For more than two decades I have written about fiber art, especially quilt art, for Fiberarts Magazine and other journals. My essays on contemporary studio quilts have been published in various exhibition catalogues, most recently in Jean Ray Laury: A Life by Design (2006). I also write for the online journal Artcritical.com, where you can read my review of the Gee's Bend quilt show at the Whitney Museum. Most of my publications concerning fiber art are documented below, in a more complete list than in the CV. You will see in the c.v. that my interests in art and art history include the European Renaissance, partly because the idea of renaissances in general is very intriguing. Also, the artistic pluralism of today's world reminds me of the pluralistic talents of Renassance artists, who worked in both craft and what we would call "art." Since the 1960s we have witnessed a rebirth of quilt making—an old form in new styles of art--that is, in some ways, analogous to the explosion of stylistic change that swept across Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Book:
Contemporary American Quilt Art: Sources and Synergy (work in progress, to be pubished by the University of Nebraska Press in 2009)
Selected essays and reviews published online:
Pattern and Decoration: An Ideal Vision in American Art, 1975-1985 http://www.artcritical.com/sider/SSPatternDecoration.htm
Miriam Schapiro: A Retrospective http://www.artcritical.com/sider/SSSchapiro.htm
WOMANHOUSE: Cradle of Feminist Art: January 30 - February 28, 1972
Art Spaces Archives Project, http://as-ap.org/sider/resources.cfm
The Quilts of Gee’s Bend http://www.artcritical.com/sider/SSQuilts.htm
Articles and reviews in printed publications:
"Pricked: Extreme Embroidery [review]," Fiberarts v. 34 no. 5 (April/May 2008), pp. 54-55.
"Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art," Fiberarts v. 34 no. 5 (April/May 2008), p. 8.
“Embedded in Fiber: Silent Screams,” n.paradoxa: International Feminist Art Journal 21 (2008), pp. 89-95.
“Origins of American Art Quilts: Politics and Technology,” Proceedings of the Textile History Forum 2007, pp. 5-13.
"Arle Sklar-Weinstein: Sheer Delight," Fiberarts v. 34 (September/October 2007), pp. 36-37.
"Educating the Quilt Artist, " Fiberarts v. 34 (September/October 2007), pp. 42-45.
Juror's essay in Transformations 2007: Reverberations, catalogue for Studio Art Quilt Associates' internationally touring exhibition, 2007, p. 1.
"Commentary: Quilt National and the Internet," Fiberarts v. 34 (Summer 2007), p. 8.
"Quilt Visions 2006: The Art Quilt [review]," Fiberarts v. 34 (Summer 2007), pp. 52-53.
"Judith James: Mapping the Surface [review]," Fiberarts v. 34 (Summer 2007), p. 57.
"NYC's Mood: Where Project Runway Shops," Fiberarts v. 33 no. 4 (January/February 2007), p. 62.
"SweaterLodge at the Venice Architecture Biennale," Fiberarts v. 33 no. 4 (January/February 2007), p. 8.
“Texture, Structure, and the Character of Quilt Art,” essay for exhibition catalogue Art Quilts: Manhattan Quilters Guild, 2006, pp. 1-8.
Sheila Hicks: Weaving as Metaphor [review]," Fiberarts v. 33 no. 3 (November/December 2006), p. 57.
Eva Hesse's Sculpture: Still Compelling [review]," Fiberarts v. 33 no. 3 (November/December 2006), p. 56.
"San Francisco: The New de Young Museum," Fiberarts v. 33 no. 2 (September/October 2006), p. 60.
"Joan Schulze: Fiber-Art Ambassador to China [interview]," Fiberarts v. 33 no. 2 (September/October 2006), p. 8.
“My mother was not a quilter,” essay for exhibition catalogue Jean Ray Laury: A Life by Design,
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, 2006.
“Femmage: The Timeless Fabric Collage of Miriam Schapiro,” Fiberarts v. 32 no. 1 (Summer 2005), p. 50-53.
“The Gates: Twenty-three Miles of Fiber Art in NYC [review],” Fiberarts v. 32 no. 1 (Summer 2005), p. 58-59.
“Special Interests: The Art of Politics [review],” Fiberarts v. 31 no. 4 (January/February 2005), p. 56-57.
"Tom Fruin's 'Flags': An Interview with Sandra Sider," Surface Design Journal v. 29 no. 1 (Fall 2004), p. 30-5.
"Haitian Vodou Flags Flourish," Fiberarts v. 30 no. 4 (January/February 2004), p. 12.
"Folk-Art Aesthetics and American Art Quilts," Fiberarts v. 30 no. 3 November/December 2003), p. 32-6.
"Why Bother? Handmade Textiles in the 21st Century [review]," Fiberarts v. 30 no. 2 (September/October 2003), p. 63, 65.
"Gema Alava Crisostomo: Funambulista [review],"Fiberarts v. 29 no. 4 (January/February 2003), p. 59.
"Six Continents of Quilts [review]," Fiberarts v. 29 no. 3 (November/December 2002), p. 56-7.
"Quilted Constructions: The Spirit of Design [review]," Fiberarts v. 28 no. 5 (March/April 2002), p. 56.
"A Fiesta of Art Quilts in Santa Fe," Fiberarts v. 27 no. 5 (March/April 2001), p. 8-9.
"Marilyn Henrion: Art Quilts that Pulsate with Energy," Fiberarts v. 27 no. 4 (January/February 2001), p. 14.
“The Yardworks Exhibition: Place and Space,” essay for exhibition catalogue Yardworks: Art Quilts from the Manhattan Quilters Guild, Oceanside Museum of Art, 2000.
"Fiber Art at NMWA," Fiberarts v. 27 no. 2 (September/October 2000), p. 26.
"Costume in American Cinema [review]," Fiberarts v. 27 no. 1 (Summer 2000), p. 9.
"The Library of Congress Overlooks Art Quilts on Web Site," Fiberarts v. 26 no. 4 (January/February 2000), p. 7.
"Joan Giordano's Elemental Forms [interview]," Fiberarts v. 26 no. 3 (November/December 1999), p. 33-9.
"Fiber Transformed in Jane Freeman's Art," Fiberarts v. 25 no. 5 (March/April 1999), p. 18.
"Robin Schwalb's Language Arts: Combining Words and Quilting," Fiberarts v. 25 no. 3 (November/December 1998), p. 22.
"Donna Sharrett: Sewing the Passage of Time," Fiberarts v. 24 (March/April 1998). p. 18.
"John Giglio's World," Fiberarts v. 23 (September/October 1996), p. 14-15.
"Division of Labor: 'Women's Work' in Contemporary Art" [review, Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York], Fiberarts v. 22 (September/October 1995), p. 58
“Contemporary Quilts in the Corporate Environment,” in B. Packer, ed., The State of the Art Quilt: Contemporary Quilts for the Collector, 1995, p. 17-18.
"Craft Today: The American Craft Museum" [review; traveling exhibit], Fiberarts v. 14 (March/April 1987), p. 54-5.
"Blues in the Light: Cyanotype on Fabric," Fiberarts v. 13 (September/October 1986), p. 34-8.
"Textile Trends: Collecting in New York," Fiberarts v. 12 (November/December 1985), p. 24-5.
"For the Floor [review; traveling exhibit]," Fiberarts v. 12 (November/December 1985), p. 61.
"Esther Parkhurst," Fiberarts v. 12 (November/December 1985), p. 17.
"Ruth Kao: Silk Sense [review]," Fiberarts v. 12 (January/February 1985), p. 72-3.
"Inspiration from the Past: Textile Treasures in the World of New York City Auctions," Fiberarts v. 11 (November/December 1984), p. 62-5.