Off The Grid
The 2009 Surface Design Association conference titled Off the Grid was attended by a few of us from ACC Fiber Dept: students Deb Tuggle and Kendall White, and (myself) the Artist-in-Residence Jess Jones. It was an incredible weekend and we were exposed to so much: fiber art, techniques, networking, ideas, and amazing speakers.
Among our favorite speakers were Maria Elena Buszek, Janice Arnold, Ray Materson, and Gerhardt Knodel.
We saw amazing work by Alice Kettle, Jennifer Angus, Kim Eichler-Messmer, el anatsui, Bean Gilsdorf, Tracey Krumm, Ray Materson and many more. Some of the work was surprising from only having seen magazine images. For example, the huge insects used in Angus’s work and the tiny, yet intensely powerful 2″ embroideries of Materson were both awe-inspiring in person.
Deb’s work was juried into the SDA Student Exhibition, which was held in a gallery in town and it was so delightful to see our school represented there.
One of the major events was the fashion show at the contemporary wing of the museum. It exhibited both established wearables and more conceptual clothing that really pushed the boundaries.
It really was a great, fully scheduled weekend. More photos will be posted online- coming soon!
ACC Fibers Department 
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