This weekend, I'm sharing some examples of submissions received for the Texture open call. I hope they inspire you to share some of your work for the next issue of UPPERCASE magazine. The deadline has been extended to January 20.
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Share your talents
UPPERCASE readers are all so talented, and I'd love for you to make connections with fellow readers through this newsletter. Share the things you make and the things you love. Submissions to All About YOU are always open!
We’re talking about real texture—creating a surface or an object that is tactile and tangible. For example, weaving, basketry, needlework, knitting, crocheting, carving, and impasto painting involve creating or modifying or affecting surface texture. The submitted projects should have the exploration of texture as one of their primary features. Deadline: January 20 at 5pm MST → Submission details and form
How do you nurture your creative self?
The creative self is the essence of who we are as expressive beings. How are self-confidence, self-discovery, self-reliance, self-compassion and self-care aspects of your creative practice? How do you nurture your creative self? Deadline: January 20 at 5pm MST → Submission details and form
Reader submission examples from the "Texture" open call
Jenn Book Haselswerdt
I’m an art specialist in a school that has a focus on our local ecology. On a nature walk with my students, I became fixated on the center of an oxeye daisy. It was math in nature and such a contrast to the soft petals! That same day, I set out to create a similar contrast using fabric collage, focusing on the center spiral. I experimented a lot with this piece, juxtaposing glass beads with tiny French knots, and allowing the raw edges of the petals to naturally fray. Instagram
Painting with t-shirts! by Jenny Shorter
I create rag rugs from old t-shirts cut into strips and looped through sacking. The surface is uneven, which gives a lovely 3-dimensional texture to the rugs, which can also be used as wall hangings, as they are landscape pictures too. My work is inspired by the countryside, plants and birds of the South Downs in England, where I live. These two pieces celebrate the ancient trees, many of which have been forced to grow in one direction by exposure to the wind. Texture is an integral part of their appeal and key to the enjoyment I take in making them as I push the fabric through the hessian and see the image slowly taking shape.
Luxurious Experience by Annie Chrietzberg
Within the bounds of functional objects, I compose in texture, color, pattern, shape, form, feel, and experience, as functional objects only reach their true potential during actual use. Impressing texture into the surface of clay creates an object with a rich and ever-unfolding sensory experience, giving the user a greater sense of engagement with each piece. Instagram / Website
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Jan-Feb-March 2026 Explore the elements of creativity— both natural and human-made!
I'd love to see more submissions! More textile work is always welcome, but in particular, I'd like to see textural painting (like impasto), textural encaustic work, engraving/letterpressed texture in paper and sculptural texture. Thank you!
The Magic of Block Printing FREE LIVE DEMO JANUARY 18
Learn how to turn simple hand-carved stamps into beautiful repeat patterns with Ali Baecker