Fiber + Material Studies at CIA
As a Fiber + Material Studies major at The Cleveland Institute of Art, you’ll produce diverse work for exhibition and be just as likely to participate in community arts projects, theatrical productions, design for special needs children, installation, video and performance.
Move Beyond the Ordinary
Our curriculum consistently challenges you to be at the forefront of innovation, while offering you a broad knowledge of the visual arts and an in-depth understanding of fiber and material studies.
We focus on core techniques, concepts, and processes such as:
- Computer-aided design
- Dyeing
- Felt making
- Sewing
- Silk screen
- Stitching
- Pattern making
- Weaving
Enrichment Through Collaboration
As part of the Visual Arts and Technologies (VAT) Environment, you will share in an integrated curriculum studying other disciplines within the environment, including Printmaking, Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture. You also may work alongside Industrial Design and T.I.M.E. – Digital Arts majors as well as take classes from our VAT Environment Artist-in-Residence, a leading artist in his or her field.
Learn More
Find out more about our fiber and material studies facilities, faculty, courses, and available scholarships. Check out potential career paths in fiber and material studies or works created by our students.
Click on an image to see a larger view.
Alexandra Snowden |
Catherine Stackpole |
Colleen McCulla |
Julie Chepke |
Nicole Nydza |
Stephanie Brown |
Outstanding Facilities for Fiber + Material Studies
Our physical environment is designed to encourage experimentation and creativity. Studios and classrooms provide a mix of communal and personal working space that fosters lively exchange among students with diverse interests and techniques.
We pride ourselves for our professional-level studios, housing a range of equipment essential to work in the field of fiber and material studies. All students are given a studio space of their own and have access to the following:
- Computer-aided embroidery machines
- Domestic and industrial sewing machines
- Large padded print/work tables
- Multi-harness and computer-aided looms
- A registration system for repeat printing
- A silk screen exposure unit with a six-foot bed
- Tailor mannequins
Additionally, we have a dye studio with heated sinks, heavy-duty gas burners that can process large vats of dye, and a vented weigh cabinet designed for safe handling of chemicals and dye powders.
Careers in Fiber + Material Studies
Graduates from our Fiber + Material Studies program are leaders in a diverse range of careers. Many continue on to graduate school in fields, such as fiber, sculpture, landscape design, museum studies and curatorial practices, and social practice.
With a BFA in fiber and material studies, potential career paths include:
- Accessory and boutique clothing designer
- Art therapist
- Costume and set designer
- Designer for printed, woven, and knit textiles
- Gallery owner
- Museum curator
- Teacher
- Textile conservationist
- Toy designer
Download the Fiber + Material Studies program of study
Access Course Schedules and Description
Fiber + Material Studies Courses
- Aesthetics, Style, and Content
- Art in the Global Context
- Artist as Producer
- The Artist and Social Practice
- BFA Statement and Exhibition
- Creative Resistance: Performance and Media Installation
- Custom Micro-Computing: Smart Objects, Electric Handicrafts, and Responsive Environments
- The Extended Body: Costume, Prosthetics, and Extensions
- Fiber: Fashion: Soft Architecture for the Body
- Fiber Seminar: Topics in Contemporary Art/Culture
- Fiber: Silkscreen
- Freshman Environmental Elective: Visual Arts and Technologies
- Image and Form: Visual Literacy
- Image and Form II: Reproducibility
- Installation: The Empire of the Senses
- Intro Fiber: String, Felt, Thread, and Ideas
- Material Matters
- Performance Art: Intervention and Spectacle
- Repeat Pattern Design
- Subject, Content, and Form
- Weaving Patterns: Collective Activity
Scholarships
The Cleveland Institute of Art offers an extensive merit recognition program, using endowed scholarships and other private monies, to support our students. We offer scholarships through our academic departments, the Office of Admissions, and the Office of Financial Aid. Learn more about scholarships at CIA.
Download Institute Wide (Open) Awards
Download Award Recipient Information Sheet
Fiber + Material Studies Scholarships
David Burke Memorial Scholarship in Performance Art
Awarded for outstanding achievement in performance art. Total Amount of Award in 2009: $200, shared by 1 winner(s). Award is based on Merit. Merit is criteria in all awards. Need-based awards are based on FAFSA form and the federal methodology. Not necessarily awarded each year.
Sara Mattsson Anliot Award for Excellence in Weaving
Awarded for outstanding achievement and potential to a current 2nd or 3rd year Fiber major who has completed the basic Handweaving courses. Total Amount of Award in 2009: $330, shared by 1 winner(s). Award is based on Merit. Merit is criteria in all awards. Need-based awards are based on FAFSA form and the federal methodology.
Wenda Von Weise '75 Memorial Scholarship in Fiber
Awarded for outstanding achievement and potential to a current 2nd or 3rd year student majoring in Fiber. Total Amount of Award in 2009: $630, shared by 1 winner(s). Award is based on Need. Merit is criteria in all awards. Need-based awards are based on FAFSA form and the federal methodology.
William E. Ward '47 and Evelyn Svec Ward Scholarship in Fiber
Awarded for excellence to a current 2nd or 3rd year student majoring in Fiber with a concentration in three-dimensional fiberwork technique such as needle-manipulated fiber, fiber collage and weaving. Financial need is a secondary consideration. Total Amount of Award in 2009: $420, shared by 1 winner(s). Award is based on Merit. Merit is criteria in all awards. Need-based awards are based on FAFSA form and the federal methodology.
Robert Jergens '60 Scholarship for Excellence in Foundation Design
cross-listed in Foundation and Craft areas
Awarded for artistic achievement and creativity to current 1st year students entering one of the traditional Craft areas - Ceramics, Enameling, Fiber + Material Studies, Glass, and Jewelry + Metals. (1 award per major, divided equally). Total Amount of Award in 2009: $20,000, shared by exactly 5 winner(s). Award is based on Merit. Merit is criteria in all awards. Need-based awards are based on FAFSA form and the federal methodology.