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...
Surface Design
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.
Surface Design Inspiration
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...
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
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....
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...
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
Spotlight: Kim Ritter, Quilt Artist
Kim Ritter loves computers and quilts and has created her unique style of art quilting by combining the two. Kim's quilts are full of color, humor and a little something…
Spotlight: Lesley Riley, Mixed Media Artist
With an artist inside waiting for release, Lesley Riley's imagination collects and combines words and images. Then she sets them free. From fiber to collage to painting to cyanotype to…
Spotlight: Coral Black, Painter and Block Printer
Painting and block printing are hands-on media, perfect for this hands-on artist. Inspired by the natural wonders that await around every bend in the Pacific Northwest, Coral Black captures the…
Spotlight: Sandra Sider, Artist, Critic and Curator
A champion of the studio art quilt, Sandra Sider makes her own art while advancing the medium by writing books, teaching and curating exhibits. With her passion to "get it…
Spotlight: Jason Woodland, Cosplay Artist
Jason Woodland creates alternate worlds with his art. As a child, he would make up stories for pretend play with his friends. Today he creates props, costumes and makeup for…
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.…
Spotlight: Susan Brandeis, Textile Artist
After 45 years of creating, exhibiting, teaching and writing about textile art, Susan Brandeis is as enthusiastic as ever about creating her own visual language and helping others do the…
Spotlight: Libby Williamson, Fiber Artist
Growing up with artists as parents, Libby Williamson explored many ways of creating, and that is reflected in her fiber art today. With complex layers of fabric, paint, dye, print,…