Chicago Public Library's Maker-in-Residence program, now in its fifth year, gives makers the time and space to develop a project while sharing their skills with library visitors. Every year our panelists review inspiring and exciting applications to select two finalists. We're excited to introduce you to this year's Makers-in-Residence, Kristin Field and Daliah Silver.
Kristin FieldKristin Field
Artwork by Kristin FieldArtwork by Kristin Field
Summer Maker-in-Residence: Kristin Field
Kristin Field is a textile artist, natural dyer and gardener. She grows dye plants like indigo, coreopsis and marigolds in her small Chicago backyard alongside food and cut flowers. In addition to her textile work, she also extracts and works with natural pigments to create watercolor paints and inks. Kristin shares her work under the name Field & Gardner.
Kristin enjoys sharing her love of natural dyeing, textile art and gardening through teaching workshops, and she hopes that her art reminds people of the deep connection we have with the natural world around us and the value we get from slowing down and taking part in it. She is excited to see what participants create in her natural dyeing workshops this summer.
You can learn more about Kristin's work during Meet the Maker hours or in her classes in May and June.
Daliah Silver
We Will Mend Banner by Daliah SilverArtwork by Daliah Silver.
Fall Maker-in-Residence: Daliah Silver
Daliah Silver is a multi-medium textile artist. She has been knitting and hand sewing since childhood, taught by many generations of Persian and English family members. She borrowed a friend’s sewing machine at the start of the pandemic, and began sewing her own clothes, using the scraps to build quilts for friends and family.
Her latest work explores how quiet activism and memory intersects with fabric, creating positive affirmation and protest banners in the styles of the suffragette movement. Due to the acknowledged excessive overuse of fabric waste, Daliah intentionally uses second hand or recycled materials in her quilts and banners.
Originally from Israel, she moved to Seattle as a child. Daliah earned an undergraduate degree in anthropology and a Master of Jurisprudence in Child Law and Policy from Loyola University Chicago. Daliah served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine before moving to Chicago in 2018, where she works in operations at an education non-profit. She lives with her partner Max, her cat Sushi and her dog Sage on the West Side.
You can learn more about Daliah's work during Meet the Maker hours or in her classes in September and October.
Learn more about Maker Lab equipment or check out our upcoming classes.
The Maker-in-Residence is generously funded by the Chicago Public Library Foundation.
