Monthly Meetings and Topics
My town hall meetings are with friends and neighbors, fellow Americans. We engage. —Sheila Jackson Lee
Two Monthly Meetings, Two Meeting Locations!
Members have a choice of meeting day/date and meeting location. Members may attend either or both meetings; the topics generally don’t overlap. (Check our calendar or blog to learn what’s being presented for the current month.)Our main meeting is south, on Lamar near Westgate, and meetings at 6:45 on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 4622 S. Lamar Blvd.
Our north meeting is in downtown Round Rock and meets at 7:00 on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at the Baca Center.
We start our meetings with a show and tell segment. Members show current works that are in progress or have been completed. Many members use this time as an opportunity to get feedback about works in progress or ask for possible solutions when they encounter a technical difficulty that they want to overcome. Then we have a short business meeting. The current group president leads the meeting and current board members give brief monthly reports as needed. Our program and workshop chairs update the group on future events or workshops in the planning stages. This part of the meeting typically lasts no longer than 30 minutes. Then the monthly program begins. The program can be on a variety of topics of interest to fiber artists. One program involved a talk with fiber artists was an expert on lace making, another one was from an artist who was an expert on book binding and making. Our program chair is always open to suggestion for future topics that might be of interest to the group.
South March Meeting – Bev Pedersen on Art Critiques
Ever wonder what an art jurist is looking for or at? Washington silk artist Beverly Pedersen will talk about how to analyze artwork to determine strengths and weaknesses in order to make the work the best it can be. Bring a work-in-progress and hear some constructive feedback. About Bev: “Experimentation is not a form of art, it is a way of living!” Bev was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and studied art at the Pittsburgh Art Institute. Then, in 1960, she moved to Palto Alto, California, where she studied with noted artists, Robert E. Wood, Jane Burnham, Jade Fon and Don Louthian. She spent 1972 exploring Paris and studied at the Cass School of Art in London, focusing on anatomy and figure drawing. In 1975, Pedersen found herself living in the Northwest where she opened a studio gallery in Federal Way, Washington. Painting was set aside for family from 1979 through 1991, when she returned to painting and concentrated on watercolors and teaching until she discovered fiber reactive dyes on silk, which is her current preferred medium. Beverly paints in oils, watercolors, acrylics and dyes on silk. Teaching art also doubles the...
North March Meeting – Bev Pedersen Silk Painting Demo
Washington silk artist Beverly Pedersen will demonstrate how she uses dyes to paint silk, achieving vivid watercolor-like images. She will lecture on design elements as she creates for us. You’ll learn about how to stretch the fabric and set the dyes after the image is created, but mostly you’ll have fun with an up-beat, positive...
February Meeting – Destash Sale + Make Fiber Art Name Badges
At both the north and south meetings, lots going on! Too many supplies? Tired of an old project? Studio or workspace out of control? Need more space for new supplies? Then clean out your studio and bring extra or unwanted supplies to sell at the next meeting. Please let us know if you will be needing a table. We will be making custom name badges. AFA will provide materials for you to use to create a cool name badge. AFA will also provide members names printed onto fabric to incorporate into your badges. Feel free to bring special items or materials for embellishments. Please let us know if you want your name printed on...
South January Meeting- SAORI with Laura Poll
Come hear weaver Laura Poll speak on the Saori art form. What is Saori? SAORI is a contemporary hand-weaving philosophy. SAORI is completely intuitive. There are no patterns to follow, no guidelines to abide by. Through the creative use of colors, textures, and materials, SAORI practitioners are encouraged to express themselves through their work, without fear of making mistakes or pressure to conform to the expectations of others. SAORI is accessible to everyone, regardless of age, gender, skill-level, or physical ability. By using the most basic of weaving structures as a foundation, practitioners can begin weaving and creating within minutes of sitting at the loom. Each SAORI weaving is one-of-a-kind, as unique as the person who made it, and should be considered a work of art. The following slogans represent the SAORI philosophy and way of living. Consider the differences between a machine and a human being Be bold and adventurous Look out through eyes that shine Inspire one another, and everyone in the group About the speaker: Laura Poll is a textile artist and SAORI practitioner. She is a certified SAORI instructor and her studio is a member of the SAORI Global Network. She was introduced to SAORI in New York City, where she studied the SAORI philosophy under the guidance of Yukako Satone and members of her studio. Laura brings over 500 hours of in-studio, hands-on SAORI experience and training to her studio practice. She has also received extensive instruction and training in Osaka, Japan. She is recognized by the governing body that certifies SAORI instructors in Japan, a unique honor that few instructors outside of Asia...December South Meeting – Annual End-of-Year Party
Time to celebrate another wonderful year full of fiber arts! We’ll have sweet and savory things to nibble while we socialize. We’ll have a gift exchange: wrap up a little fiber arts something; either one of your finished pieces or some intriguing materials. Enjoy yourself at the last meeting in...
South Meeting November- Emma Dietrich on Spider Silk Potentials
Humans have been harvesting spider silk for centuries! Known for its incredible strength and elasticity, possible uses for spider silk currently range from the manufacturing of bulletproof vests, to the suturing of wounds, to the fabricating of elegant ball gowns, and more. Hear speaker Emma Dietrich tell us about this fiber that doesn’t get much discussion. Emma Dietrich is a spider enthusiast and PhD student in the Department of Integrative Biology at UT...
North November Meeting – Katie Winter Presents Acrylic Inks
Acrylic inks are bright, extremely light-fast and ideal for use in production of items for permanent display such as art quilts. Katie Winter will discuss how to use them and show us what they can do. Katie is a member of AFA and an award-winning art...
South Meeting October- Malka Dubrawski Shares Her Techniques
Come hear Malka Dubrawski shares the processes and techniques that she utilizes, many of which she learned over the course of the over 20 years of patterning and dyeing fabric. Malka is the owner of A Stitch in Dye, her web site where she sells beautiful, one-of-a-kind hand dyed and patterned cotton fabrics, both quilting and apparel...