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: Marijke van Welzen, Wearable Artist
Marijke van Welzen creates wearable art using techniques she developed over the years. Not afraid of experimentation or a challenge, Marijke produces unique art garments that explore a theme or…
Spotlight: Sherri Lipman McCauley, Fiber Artist
A paint flinger. Sherri Lipman McCauley's description of her process does more than hint at her improvisational style. Sherri's art cloth begins with plain white fabric that she transforms into…
Spotlight: Deborah Boschert, Textile Artist
Deborah Boschert combines fabric, paint and stitch to create art quilts with movement, color and texture. Her unique style comes from the freedom of a self-taught artist to test boundaries…
Spotlight: Sharon Svec, Textile Artist
To achieve her artistic vision, Sharon Svec has adapted and reinvented processes that incorporate movement and layers into her work. A complicated pregnancy that restricted movement forced Sharon to take…
Spotlight: Rebecca Wachtman, Fiber Artist
Inspired by nature and a passion for recycling, Rebecca Wachtman combines the luxury of silk with upcycled materials. The result is an imaginative approach that produces silk paintings, felted work,…
Spotlight: JoAnn Manzone, Felt Fiber Artist
With nature's inspiration all around her, JoAnn Manzone transforms natural plants, dyes and fibers into one-of-a-kind wearable art. Always a needleworker, she knew she had found her place in the…
Spotlight: Brecia Kralovic-Logan, Fiber Artist
An accomplished fiber artist in her own right, Brecia Kralovic-Logan is committed to helping others realize their best creative selves. Her creativity coaching had led her to an "artivist" life,…
Spotlight: Gwen Lowery, Textile Artist
Gwen Lowery is a textile artist or a fiber artist or a machine embroiderer or all of the above! Her most recent mission has been to capture the motion and…