I get to go to the 2011 International Surface Design Association Conference!

The Textile Center of Minnesota offered a scholarship and I am one of the lucky recipients.

Spending 4 days with professionals in the field of textiles will be a great feast! I have spent many inspiring and educational hours reading, Complex Cloth – a  Comprehensive Guide to Surface Design, by Jane Dunnewold, who will be one of the presenters as this years conference. One of my most popular items at art sales are scarves I knit in tencel and then dye using some of her concepts.

I can’t wait to attend her session, What Matters, a discussion of finding our artistic voice and authenticity. I also plan on attending her demonstration, Color with Soy Wax. 

We’ll get to spend the first afternoon touring local galleries. The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is surrounded by a wealth of galleries and participants will actually be driven around to them. (no worries about parking!) I’m having a hard time deciding which of the many sessions and demonstrations to take part in! We even get to watch movies on Saturday night! “Handmade Nation”, a documentary by Faythe Levine.

and “Woven Lives: Contemporary Textiles from Ancient Oaxacan Tradition” by Carolyn Kallenborn.

The weekend will leave me breathless and filled with inspiration and lots of ideas. My big challenge will be to carry the inspiration with me and organize my time so I can carry through with my new ideas!

Maybe I’ll see you there?