Fostering a Range of Fiber Art Educational Opportunities
Saturday, February 14, 2026
Mixed-media workshops at CC Young Retirement Community, The Point
- 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon:
Mixed-Media Madness
- Single fee per person covers participation in all three workshops
- All are welcome! Members are invited to bring friends and family members!
- The workshops are:
- Book Sculpture with VET
- Dorset Buttons with Jami Roux
- Diagonal Pocket Fold Booklet with Jeanene Evans
Mixed-Media Madness: Three Workshops on One Day
In this incredibly popular annual event, attendees will take part in three (3) rotating workshops presented our superstar instructors VET, Jami Roux, and Jeanene Evans. Join us for a chance to experiment with new techniques and materials in a fun, informal environment!
The kit fee for each participant is $15. Please bring your payment and your To-Go Kit, and get ready for one of the most anticipated programs of the year!
Workshop 1: Book Sculpture with VET
This mini-workshop is a fantastic follow-up to the program VET presented in September.
Acclaimed Texas artist VET began experimenting with discarded books several years ago, as part of her commitment to re-purpose creative materials. As VET states:
"So many outdated, unread and used books are stripped and shredded or often dumped into the landfill. I have used [those books] as the base for some sculptures, as well as the centerpiece. I love the smooth feel of paperback books pages and their flexibility. Each page is fragile and rigid at the same time, which challenges my imagination. By folding, cutting and manipulating the pages, the books can be transformed into fantastic sculpted designs.
"I often use found objects that are discarded by nature and humans. I welcome the opportunity to explore all the possibilities of manipulating, altering and embellishing the objects. It is a constant challenge to balance the practical with the aesthetics, when dealing with recycled items. These objects can often dictate, as well as, restrict the path of imaginations."
VET
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.
Workshop 2: Dorset Buttons with Jami Roux
Dorset buttons have a long history. They were originally created in Dorset, England, in the 18th century by women using a slice of horn from the Dorset sheep. The slice or ring was covered with a needle worked thread in a spoke pattern.
Making the buttons was a large source of income for women in the area until machines began to make buttons and the cottage industry died out. We will make a basic button, but the possibilities are endless once you have learned the basic technique.
Jami Roux
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.
Workshop 3: Diagonal Pocket Fold Booklet with Jeanene Evans
In this workshop, you'll learn to fold a diagonal pocket and sew in pages. The outer cover can hold artist trading cards (ATCs), gift cards, or affirmation cards; the pages can be a journal or be fashioned as folded pockets to hold more cards. This workshop is inspired by Hedi Kyle’s “Art of the Fold” book.
Jeanene Evans
Jeanene Evans has recently taken the leap to follow her dreams and pursue her calling as an artist. As a child, her creativity was fueled by her father’s woodworking skills and her mother’s painting and sewing. Her mother taught her to sew, and one of her first projects was a red bandana print dress with white rick-rack. Jeanene's love of sewing grew throughout high school, leading her to pursue a degree in Home Economics and Marketing.
A subsequent career in retail buying led to her visiting factories and showrooms across the USA, Europe, and Asia. One fortuitous assignment took her to Italy, where she fell in love with that country's beautiful papers and exquisite leathers and tooling methods.
In 2016, Jeanene began taking classes in bookbinding at the Craft Guild of Dallas, discovering in this artform a way to apply her existing skills in sewing and visual design in ways that bring new life to traditional materials. Following in her father's footsteps as a precision woodworker, she has recently turned her attention to making boxes, and she continues to take classes to learn new techniques in bookbinding, mixed media, and sewing. Jeanene currently lives in Addison, Texas, with her husband.
Please bring your To-go Kit for mini-workshops!
We suggest you put together a to-go kit to bring to the mini-workshops.
The kit should include the following items:
- Scissors for fabric or paper crafts
- 6-12 straight pins and several hand needles
- Small spools of both black and white thread
- Ruler or other measuring device
- Notepad with pen or pencil
- Name badge
- Bag or carrier to put this all in
Don't forget to wear your name tags
Please wear a name tag to DAFA events to help our new members put names to faces!
Saturday, January 10, 2026
In person at CC Young Retirement Community, The Point, and on Zoom
- 10:00 a.m.:
Sculpting with Fiber: Ancient Techniques, Contemporary Vision, presented by
Jeanne Akita
- 11:30 a.m.: Needle-Felting a Greeting Card, taught by Carol Kovacs and Mary Wilhite
- Please bring your To-Go Kit and $5 supplies fee.
Sculpting with Fiber: Ancient Techniques, Contemporary Vision, presented by Jeanne Akita
Jeanne Akita pushes the boundaries of traditional wet felting into the realm of contemporary sculpture. Rooted in the meditative, hands-on process of layering and agitating natural fibers—such as Merino wool, Tussah silk, and flax — her work explores the tactile and structural potential of felt as a sculptural medium.
In this presentation, Jeanne shares her transition from developing cohesive wearable art collections for the runway to creating large-scale, textural wall pieces and mixed-media works now exhibited in galleries, curated fine art festivals, and exhibitions across the U.S. She’ll discuss her intuitive approach to surface design, fiber manipulation, and collaboration with wood and metal artists to expand the dimensionality and presence of her work.
With a focus on form, movement, and sustainability, Jeanne’s practice celebrates felt not just as textile, but as a sculptural language - deeply rooted in tradition yet reaching toward the future of fiber art.
Jeanne Akita
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.
Needle-Felting a Greeting Card mini-workshop, taught by Carol Kovacs and Mary Wilhite
Learn the basics of 2D needle-felting and create a personalized greeting card for Valentine's Day or Easter. We will provide all the materials for your felted creation and a card with envelope for gifting.
Bring your To-Go kit, the $5 supplies fee, and a pair of scissors!
