Textile Center

Llama Fest is BACK for its second year! Join us next Friday, August 28, 12 - 2 pm, for a free + fiber-fun afternoon with our favorite fluffy friends!

✨Stop by and meet three lovely llamas (and one awesome alpaca) from Llama Mama MN! 🦙🩵

✨Create your own mini needle felted llama (and costume) to take home, and help decorate our community llama! No felting experience required — we’ll show you everything you need to know.

✨Snap a pic with a llama-on-a-stick, inspired by the llama costume contest at the State Fair! (Did you know that Textile Center judges the llama costume contest?)

✨Shop special llama merch in our Artisan Shop.

✨NEW this year: kids of all ages can enjoy special Llama Fest coloring pages designed by illustrator and Marketing + Events Specialist Stella Williams!
This event is free and open to the public, and great for llama lovers of all ages!

We are still looking for volunteers to help with line management, needle felting, and more! Volunteers will receive a 20% discount towards a future class, and be entered to win special door prizes! Learn more + sign up to volunteer at the link in our bio!

Llama Fest is BACK for its second year! Join us next Friday, August 28, 12 - 2 pm, for a free + fiber-fun afternoon with our favorite fluffy friends!

✨Stop by and meet three lovely llamas (and one awesome alpaca) from Llama Mama MN! 🦙🩵

✨Create your own mini needle felted llama (and costume) to take home, and help decorate our community llama! No felting experience required — we'll show you everything you need to know.

✨Snap a pic with a llama-on-a-stick, inspired by the llama costume contest at the State Fair! (Did you know that Textile Center judges the llama costume contest?)

✨Shop special llama merch in our Artisan Shop.

✨NEW this year: kids of all ages can enjoy special Llama Fest coloring pages designed by illustrator and Marketing + Events Specialist Stella Williams!
This event is free and open to the public, and great for llama lovers of all ages!

We are still looking for volunteers to help with line management, needle felting, and more! Volunteers will receive a 20% discount towards a future class, and be entered to win special door prizes! Learn more + sign up to volunteer at www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A44ABA82DA2F5C16-64736178-2026 #

Join us this Saturday, August 15, from 10 am - 4 pm for a Trunk Show with Yousha Tighe! 🌿🐛

Shop thoughtfully designed and beautifully made linocut printed shirts, bags, and more in this special one-day Trunk Show. Yousha’s works invite viewers to appreciate the character and unique beauty in the unexpected and overlooked.

Yousha Tighe is a prolific illustrator and printmaker who has a dedicated studio practice at Fresh Eye Arts, a progressive art studio located in East St. Paul. Her surrealist paintings and original linocut relief prints feature rich personal symbolism and folklore exploring advocacy for systemically marginalized groups, social justice, the way in which we perceive each other and the world.

╰┈➤ Attention fiber and textile artists + instructors: Now's the time to make some moves! Apply to sell your work in our Holiday Gallery Shop this November and December, or submit your class ideas for Winter/Spring 2027 (Jan - April).

Deadline to apply for the Holiday Gallery Shop is tomorrow, Wednesday, Aug 12, 11:59 pm. Deadline for submitting a class idea for the Winter/Spring 2027 schedule is Saturday, August 15, 11:59 pm.

Reminder: We have special call for class proposals for Jan + Feb that embrace themes of water and waterways. 💧 🌊 🛶 These classes will be promoted in conjunction with our Fiber Art for All: Tributary celebration on February 19 + 20, 2027 (one of Textile Center’s largest outreach events each year). Class ideas can embrace the many ways water influences fiber art techniques, or draw visual inspiration from its movement, colors, textures, and forms. (Examples: Felted Rivers/Landscapes, Quilted Topographic Maps, and Weaving Waves.)

Today, as a part of our 𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨, we hear from member artist Alice Markey!

𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗔 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁.

I work with secondhand materials including fabric and beads from the Textile Center. For my piece 𝙅𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧, I was inspired by fabric from the Garage Sale, and I played around with how different colors looked together. In a broader sense, I also get inspired by the music I’m listening to while I sew. In this case, I was listening to Holst’s The Planets as well as Jeremy Levy Jazz Orchestra’s interpretation of the suite. The Jupiter movement is the most well known and it stuck out to me as I was listening.

I love collections of art that respond to or reinterpret a collection, like how the jazz version of The Planets responds to Holst’s version. I see my pieces as another layer of this - 𝙅𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧 is a visual response to the two musical versions of the Jupiter movement.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲?

I hope viewers take away their own story about what they see in the work. The power of abstract art is that there’s no obvious subject or message. It’s up to each viewer to use their imagination. Hearing what people see in my pieces is a very satisfying part of my creative process. What do you see?

Alice Markey

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𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙, Textile Center’s biennial member exhibition, is on view through October 10, 2026! Stop by and see 130 works of fiber art by our member artists.

Today, as a part of our 𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨, we hear from member artist Alice Markey!

𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗔 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁.

I work with secondhand materials including fabric and beads from the Textile Center. For my piece 𝙅𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧, I was inspired by fabric from the Garage Sale, and I played around with how different colors looked together. In a broader sense, I also get inspired by the music I'm listening to while I sew. In this case, I was listening to Holst's The Planets as well as Jeremy Levy Jazz Orchestra's interpretation of the suite. The Jupiter movement is the most well known and it stuck out to me as I was listening.

I love collections of art that respond to or reinterpret a collection, like how the jazz version of The Planets responds to Holst's version. I see my pieces as another layer of this - 𝙅𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧 is a visual response to the two musical versions of the Jupiter movement.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲?

I hope viewers take away their own story about what they see in the work. The power of abstract art is that there's no obvious subject or message. It's up to each viewer to use their imagination. Hearing what people see in my pieces is a very satisfying part of my creative process. What do you see?
handed.scissors

____
𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙, Textile Center's biennial member exhibition, is on view through October 10, 2026! Stop by and see 130 works of fiber art by our member artists.

It may be gloomy outside, but community + creativity are lighting up our space today with another Mindful Handwork Drop-In!

Calm the mind and find comfort through simple, repeated stitches, or use the language of stitch to process and express feelings through color, texture, shape, and form. This is a FREE + casual event, open to all! BYO work in progress, or use provided supplies. Just show up — no RSVP required.

You're invited to an Artist Reception tomorrow, August 6, 5 – 7 pm at Textile Center, in celebration of this year's A Common Thread Member Exhibition!

A beloved tradition for 25 years, this exhibition highlights the remarkable creativity of Textile Center’s member artists and the versatility of fiber art. Find inspiration in the various techniques represented in this show (over 130 pieces!), including stitching, quilting, knitting, crochet, sewing, weaving, dyeing, felting, needlework, hand construction, basketry, beading, sculpture, mixed media, and more.

While you're here, join us for a 'Dreaming in Community' social! Meet our architects, enjoy snacks, and share your dreams for the future of Textile Center.

Swipe for Getting Here + Parking options!

A Common Thread
On view through October 10, 2026
Learn more + plan your trip at https://textilecentermn.org/act-2026