hill- Vice President, Texas Wax Artists-Dallas, Texas Visual Arts Association, Craft Guild of Dallas, Creative Art Center, and The McKinney Avenue Contemporary.

Jami Roux is an award-winning doll maker based in Dallas, Texas, whose work is known for its exuberant celebration of human diversity and emotion, as well as for its witty, whimsical, and impeccably crafted details.

Jami first rose to local prominence as an active member of the American Sewing Guild’s Plano Chapter, where she became a much sought-after teacher and later held the office of president. She found her true calling in dollmaking just over a decade ago, when, during a visit to the Houston International Quilt Show, she was mesmerized by a doll on exhibit. On her return home, she wholeheartedly embraced this new direction in her work, enlisting mentors from her ASG circle and learning everything she could about the artform. Eventually, she began submitting her dolls to national challenges—a step that proved invaluable to her evolution as an artist. The feedback she received from top doll artists helped her to refine both her technique and artistic vision, and encouraged her to continue producing new work.

Since these early days, Jami’s work has rarely been out of the spotlight. Her dolls have been shown every year at the Houston International Quilt Show, and her work is also a crowd-favorite at the State Fair of Texas, where her piece Alicia garnered the 2022 Best in Show award and Dorothy won a blue ribbon in 2023. Jami’s work has also been featured in numerous publications, including the Aug/Sept/Oct 2018 issue of Art Doll Quarterly and the Winter 2023 issue of A for Artistic.

Jami remains an active member of the Plano Chapter of ASG, where she continues to present programs, and she is also a member of the Houston-based Material Girls Cloth Doll Club. When not preparing new work for competition, she loves to share her passion for dollmaking with others.

Jeanne Akita is a sculptural fiber artist based in Tarrant County, Texas. Her work explores the convergence of ancient felting traditions and contemporary sculptural form, employing natural materials such as wool, silk, flax, camel fiber, wood, and metal. Inspired by Siberian mythology—particularly the Pazyryk culture—Akita’s practice emphasizes material integrity, tactile complexity, and hand-dyeing techniques.