Patricia Hooten
Pat has always been more comfortable with a pair of scissors than a pencil or a paintbrush. A Penland School of Crafts paper-cutting workshop with Beatrice Coron led her to modular Tyvek paper constructions. These in turn inspired her to experiment with a more compelling, tactile and ecologically responsible medium - 100% wool felt. Felt also provides acoustic and insulating benefits. Naturally renewable wool muffles sound and even absorbs air-borne toxins.
Pat transferred a tab and slot construction method to felt, replacing stitched seams with interlocking joints, and has been exploring this new textile genre ever since. It combines her graphic design sensibilities with an iconic fiber and an inventive construction technique to produce compelling dimensional patterns and textures.
The shapes of component elements are digitally designed and output, then cut by hand, or by using custom dies, and assembled. This age-old material is re-imagined through the fusion of her minimalist style and standard paper engineering methods. The result is what she has termed “textile joinery” - fresh fiber design with an edge, that appeals to the eye as well as to the touch.
In addition to regular inclusion in Crossroads Art Center’s Member Exhibitions, Pat’s fiber art has been selected for these national juried shows:
New Appalachia 2025: Traditional Craft, Contemporary Practice | Stifel Fine Arts Center | Wheeling, W.Va. | July - August 2025
Material World: A Contemporary Fiber Arts Exhibition | The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County | Fayetteville, N.C. | July-September 2023
Spring to Life 2023 | 311 Gallery | Raleigh N.C. | June 2023
Flower Power | Core Art Space | Lakewood, Co. | May 2023
Flourish: d’Art’s Annual National Juried Floral & Botanical Exhibit | The d’Art Center | Norfolk, Va. | April 2023
Fibers of Nature | Floyd Center for the Arts | Floyd, Va. | February - March 2023
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A native of Mississippi, Pat earned a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta. Over her long career as a graphic designer she spent 11 years at Southern Living magazine where she was responsible for the Homes and Gardens pages, and served as art director for Lowe’s Creative Ideas and other special publications.
Lifelong interests in sewing and paper crafts, and a fondness for all things whimsical led her to develop a variety of textile-based children’s products. Pat holds several patents for her inventions. They include a “Stunt Streamer” toy inspired by a crepe paper favor from a childhood birthday party and sold by Toysmith Toys. She has also licensed a line of no-sew “Fleece Flower” craft kits to MindWare Toys.
Website: textilejoinery.com
Instagram: @textilejoinery
