"We all have a tendency to collect supplies and techniques first," Dunnewold said, "and then we realize it would be helpful to know more about color, composition, and the value of making work that is personal and reflects who we are."

When Holly Wong says her practice is about "radical repair," she means it in the most literal sense, stitching things together, cutting them apart, and stitching them back together again until the fracture becomes the structure. Wong, a Presidential Scholar in the Arts represented by galleries in four cities, creates fiber and drawing-based installations shown in more than 100 exhibitions, all asking the same essential question: What can be made from the broken things we carry?

Some artists work with nature, and then there are artists who let nature lead. Alison Kelly—textile artist, author, and founder of Flora Obscura—belongs firmly in the second camp. Through the ancient alchemy of botanical printing and natural dyeing, Kelly has built a practice rooted in curiosity, collaboration, and the quiet intelligence of plants.

As fiber artists, we pay close attention to the surface—how a material is made and what that process leaves behind. During our visit to Jaipur, I toured Kalpana Handmade Paper Industries in nearby Sanganer, where the entire life of a sheet of paper unfolds visibly, from recycled cotton cloth to pulp to sun-drying racks. It was a powerful reminder of how deeply process shapes material.