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
Design Challenge Art Quilts
For a number of years, I have had the privilege of gathering with a talented group of fiber artists that studied with Lorraine Torrence. The "Off Grain Stitchers" continue to…
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: Mary Lou Weidman, Quilt Designer
With a riot of color and whimsical energy, you just can't frown at a Mary Lou Weidman quilt! Mary Lou uses her quilts as a medium to tell stories, and…
Spotlight: Cameron Anne Mason, Fiber Artist
Creating has always been central to Cameron Mason, from artful childhood time with paper and cardboard to her current work with surface design creating fiber art in two and three…
Spotlight: Judy Gula, Artistic Artifacts
Judy Gula invites you to join her on a journey of creativity, color and collaboration. She specializes in mixed media fiber arts, incorporating vintage textiles and materials from around the…
Spotlight: Judy Coates Perez, Textile Artist
The color and texture that Judy Coates Perez achieves in her mixed media textile art begins with a blank canvas of plain white fabric. With paint, print, collage and stitch…
Spotlight: Leslie Tucker Jenison, Quilt Artist
Leslie Tucker Jenison makes contemporary quilts - works of art in fabric. Anything can spark an idea - for a single piece or for a series to explore a subject…
Spotlight: Hollis Chatelain, Textile Artist
Inspired by her humanitarian work in Africa, Hollis Chatelain creates art quilts that raise awareness of the human condition in the third world. Back in the States, she wanted to…