southeast-fiber-arts-alliance-145669

“I know how she looks at the world. I’ve seen what she sees.” An Interview with Artist Roxanne Brown

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:50:12 GMT

“I know how she looks at the world. I’ve seen what she sees.” An Interview with Artist Roxanne Brown

For Roxanne Brown, fiber has been a constant throughout her life. From learning to knit through 4-H as a child to discovering weaving, raising a creative family, and eventually developing her current thread-painted work, making has continued to find its way back into her life.

Roxanne grew up surrounded by fabric thanks to her mother, who sewed for their family of seven. She learned to knit through 4-H and later experimented with sewing and quilting, but initially pursued a very different career. After studying English and law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Roxanne worked as an attorney and university administrator. Fiber remained something she loved, but largely fit around the rest of her life.

That changed after a move to Worcester, Massachusetts. While working part-time and preparing to take the Massachusetts Bar Exam, Roxanne enrolled in a beginning weaving class at the Worcester Center for Crafts. Entering a studio filled with looms, surface-design materials, and fiber tools was transformative. “I was like a kid in a candy store,” she remembers. Roxanne ultimately chose not to return to law and instead completed the Center’s two-year Professional Craft Studies program in fiber.

Years later, the COVID-19 pandemic led to another change in her creative practice. Roxanne and her husband, David, began taking daily walks, and she found herself paying closer attention to changing light, blossoming trees, wildflowers, and other details in the natural world. She began photographing what she saw and eventually discovered free-motion machine stitching, or thread painting.

By lowering the feed dogs on her sewing machine, Roxanne can move the fabric freely beneath the needle, allowing her to use thread much like a drawing tool. “This was just mind-boggling to me that a sewing machine could do anything besides linear stitching,” she says. The discovery opened an entirely new way of translating her photographs into fiber.

That work comes together in her first solo exhibition, Nature Inspired, Thread Rendered: A Collection of Thread-Painted Botanicals , on view at SEFAA September 5 through October 24, 2026. The exhibition reflects not only what Roxanne sees in nature, but how she sees it; the patterns of light on bark, intricate tree silhouettes, and botanical details that make her stop and look more closely.

Ultimately, Roxanne hopes her work encourages that same moment of recognition in someone else: “I know this artist. I know how she looks at the world. I’ve seen what she sees.”

For Roxanne, that connection is the power of art.

To learn more about Roxanne check out her website here or follow her journey on Instagram or Facebook .

Connecting Threads

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:50:07 GMT

Connecting Threads

Sometimes a project begins long before we pick up a needle or thread. This one began more than sixty years ago at my grandmother's loom, and it’s been weaving new connections ever since.

My grandmother, Ilse Uhlmann, exhibited her artwork and wove commissioned fabrics for architects, interior designers, and tailors. In 1963, one of her fabrics was tailored by Chicago's House of Duro into a jacket for my grandfather. My father inherited the jacket, and it was one of the treasures I brought home after Dad passed in 2022.

I have no use for a men's sport coat, but I also couldn't imagine leaving this meaningful piece languishing in my closet. So, I carefully dismantled it, saving every bit of handwoven fabric, the lining, and the notions. Then I stalled. Unsure how to honor the fabric, I packed everything away, where it remained a classic UFO (unfinished object) until this past June.

What changed? I registered for Liz Spear's upcoming class, ReUse/Recycle: Sewing to Update and Reuse Your Handmade Fabrics . This class was exactly what I needed: a deadline, fresh inspiration, and the promise of expert guidance from a master upcycler.

Of course, there were challenges.

Hurdle 1 : My salvaged handwoven fabric pieces are small and/or oddly shaped.

Hurdle 2 : My grandmother’s bold fabric isn’t my style.

Cue a deep dive into Pinterest where I discovered this stunning Mieko Mintz jacket that combines many fabrics into one cohesive design. Suddenly I had direction. I also had another challenge:

Hurdle 3: I needed coordinating fabrics.

As luck would have it, the SEFAA Shop had exactly what I needed—rayon yarn in just the right colors, along with extra bobbins for my shuttles. I'm now weaving four coordinating fabrics on one warp, each with its own combination of weft colors and weave structure.

Another thread fell into place when I met a few fellow registrants at the SEFAA Center to make a large, communal piece of Nuno felt. Liz often uses this lightweight type of felt for embellishments, so we wanted to have some on hand to share during our upcoming class. We experimented with a new-to-us way of making Nuno felt, played with color, and exchanged ideas about patterns, fabrics, and construction. And, because we were at the Center, we got to share the process with Lunchtime Fiber Open Studios participants and visitors to the current Square Foot Fiber Pin Up Show exhibition .

There's still plenty of weaving and sewing ahead, but already this project is about so much more than repurposing a vintage garment. When I finally wear my new jacket, I'll be wrapped in my grandmother's craftsmanship, my father's memory, new skills learned from a generous teacher, inspiration from fellow fiber artists, and materials found at the SEFAA Shop. And I’ll forever be reminded that the threads connecting us - family, creativity, and community - are often stronger than we realize.

The SEFAA Shop Powers My Creativity Every Week!

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 21:28:04 GMT

The SEFAA Shop Powers My Creativity Every Week!

By Betsy Stark

Once upon a time, back in the 1980s, while working as an urban planner, I took a puppet-making class at the Center for Puppetry Arts. We made all kinds of puppets, but when we got to fabric puppets, a huge lightbulb went off in my head. I discovered my love for fabric.

How did I not know this? I'd been surrounded by textiles my whole life, but I'd never played with fabric, manipulated it, or shaped it into something new. Suddenly I could, and there were so many options! So many possibilities! I dove into puppet making and soon became known in my family as "Auntie Puppet" and to others as "the puppet lady."

Then, in 2018, I discovered SEFAA. I quickly became a member and started showing up all the time. The SEFAA Shop has become one of my favorite places to find amazing fabrics and creative materials.

Recently, I found this giraffe fabric in the shop and used it to make this giraffe puppet. I even went back and found the perfect trim for its mane.

I've taken both wet felting and needle felting classes at SEFAA, and I bought all of the wool batting for my projects from the shop. Here's the felted landscape I made in Katrina Jones-Stone's class.

One of the best parts of SEFAA has been the friendships. My fellow fiber artists have shared wonderful ideas and inspiration. Thanks to those new friends, I created a set of pollinator puppets and attached them to a quilt using buttons.

The SEFAA Shop is constantly full of inspiring materials that spark new ideas and find their way into my projects. I honestly can't imagine creating without it anymore—it fuels my creativity every week!

Come by and visit the shop, discover something new, and make some new friends (especially during Lunchtime Fiber on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m). Once a month, we also host a Sorting & Pricing Party, which is a great opportunity to be among the first to browse newly donated treasures.

What could be better than spending time with fellow fabric lovers and makers? I look forward to meeting you!