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Create Whimsy

Create Whimsy

Inspring makers and sharing their stories

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Surface Design

Category: <span>Surface Design</span>

Surface design adds layers of interest to your art with painting on fabric, fabric manipulation, textile dyes and more. Acrylic paint is fabric-friendly, so easy to use and widely available. If you prefer, you can use fabric dyes, pens and markers in your designs with resists, stencils and stamps. For more options, try fabric manipulation techniques – they create sculptural effects, bringing depth and dimension to your art.

Browse through our projects and inspiration that feature surface design.

Eco Printing and Dyeing

Surface Design Inspiration

Frankincense

Spotlight Terri Shinn, Textile Artist

Asking "what if" inspires Terri Shinn to experiment with texture and color to achieve her vision of the world, often from a macro perspective. She gets close to her subjects...

Jane Dunnewold Alliance Completed

Spotlight: Jane Dunnewold, Artist, Author, Educator

Creating is vital to the person who is Jane Dunnewold. When not experimenting with surface design techniques and materials and making textile art, she teaches others to find their creative...

Francesca Penchant 2016-Sorceress

Spotlight: Francesca Penchant, Multidisciplinary Artist

A multidisciplinary artist, Francesca Penchant stretches the boundaries of visual art by embracing and celebrating differences. Whether working in surface design, wearable art, photography or film, she finds joy in...

Eco Printing and Dyeing on Textiles

More Eco Printing and Dyeing Inspiration
Porcelain Vine I

Spotlight: Lotta Helleberg, Fiber Artist

Combining the essence of the flora that surrounds her Virginia home with her Scandinavian esthetic, Lotta Helleberg uses botanical contact printing (AKA eco-printing) as a foundation for her fiber art....

Artemis

Spotlight: Chris McLaughlin, Fiber Artist

As a suburban child, Chris McLaughlin knew she was always a farmer at heart. Now she lives her dream raising animals for fiber and flowers for bouquets and botanical dyes. As...

Tatiana Sarasa Purl and Poem hand dyed yarn

Spotlight: Tatiana Sarasa, Visual Artist

Tatiana Sarasa's art connects her with the earth. That connection gives her so much satisfaction that she promotes the connection through her own work and by providing a collaborative workspace...

More Surface Design

Lisa Chin IMG_20210801_185459918_HDR

Spotlight: Lisa Chin, Surface Design Artist

Do the creative work. Every day. That's what keeps surface design artist and printmaker Lisa Chin producing new work and growing as an artist. With multiple projects in the works…
Perfectly Imperfect

Spotlight: Barbara Matthews, Fiber Artist

Balancing the precision of laser cutting with the serendipity of silk dyeing, fiber artist Barbara Matthews engages both left and right brain when creating her art. By adhering silk to…
Ginko eco dyed fabrics

Spotlight: Deb Taylor, Eco Artist

Even though she does not have a lot of traditional art supplies nearby, Deb Taylor finds a way to create. Always taking inspiration from her environment, whether a remote Mexican…
After the 6th Extinction

Spotlight: Deborah Weir, Fiber Artist

Without formal art training - but with an innate need to create, Deborah Weir's fiber art career was sparked when she saw textiles displayed as fine art in the 1970s.…
Porcelain Vine I

Spotlight: Lotta Helleberg, Fiber Artist

Combining the essence of the flora that surrounds her Virginia home with her Scandinavian esthetic, Lotta Helleberg uses botanical contact printing (AKA eco-printing) as a foundation for her fiber art.…
Yes, I Have Been Mending III

Spotlight: Mary Vaneecke, Fiber Artist

Mary Vaneecke is a fiber artist with a passion for social issues and making a difference with her work. From small art quilts to curating a huge installation of 23,000…
Art Cloth Network celebrating 20 years

Art Cloth Network: Celebrating 20 Years

ART CLOTH is cloth TRANSFORMED by adding or subtracting color, line, shape, texture, value, or fiber to CREATE a compelling surface. This is the Art Cloth Network's definition.  Art Cloth Network…

How to Stamp on Fabric

Make your own fabric designs by using a stamp on fabric with textile paints. You can use any type of stamp -- either purchased or one you make yourself. Here…
Test print

Spotlight: Bianca Spizzirri, Fiber Artist

Bianca Spizzirri designs block-printed fabric providing earth-friendly materials that inspire quilters, crafters and sewists to make their own creations. Using repurposed fabric and her original printing blocks, she transforms trash…

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