Ally Kraus

Second Saturdays Open Studio; Saturday August 9th from noon-3pm; 1068 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126 Text is overlayed on collaged paper painted in purple and green and arranged in zigzags

I’ll be in my studio aka the @microfiberschool.com this Saturday 8/9 from noon-3pm for the Alameda Artworks Second Saturdays event in San Jose.

It will be a small event this month, but I’ll be there and would love to see you. Drop in and visit!

#sanjose #weaving #openstudio

A finished woven cloth with a circle painted on the warp threads. The four colors are each on a different set of warp threads and the circles are slightly offset, creating a blurry edge.

A painted warp study in 4 colors 🕸️

#weaving #paintedwarp #fiberart #textileart

A close up of a wall of 12 different, color tessellated collages.

It’s the last week+ to create work for the 50|50 show at Sanchez Art Center. What started as an exploration in #tessellations has become a Rorschach game. How many different interpretations can you see as you focus on different shapes or switch between figure/ground?

#mixedmedia #collageart

Ally Kraus speaking in front of three small textile compositions made of rust and natural dyes. 📷: Mel Beach

Denise Oyama Miller speaking about her piece "Tattered" in front of a room full of people.

Earlier this month, I joined several other artists to speak about my work at the 55th Annual Textile Exhibition at Olive Hyde Gallery in Fremont. See the show before it closes on 8/2!

#olivehydeartgallery #textileart #fiberart

A collaged tessellation. Overlapping green circles and blue squares on a light orange background, shown in front of leaves with overlapping light and shadow.

We’re past the halfway point for the 50|50 show and here's a recent fave. I’ve been thinking a lot about negative space and spontaneous shapes, drawing inspiration from an architecture textbook, and finding similarities in nature. Shown in front of our 10' sunflower plants!

#tessellations #collage

Two interlocking triangles, one painted on 3/4 warp threads in red, the other on 1/4 warp threads in black.

A painted warp study 🕸️

#weaving #fiberart

A collage using painted paper in green, yellow, and purple, held in front of a purple and white flowered bush.

I was juried into the Sanchez Art Center’s 50|50 show for the second year in a row! This time, I’m making 50 tessellations using collage, paint, and paper. It's fun to be working on something in another medium with a direct application to textiles.

#tessellations #collage #sanchezartcenter

A weaving in progress. Triangles are painted on the cloth and warp in blue.

I kind of love this one.

Cloth that was painted, unwoven, and rewoven with mirrored weft.

#weaving #fiberart

A woven cloth is laid on a table covered with plastic sheeting. It's connected to a table loom named "Marigold" on one slide. There are stencils with geometric shapes placed on top and small jars of paint are scattered on the table.

I was invited to demo my weaving and dyeing techniques at the Fremont Art Association's June Zoom meeting. Wednesday 7/2 from 1-3pm PT. Free and open to the public! Register here: www.fremontartassociation.org

#weaving #dyeing #fiberart #textileart

I had no idea it was world tessellation day - very fitting!

Unweaving in progress 🧶🕸️

#weaving #unweaving #sanjoseartist #textileart #textileartist #weaversofinstagram #modernweaving

A collage made from painted paper that has been cut into shapes and tessellated into a pattern reminiscent of birds on vines.

A collage made from painted paper that has been cut into shapes and tessellated into a pattern made of triangles and diamonds that are purple, yellow, and red.

A collage made from painted paper that has been cut into shapes and tessellated into a pattern with vertical symmetry.

A collage made from painted paper that has been cut into shapes and tessellated into a pattern of squares and diamond-esque shapes on an orange background.

Tessellations, texture, paint, and collage. Experiments for a new project!

#tessellation #surfacedesign #sanjoseartist #sanjoseart

Yes! I'm excited. :)

I cast the top from Inception (my favorite movie) in pewter at Maker Nexus! It’s a little wobbly, but still spins. 💞

Look forward to more of this in the future… I signed up for a metal casting class at West Valley College this fall. Metal + Textiles = ???

#makernexus #sandcasting #pewter

Ally standing talking to several visitors in her studio. There are two ikat wall hangings and a painted warp top hanging on the wall.

Ally talking to a visitor about a card with a weaving on it. Naturally-dyed textile compositions hang on the wall behind them.

Ally gesturing in front of a table and wall covered with weavings and other textile art.

Several signs describing upcoming classes hang on the wall in front of a table with a loom, sewing machine, and samples.

Thanks to everyone who visited during Open Studios earlier this month. And a special thanks to Marie Cameron who took the photos of me! I’m an introvert, but I’m also a fiber nerd and love talking textiles. You can see my enthusiasm in my hand gestures. 😂

#textileart #fiberart #weaving #ikat

A college of 6 textile art pieces with a Silicon Valley Open Studios Participating Artist logo overlaid.

A list of 30 artists participating in SVOS at The Alameda Artworks, including Ally Kraus, Amy Brown, Anne Pegolotti, Ayelet Gal-On, Belinda Lima, Carmen Arjona-Ariza, Chieko Shimizu, Claire Whitehead, Dan Lythcott-Haims, Dara, Elise Burrows, Gloria Huet, Gretchen Sand, Kay Fontana, Kim Meuli Brown, John Harper, Lucy Ghelfi, Lucy Liew, Lynne Strom-Berg, Marc Casad, Margaret Luo, Michael Strom-Berg, Nancy Walters, Noreen Rubay, Renee Switkes, Sabrina Sanchez, Stephanie Metz, Sylvie Levesque, Taryn Curiel, Yolanda Guerra, Yuting Wang, and Zarine Mohadine.

I’m participating in Silicon Valley Open Studios this year on May 17-18 from 11am-5pm. Visit me and OVER 30 ARTISTS at @thealamedaartworks.bsky.social. See my work, learn about my process, and chat about my upcoming workshops and events!

#svos #artshow #sanjose #textileart #weaving

One of my favorite weaving-related finds 🤓

A handwoven double ikat piece in madder and indigo. A donut shape is superimposed on four diagonal squares.

My double ikat study will be on view at the Hidden Villa Sheep Shearing & Fiber Arts festival this Saturday, April 19th from 10am-3pm. Handwoven cotton, dyed with indigo & madder. Repurposed cotton strap as frame.

#weaving #ikat #doubleikat #kasuri

Thanks, Emily! ❤️

Thank you, Ruth!! I was so stoked when I got the news. 🙂

An image of a white female with short brown hair and glasses and three table looms. The text reads: "Teach-It-Forward 2025 Grant Recipient, Micro Fiber School, Ally Kraus" above a Handweavers Guild of America logo.

I’m excited to announce that I’m the recipient of the 2025 Teach-It-Forward Grant from @handweaversguild.bsky.social. 🌟 It will fund two weaving scholarships for BIPOC students at @microfiberschool.com. Diversity is important. More details soon – stay tuned!

#learntoweave #microfiberschool #weaving

Thank you! 💙

Handwoven weft ikat depicting a plastic bag floating in the wind. There are 5 images of bags in various states of rotation on a blue background.

28 yards of yarn with various sections wrapped with plastic tape, next to a printout of a plastic bag

Plastic Bag, Floating (2023)
Weft ikat, linen, natural & synthetic dyes

One of my favorite pieces! I spent hours wrapping ~20 strings with plastic tape in order to weave the image of a plastic bag. The irony was not lost on me.

#kasuri #ikat #weaving

looks like a great time!!

The most amazing project! 🤩

A triangle shaped picture of three table looms taken at an angle. The event's title, time, and date surround the image. In the top left corner is the address 1068 The Alameda, Studio A, San Jose, CA 95126

The Micro Fiber School will be open from 11am-2pm on Saturday, March 8th in conjunction with @thealamedaartworks.bsky.social's Second Saturdays event.

📍 See our small (but mighty!) space
🧑🏻‍🏫 Chat with Ally Kraus, founder of Micro Fiber School
🧵 Meet our little looms and learn about weaving

Yellow scrappy fabric snake on pink and orange stripe background. Text says Lucky Snake Workshop.

Texas star pattern quilt square on red background. Text says Second Saturdays 11-2.

Two free events at my studio this weekend: 11am-12pm free Lucky Snake Workshop and 12pm-2pm Open studio, along with 6 other artists (including weaver @allykraus.bsky.social !)

At The Alameda Artworks, 1068 The Alameda in San Jose.

And I just picked up this piece on Friday so it will be back in my studio for this event. 🙂

🥰

A white female with short curly brown hair and glasses stands next to an ikat weaving.

Hi, I'm Ally, a fiber artist and educator based in #SanJose. I weave on handlooms, piece and sew cloth, dye fabric and yarn, and sometimes grow my own dye plants.

Here is one of my favorite pieces: an ikat weaving dyed with madder root that I made on my Gilmore loom.

#weaver #sewist #naturaldyer