Andra Stanton, Nonfiction Art Author, Novelist, and Textile Artist

Andra Stanton writes nonfiction books about new or unusual art forms, novels that entertain but also make you think, and she’s a textile artist whose work has won competitions and been exhibited all over the US.

All of Andra’s work start from her two loves: the idea that each of us has a story that helps us understand what makes us tick and lends our lives meaning, redemption, and grace; and her fascination with magic and fantasy that she’s nurtured since childhood. Magical ideas helped her get through a difficult childhood – they’re the ultimate escape.

But Andra also believes in the presence of magic in everyday life, if only we are open to it.

Have you ever experienced a wedge of geese flying so low overhead that you could hear the soft whooshing of their wings? Or the way new snow sparkles in the sunlight? The perfect shape of a cat’s nose? To Andra, these are the very definition of magic.

Starting out as a biological anthropologist (her idol was Jane Goodall), Andra studied spider monkeys in Guatemala for a short period before realizing she was not cut out for life “in the wild.” She then pursued a career in individual- and couples-psychotherapy until she retired after twenty-five years due to failed spinal surgery and chronic pain. From there, she reinvented herself as both a writer and textile artist with a specialty in fabric sculpture.

Since then, she has authored four nonfiction books, including How Art Heals (Schiffer 2021); Dimensional Cloth: Sculpture by Contemporary Textile Artists (Schiffer 2019), Zapotec Weavers of Teotitlan (Museum of New Mexico Press 2009), and Pilates for Fragile Backs (New Harbinger Press 2016). She is currently writing another art book about Japanese paper yarn, to be published by Schiffer in 2024.

Additionally, Andra has completed her first novel, The Garden’s Plot and is hoping to find representation through an agent or publisher. The story revolves around a young woman in an abusive marriage who seeks to escape and discover her authentic self. What makes her particularly interesting to readers is the fact that she’s always had a touch of supernatural abilities, and these connect her in a special way to her garden’s plants.

Besides writing and working in her art studio, Andra has been an active member of the arts, both locally and internationally. For example, she has served as a juror for several textile art exhibitions, including “Beyond the Mirror,” “Eye of the Needle,” and “Humorus” through Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA). Her art books are meant as a celebration of artists and art enthusiasts; she sees herself as a champion of little known but exceptional artists.

2023
Emotions, Bifarin Exhibizone Exhibitions, Canada, online
Curves, Bifarin Exhibizone Exhibitions, Canada, online
Paper Made, Fiber Art Now Magazine
Extinction: Save the Planet, Bifarin Exhibizone Exhibitions, Canada, online
Earth – 2023, Diversia, Biafarin Exhibizone Exhibitions, Canada, online
Shapes and Colors, Biafarin Exhibizone Exhibitions, Canada, online
Doorways, Sanctuary Art Gallery, Boulder CO
Women’s Work, Sanctuary Art Gallery, Boulder CO
Patterns, Sanctuary Art Gallery, Boulder CO

2021
Pets 2021,Bifarin Exhibizone, Ontario Canada (online)
Art Heals, First United Methodist Church, Boulder CO
Textile/Fiber Fine Art,R Gallery, Boulder CO
Artistonish Magazine (online)
Textile/Fiber Fine Art, R Gallery, Boulder CO
Of the Earth, Art Fluent, Sandwich MA
Negative Space, R Gallery, Boulder CO
TSGNY 2021 Members 30th Gallery
DIVERSIA: EARTH 2021, Bifarin Exhibizone, Ontario Canada (online)
Identity, Art Fluent, Sandwich MA
Circles and Squares, R Gallery, Boulder CO

2019
Fresh Art 2019, Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA
Small and Smaller, Site:Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY
Genesis; Dab Art, Ventura CA
Craft Hilton Head; Art League of Hilton Head; Hilton Head Island, SC
Evolving Perceptions, Foothills Art Gallery, Golden, CO
Textile Study Group New York, Portfolio (online)

2017
3D, Bricolage Gallery, Boulder CO
Spun, NEST Arts Factory Gallery Bridgeport CT
Art as Medicine, The Boulder Dairy Arts Center, FIRST PLACE WINNER

Front Range Contemporary Quilters
Handweavers Guild of Boulder
Studio Art Quilters Association
Foothills Art Center
Textile Study Group of New York
Evergreen Arts Center
Bolder Textile Artists

Join Andra's Newsletter

Get on the list for up-to-date news and events, plus new releases and how-to fabric art projects.