Hello! I’m Ana Guraieb, an artist and soon-to-be art educator. It’s been six years since I
finally decided to embark on the adventure of leaving my country to pursue an arts
education in the United States, and it has been an unforgettable journey! Forward to the
present, my main goal is to become an arts educator in New York City, which inspires
me like no other city. This is my second to last semester in the Art Education graduate
program at CCNY and I feel so grateful about having the opportunity to learn from such
an amazing community.
This semester includes my thesis project on fiber artists and their artistic identity. I am
curious about learning about the unique qualities to fiber arts that can support artistic
growth and help define a consistent studio practice. In my research, I’ve discovered
some incredible artists who integrate fiber materials and techniques as an indispensable component of their art practice. This inspired me to design a brief interview that will help
me gather information about their stories and self-defining moments as artists, while
also finding out if any aspect of fiber arts played any significant role of support in the
creation of their artistic identity.
Part of my thesis project also involves reflecting on my own art making practice and my
identity as an artist. Growing up, I’ve always liked making art but felt that I lacked the
knowledge to be able to make anything that I liked. Long story short, I replaced my pen
and paper for a needle and a thread and, through that, found my voice in everything that
entails fiber arts: weaving, stitching, felting, fabric experimentation, etcetera. Throughout
the course of my MFA program at SCAD, which focused on Fiber Arts, I met makers of
all backgrounds whose passion for textile materials and their rich cultural history
sparked fascinating conversations.
Even though I am more focused on artists and their artistic identity for my project, I am
also interested in seeing how it will contribute to the education field by showing other art
educators a fresh perspective about fiber arts. I hope it can help teachers see how
important it is to integrate different materials and ways of making to the arts curriculum
because it can support students who become demotivated by traditional painting and
drawing or students who are simply curious about trying new things!
The 62 Group of Textile Artists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjNc9VXJyLg
https://www.62group.org.uk
Textile Society of America:
https://textilesocietyofamerica.org
