The Surface Design Guild was founded in the early 1990s by a group of four women who wanted to share their knowledge and learn from each other. That small group became what is known today as the Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild and has grown to a membership of well over 100 members. Many of the members have had their art recognized both nationally and internationally, yet as a group they are still committed to their original values of supporting each other’s artistic goals and sharing knowledge.
Surface Design is the coloring, patterning, structuring and transformation of fabric, fiber, and other materials. The purpose of the Guild is to increase community awareness of surface design and its value in our lives. As a group, the Guild exchanges information on such creative processes as dyeing, painting, printing, stitching, embellishing, quilting, weaving, knitting, felting, beading, basket making, polymer clay, crochet, and papermaking. They also offer educational and experimental venues, thus supporting individual artistic creativity, while promoting an attitude of mutual respect and exchange in all areas of surface design.
