Join us on Instagram as we go live with some of our Textile Center Teaching Artists! Hear about their creative practice, what they are current working on, and maybe even get a glimpse at their studio!
Just hop on your Instagram account, click on Textile Center’s profile @textilecentermn, and click on our circle logo (where you will see the word “LIVE”) to tune in.
Wednesday, February 22:
10 AM: Natalie Novacek
1:30 PM: Candy Kuehn
4 PM: Alanna Stapleton
Thursday, February 23:
10 AM: India Johnson
12 PM: Nicole Thomas
12:30 PM: Haley Harnagel
5 PM: Alonzo Pantoja
5:30 PM: Chiaki O’Brien
Friday, February 24:
10 AM: Megan Brunston
12 PM: Ivonne Yáñez
3 PM: Amina Harper
Natalie Novacek
Natalie Novacek (she/her) has been sewing and stitching since she was 5 years old. Between now and then, she has picked up cross stitch, embroidery, knitting, and quilting, You can see Natalie slinging fiber and fabric as an employee of Knit & Bolt, where she also teaches quilting classes for quilters at all experience levels. She is the co-founder of The Snips, a feminist fiber arts collective. And if Natalie wasn’t busy enough, she just started in the M.A. in Material Culture and Textile Studies program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Candy Kuehn
Candy Kuehn (she/her) creates wearable art, costumes, wall pieces, and sculptures in numerous media. Her art pieces are functional, reversible, and have multiple uses that sometimes change with the passage of time. Many works live as well on the wall as they do on the body, on the ceiling, on the floor, and on the stage. Kuehn has been an instructor and artist involved with Textile Center for over twenty years and is fondly referred to as “the dye lab midwife”, inspiring new creative life in fiber artists. candykuehnstudio.com
Alanna Stapleton
Alanna Stapleton (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist and educator based in Minneapolis. She earned an MFA in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2018. Alanna makes work that explores the everyday to reveal an understanding of identity and community, combining her training in illustration and a lifetime of working with textiles. Her embroidered illustrations and quilts have been shown at Northern Michigan University, The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, Soo Visual Arts Center, Drake University, and more. As an educator, Alanna is interested in facilitating learning environments that encourage the development of accessible and enriching creative practices.
India Johnson
India Johnson (she/her) makes sculptures, installations, and participatory projects from paper and fabric. Her artwork associates textiles with formal practices for organizing information. India received an MFA from the University of Iowa Center for the Book in 2020. In addition to fine art, her practice includes a clothing repair business. As a working artist, India teaches classes about mending and bookmaking from her home studio, and through partner organizations like Textile Center and MCBA. She is the organizer of the 2023 Twin Cities Artist and Writer Services Directory.
Nicole Thomas
Nicole Thomas (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist who uses textiles to create sculptural moments and installations. They hold a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and continued pursuing teaching through the Professional Development for Teaching Artists Workshop at the Walker Art Center. Throughout their teaching artist career, Thomas has facilitated art activities for K-12 students, adults, families, and participants with sensory processing differences. She was recently an artist in residence at Chautauqua School of Art where she learned about ceramic techniques. nicolethomas.studio
Haley Harnagel
Haley Harnagel (she/her) is a fiber artist located in the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities. She started her adventure into fiber arts in 2019 with macramé and branched into tapestry weaving in 2020. Haley started teaching macramé and tapestry weaving in 2021 and completed a large-scale community project called Intertwining Stories: A Macro Macramé Project that focused on bringing the community together after the pandemic.
Alonzo Pantoja
Alonzo Pantoja (he/they) received their MFA in Fine Arts and Visual Studies with an emphasis in fiber and installation from Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) and their BFA in Painting and Drawing from University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. Previously, they have completed a residency at Ox Bow School of Art, their weaving and installation-based work has been included in numerous exhibitions and featured in Hyperallergic and Design and Living magazine. They have done workshops at spaces such as: Walker Art Center, Soovac, Ox Bow and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Currently they are an Adjunct Instructor in the department of art and design at Augsburg University and a Continuing Education Instructor at MCAD. alonzopantoja.com
Chiaki O’Brien
Chiaki O’Brien (she/her), Bloomington, Minnesota, a SAORI weaving artist and teaching artist, moved to Minnesota from Japan in 2004. SAORI is a contemporary weaving style which promotes a philosophy of free expression and the differences between hand and machine weaving. It can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. As part of her 2013 Jerome Foundation grant project through Textile Center, she went back to Japan to further her knowledge and experience with Bengala natural soil dyes. In addition to weaving and dyeing, Chiaki is also a Taiko drummer! saoristudiofun.com
Megan Brunston
Meg Brunston (they/them) is a fiber artist and tufting instructor in Minneapolis, MN. Their work is translated through multiple mediums, including tufting, weaving, apparel construction, and crochet. These mediums allow Meg the opportunity to cultivate a brighter, more powerful relationship to themselves; revealing a mixture of emotion through color, movement, space, and shape. Meg recognizes that as humans we are ALWAYS in process, forever expanding and transforming, and that is reflected in their art and everyday life.
Ivonne Yáñez
Ivonne Yáñez (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist and fashion designer from México City. Currently, she is studying in the Master of Fine Arts Program at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where she is a graduate assistant in the class Furniture: Textile and Surface and Stitching. She also participated in the folk arts residency in Mexico in Minneapolis. Her work has been exhibited at Fresh Eye Gallery, Gallery 148, and Gamut Gallery. From 2018 – 20, her work focused on fashion media and retail design in Mexico City. She has a bachelor degree in fashion design from both the Universidad del Valle de México, México City, and the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, in Milan. Her work is dedicated to creating immersive installations. behance.net/ivonneyanez_manthra
Amina Harper
Amina Harper (she/her) is an artist born in Minneapolis, MN where she currently works and resides. She began her career in 2010 and has been developing an extensive exhibition history ever since.Harper is as talented at conceptualization as she is at draftsmanship. Her work is lush, detailed, and wholly fantastical. Her knack for fleshing out romantic and bizarre narratives continues to garner her a wide array of projects and opportunities that expand her knowledge and showcase her varying skill sets.