Come along on an artistic adventure with Jeremy Wheeler, the multifaceted Ann Arbor artist behind the 2023 Summer Game art. Dive into his wild and varied career, from his early days in the small press comics scene to his electric experiments with mind-bending blacklight creations. You'll also get a taste of the delicately soft watercolor world that Jeremy loves exploring.

In this talk, artist and naturalist Kayla Powers will discuss the experiential research that informs her place-based art practice. Years of gardening and city living have given rise to her unique approach to foraging for plants in an urban environment. She will describe the process and inspiration behind her “living quilts”, the role of beauty in art, and the importance of cultivating a relationship with place. 

Learn about Anishinaabe artworks, both historical and contemporary, and then create your own work inspired by an Anishinaabe story. Presented by Jamie John, enrolled member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians based in Traverse City, MI.

Join Layla Wang for another amazing craft project! This time she'll show us how to make a Chinese Dragon out of air-drying modeling clay.

Ann Asplund will tell how to use, find, harvest and grow plant dyes and how to minimize the impact on the environment. Besides teaching the basic of dyeing how the dyes work, and chemical safety, more sustainable practices and alternative mordants will be presented. Color samples will be available.

To see the full slate of events and vendors, see aadl.org/diyfest.

Clay crafter Yaoyi Wang gives instructions in Mandarin on how to create a cute clay bunny and then create a colorful paper garden for its home. 

They're fluffy, they're floofy, they're foofy. Hooray for pom poms! If you missed Sushi Pom Poms, or just need to make MORE pom poms, join us for this afternoon session! 

This event is part of the Ann Arbor Fiber Arts Expo (AAFAX) presented by the Ann Arbor District Library.

Learn a delightfully simple way to create friendship bracelets! These colorful accessories are easy to whip up for you and a friend.

This event is part of the Ann Arbor Fiber Arts Expo (AAFAX) presented by the Ann Arbor District Library.

Come make a small wall hanging with this colorful needlecraft method popular in the 60's and 70's. With one simple stitch to learn, Bargello creates modern embroidery designs that are fun to stitch! Simple straight stitches become geometric designs and playful patterns, in vibrant colors.

This event is part of the Ann Arbor Fiber Arts Expo (AAFAX) presented by the Ann Arbor District Library.

With the goal of giving artists long-overdue recognition, donald a clark and Chotsani Elaine Dean will take us through their experience of creating their book Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists. This work includes compelling interviews with 38 of today's Black ceramists revealing a diversity of studio practices and ways of working with clay.

This event is in partnership with the International Museum of Dinnerware Design.