Fibers Alumni Profiles
Jump to an alumni:
鈥� Aaron McIntosh- Class of 2006
鈥� Meagan Hall- Class of 2005
鈥� Amanda Micheletto-Blouin- Class of 2002
Aaron McIntosh / class of 2006
Aaron McIntosh is a cross-disciplinary artist whose work mines the intersections of material culture, family tradition, and identity-shaping in a range of works including quilts, sculpture, collage, drawing and photography. He received a BFA from the Appalachian Center for Craft and a MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. His exhibition record includes numerous solo and group exhibitions. He is the recipient of two Windgate Fellowships in 2006 and 2015, and residencies at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. He currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and works at the Maryland Institute College of Art as a Full-Time Professor in the Fiber Department.
"The Craft Center鈥檚 best gift to me as an undergrad was its geographical isolation and tremendous physical space in the studios for me to explore working in a range of textile media鈥he experience of having a senior thesis solo exhibition was a powerful experience and prepared me to jump into the gallery scene in my next community." - Aaron McIntosh
Sample of Work
- Coming Out, panel 1 of triptych, digital print on cotton, vintage fabric, mounted on wood panel; 18"h x 12"w x 1.5"d, 2015
Career Highlights
- 2015 Windgate Fellow Project Grant, Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, Asheville, NC
- 2015 Man-Made: The Masculine Aesthetic in Contemporary Quiltmaking, Los Angeles Museum of Craft & Folk Art, Los Angeles, CA; Asheville Art Museum, NC; International Quilt Study Center, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE; Curator Suzanne Isken
- 2013 Maryland State Arts Council 2013 Individual Artist Grant: Works on Paper, Baltimore, MD
- 2006 Windgate Undergraduate Fellowship, Administered by the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, $15,000
Meagan Hall / Class of 2005
Meagan Claire Hall is a surface design artist living in Rockvale, Tennessee. After
receiving her BFA in Fibers at the Appalachian Center for Craft, she pursued her craft
career in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, for several years. Her production
line, under the name of Wonder Thunder, has been featured in Southern Living, Better Home Homes and Gardens, and Anthropologie. In her spare time, she serves on the board of Tennessee Craft, researches southern
medicinal plants, and creates one of a kind pieces in embroidery, watercolor, or pen
and ink for new creative ventures.
"鈥ecause of the rigorous standards of craft and aesthetic each student was held to, I was able to immediately participate in competitive craft fairs and juried exhibitions鈥he Craft Center prepared me to not only create high quality work within my major, but also gave me the skills necessary to work for clay, metals, and glass artists. This opened up new opportunities for networking, collaboration, and exhibitions as well as provided me with an income as I pursued a career in textiles鈥�" - Meagan Hall
Sample of Work
- Mercy Me, pillow case, quilt top, embroidery thread, wintergreen transfer; 29"h x 20"d, 2012
Career Highlights
- Commissioned textile designs for Anthropologie, 2011
- Southern Living, Wonder Thunder feature, July 2014
- Better Homes and Gardens, Holiday Gift Guide, December 2009
Amanda Micheletto-Blouin / Class of 2002
From a young age, Amanda Micheletto-Blouin had a passion for creating; anything from woven potholders to beaded objects to sculpture and drawing. Her early predilections led her to the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, Tennessee. Experiences there were formative both in exposing her to the technical traditions of weaving and fiber work and allowing her the latitude to experiment within those parameters. She participated in artist residencies at the Mendocino Art Center in California and at Artspace in Raleigh, North Carolina, where her investigation into the relationship between tradition and the contemporary landscape continued. Her graduate work at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina investigated the intersection of the beautiful and the mundane which became the focus of her work. She currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee with her loving family.
"鈥 felt truly supported in all facets of life and learning at the Craft Center鈥� During my time at the Craft Center, I met so many wonderful people, learned so many eye-opening processes, and broadly expanded my scope and vision for the kind of art I wanted to create. 鈥 wouldn鈥檛 be the person I am today without the support and knowledge that the Appalachian Center for Craft provided to me. I am forever grateful." - Amanda Micheletto-Blouin
Sample of Work
- Expectation, handmade wool felt, hand-applied glass beads, 22"w x 10"h x 22"d, 2010
Career Highlights
- 2003 NICHE National Student Award Winner: Fiber Category / Buyer鈥檚 Market of American Craft, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- PERMANENT COLLECTION Kinston Community Council for the Arts, Kinston, NC
- MARCH 2012. 3 & 6 : ARTISTS & COUPLES 311 W. Martin Street Gallery Studios. Raleigh, NC (Invitational)
- 2008-2011: Master of Fine Art Degree, Textile Design from East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
