Of the nearly 4000 SDA members worldwide who were invited to submit, this exhibition showcases the creativity of nearly 200 who each interpreted the Confluence theme of "Merge and Flow". Materials used ranged from woven fibres like silk, linen, wool and hemp, to the more unusual and unexpected: wire, plastic, foil, rice paper, digital imagery, metal and re-purposed clothing. And similarly, traditional to innovative approaches were employed to create the pieces: weaving, stitching, knitting, discharging, wax resit, mom-printing, printing, dyeing, felting, beading, foiling, crocheting, digital printing and collage, among others. The walls were packed, as well as the floors around them. Here are some of my favourites out of the 200 pieces... Swarming Krill Pole-wrapped, hand-dyed cotton and linen. Pieced, appliqued, embroidered. Kristin Rohr, North Saanich BC, Can Confluence 2 Dyed and stitched burlap. Joan Schlichting, Redmond WA Filling The Void Cotton, paper, metal wire, Arashi shibori, weaving, painting, knitting, crochet, hand and machine stitch. Christine Hager-Braun, Durham NC Refractions Silk organza, shibori dyed, French seams. Candace Edgerley, Alexandria VA Silhouette #7 Silk, cotton, shibori resist dyed, fused, quilted. Rebecca Cross, Oberlin OH Three Generations Cotton, polyester thread, random stitch. Shin-Hee Chin, McPherson KS Handwork: Drawing Cotton, hand painted, screen printed and monoprinted with fibre reactive dyes. Astrid Bennett, Iowa City IA Remnants 17 Fibre, encaustic, oil stick, waxed linen, knotting, stitching. Deborah Kruger, Amherst MA Insatiable Sculptural crochet with polyester, floral wire and paint. Jodi Colella, Wellesley MA Metonym Cotton, quilted, hand painted. Deidre Adams, Littleton CO Ebb And Flow Hand stitched loofah sponges. Meredith Strauss, Glendale CA Postmark Bluewater Batik with beeswax, printing, stitching. Diane Rutherford, Grand Rapids MN Movement In Time Applique and hand stitching on hand-dyed cottons. Mary Ruth Smith, Waco TX Offset Natural pigments, fibre reactive dyes, silk, Katazone. Kathryn Eastman, St. Paul MN Travelers' Meeting Place Disperse dyes on silk. Marie-Therese Wisinowsk, New South Wales AUST Ancient Skills Salvaged napkins, vintage crochet, buttons, pins, buckles, trapunto. Diane Savona, Passaic NJ Mid-Winter Thaw Disperse dye on polyester, Peltex, stitching, burning. Kimber Olson, Eden Prairie MN Daegu 1 Recycled cotton and linen, screen printing and hand embroidery. Karin Soderholm, Daegu, South Korea Secluded Willow Warp painting, weaving, drawing and hand embroidery. Jane Evans, Grandora SK, Can Untitled Martha Brownscombe, East Lansing MI Turning Point Merino wool, cotton gauze, zipper, reverse nuno felting, machine embroidery. Barbara McCaffrey, Victoria BC, Can - Jingzhe Incense burning and screen printing on Lutradur. Xia Gao, East Lansing MI Sea Urchins Handmade cut paper, nuno-felted wool, silk, embroidered, beaded. Deborah Johnson, Magnolia DE Healing Sutra #19 Hand embroidered antique cotton fabric stained with Walnut ink. Erin Endicott, Port Republic NJ (This piece won First Place based upon visual interest, craftsmanship and innovation.) What can you say? WOW, eh? And that was the end of Day 1 at the 2011 Surface Design Conference!
