CAMHLAB artist-in-residence Dana Caldera presents From Paper to Fabric, an expansion on her layered, collage-based artwork that explore ideas of sentimentality and materiality. Caldera approaches her found paper collages as if they were textiles, considering the paper as fiber and incorporating found textiles in her work. In this process, she removes the constraints of a traditional stretched canvas, wooden board, or paper backing to explore the intersection of quilt and collage. Caldera will use the studio space at Montrose Collective to construct large fabric works that explore this intersection in addition to hosting community sewing circle events, an important component of the work. In the work that is produced and its related public programs, From Paper to Fabric embraces the artist/caretaker role in order to model a family friendly environment that welcomes children and ensures they are safely included in all events.
Location and Accessibility
Montrose Collective
888 Westheimer Road #159
Houston, Texas 77006
Families and visitors of all ages are welcome to visit the studio at Montrose Collective. The studio will be set up safely for children and there will be an area for young kids to play.
Open Studios
Visitors are welcome weekly on Thursdays and Fridays from 11AM–3PM during open studio hours. Visitors can see the works in progress, ask questions about the project, or simply engage in conversation.
Open Studio Schedule
Thursday, June 2, 2022*
Friday, June 3, 2022*
* Household fabric and paper donations accepted on these dates only.
Thursday, June 9, 2022
Friday, June 10, 2022
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Friday, June 17, 2022
Thursday, June 23, 2022
Friday, June 24, 2022
Sewing Circles
Sewing circles have historically offered a place for community, education, event organizing, and conversation. Attendees can bring a personal creative project to work on, such as a knitting project or a sketchbook, or they can join in the hand sewing on Caldera’s in process works. No experience is necessary as these events are open to people of all ages and abilities. In this creative collaboration, attendees will engage in conversation with other group members. Refreshments will be available and families are welcome to attend. This event takes place on Fridays from 9–11AM and is open to all ages and abilities. The studio will be set up safely for children and there will be an area for young kids to play.
Sewing Circle Schedule
Friday, June 10, 2022
Friday, June 24, 2022
About the Artist
Dana Caldera is a mixed-media visual artist living and working in Houston, Texas. She earned her MFA in Studio Art in 2017 and currently teaches art at two local colleges. She is also a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Team member at CAMH. Caldera’s pieces combine found collage material, handmade paper, textiles, painting, and drawing into intricately layered compositions. Her work has been selected for numerous juried exhibitions in Texas, including the 2017 Texas National Show at Cole Art Center in Nacogdoches, the 2017 and 2018 Assistance League of Houston Celebrates Texas Art Show at Williams Tower Gallery, and the 2016 and 2017 Rising Eyes of Texas Shows at Rockport Art Center. Notable jurors who have selected her work include Benito Huerta, Clint Willour, D.M. Allison, and Jose Esparza Chong Cuy. In 2019, her work was featured in Concrete & Adrift: On the Poverty Line, a group exhibition at the Alexandria Museum of Art, Louisiana. In 2021, she presented her work in Are These Portraits?, a solo exhibition at The Silos at Sawyer Yards.
About CAMHLAB
CAMHLAB is an ongoing artist-in-residence initiative that gives the Museum to artists and supports them working within, and in partnership with, CAMH to develop new work and ideas. Through both short-term residencies and long-term collaborations with artists, CAMHLAB offers critical and early-stage direct support of artists’ process and production of new work. CAMHLAB residencies seek to directly connect artists and audiences through unexpected and unforgettable experiences of contemporary art. Learn more about the program here.