Alisha McCurdy Holzman

"I came to fiber through my mother. Her, through her mother, sisters, and grandmothers. My work continues their maternal creativity and extends into a new generation of shared creative lineage. These works call on the recent history of commercial surface design, reaching back to the turn of the 20th century feed sack fabrics. Cloth feed sacks were printed with flowery patterns that could be repurposed into quilts and clothing. The visual language born in those feed sacks can be seen in contemporary quilting fabric surface design.

The patterns in these pieces all come from two swatches of 1970s quilting cotton from my mom. The pattern elements have been broken down and reconfigured into new variations and colorways. A new generation. The new patterns are recreated in tufted textiles hailing to the care and comfort of a familial space."

Alisha holds a BFA in sculpture and print media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and completed her MFA in studio art from Stony Brook University where she held the Maurice M Goldberger Fellowship and was awarded the Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant. She has participated in residency programs through the Vermont Studio Center and the Arrowmont School for the Arts and Crafts Pentaculum. She has also led drawing and embroidery workshops at Bloomsburg University, and East China Normal School, Shanghai. Alisha is a current member of NY Crit Club's 2026-2027 Canopy Program.