Fiber Craft Snapshot: Creating with fiber and textile in early 21st century Midwest

Fiber Craft Snapshot: Creating with fiber and textile in early 21st century Midwest

Nancy Svinicki

2026

A collection of handmade items created from thread, yarn and fabric. The collection documents the artist’s self-taught journey of learning fiber arts.

At first glance, this collection may seem disconnected. But these objects, created through sewing, weaving, embroidery, knitting, and crochet, represent a new skill learned, a gift given to a treasured person, or a special moment in the creator’s life. Objects are exemplars pulled from the artist’s finished pieces created between 2013 and 2026.

This collection was created in Mid-Michigan during the social and political changes that preceded and followed the momentous 2016 presidential election. Some objects are mixed-media pieces, combining sewing, embroidery and painting, such as The Map of Prythian. Others are especially complex knitting or sewing patterns, such as the Soldatna Crop, Bonza Bag or Fuecoco Amigurumi. Each piece reflects the artist’s interests, aesthetics – even their politics and social views, such as in The Feminist Kutte. This collection serves not only to document the artists interests, hobbies, and skills, but also represent their support of LGBTQIA+ rights, feminism and liberal sociopolitical viewpoints.

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