“Two Chains Made of Flowers,” 2023, marigold, madder root, coreopsis, scabiosa, indigo, rudbeckia, chamomile, goldenrod, wool, cotton, copper, recycled polyfill, 6 × 8 × 6 ft. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Kayla Powers
Teaching Artist Cohort
,
2026
Kayla Powers (b. 1988) is a place-based artist and naturalist whose textile work is rooted in ecological connection. Through the traditional practices of foraging, dyeing, weaving, and stitching, she explores the common threads of our shared humanity with the aim of fostering deeper connections—to the earth, to craft, and to one another.
Powers holds an MFA in Fiber Art from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BA in Art History from Western Michigan University. Her work has been presented in solo exhibitions at the Australian Tapestry Workshop in Melbourne; Stetson University in DeLand, Florida; and Simone DeSousa Gallery in Detroit, among others. She has been awarded artist residencies across the United States and abroad, including AiR Green in Norway, the Icelandic Textile Center, and Breck Create in Breckenridge, Colorado. She was the 2025 International Artist-in-Residence and Hancock Fellow at the Australian Tapestry Workshop and a 2025 recipient of an Environmental Artistic Activism Grant from the Puffin Foundation. She has also received the President’s Award for Sustainability from Cranbrook Academy of Art, a Windgate Fellowship at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and a Fulcrum Fund Grant from 516 Arts.
Selected works
“From the Ground Up,” 2024, handmade, plant-based paints on canvas, 80 × 70 in. (each panel). Photo courtesy of the artist.
“From the Ground Up (process documentation),” 2024. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“Local Color,” 2020, madder root, marigold, coreopsis, walnut, sunflower, apple blossoms, sumac, rudbeckia, willow, dyer's coreopsis, alder cones, oak galls, wool, linen, wood, aluminum, 8 × 6 × 24 ft. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“Local Color (detail),” 2020. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“Local Color (detail),” 2020. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“Sowing Seeds,” 2026, fabric, thread, dimensions variable. Photo courtesy of the artist.
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