Artist
I was thrilled to participate in Shoebox Arts Call and Response Collaborative Book initiative to be presented at the Start Up LA Art Fair February 27 – March 1, 2026, presenting my collaborative book created with artist Michelle Robinson, as part of Kristine Schomaker‘s CALL AND RESPONSE initiative, through her organization, Shoebox Arts!
“After five years of digital exchanges connecting artists across six continents, Call and Response went physical for the first time.
In October 2025, Shoebox Arts helmed by the extraordinary Kristine Schomocker paired 190 artists to create collaborative books together. Four months later, approximately 90 unique collaborative works have been created: oracle decks, teabag weavings, painted photographs, sculptural volumes, accordion books, visual puzzles and more.
Each book represents a creative conversation between two artists/humans/makers. Participating artists have navigated time zones, shipping logistics, language barriers, and completely different creative approaches to make something neither could create alone”
“This is Call and Response at its core: connection, radical trust, real collaboration.
This is collaboration without permission. Connection without barriers. Artists proving quality work doesn’t require institutional blessing—just willingness to make something with another.” — Kristine Shoemaker
A project of @shoeboxarts.la
Exhibition: @callandresponseart
IN THE WOODS, front view
IN THE WOODS, partially open view
IN THE WOODS, side view
IN THE WOODS, open view
I was thrilled to participate in Shoebox Arts Call and Response Collaborative Book initiative to be presented at the Start Up LA Art Fair
February 27 – March 1, 2026, presenting my collaborative book created with artist Michelle Robinson, as part of Kristine Schomaker‘s CALL AND RESPONSE initiative, through her organization, Shoebox Arts!
The Kinney Venice Beach | 737 Washington Blvd, Venice, CA 90292 | Room 202
After five years of digital exchanges connecting artists across six continents, Call and Response went physical for the first time.
In October 2025, Shoebox Arts helmed by the extraordinary Kristine Schomocker paired 190 artists to create collaborative books together. Four months later, approximately 90 unique collaborative works have been created: oracle decks, teabag weavings, painted photographs, sculptural volumes, accordion books, visual puzzles and more.
Each book represents a creative conversation between two artists/humans/makers. Participating artists have navigated time zones, shipping logistics, language barriers, and completely different creative approaches to make something neither could create alone.
This is Call and Response at its core: connection, radical trust, real collaboration.
This is collaboration without permission. Connection without barriers. Artists proving quality work doesn’t require institutional blessing—just willingness to make something with another. — Kristine Shoemaker
A project of @shoeboxarts.la
Exhibition: @callandresponseart
IN THE WOODS
12 x 20 x 20″ (Dimensions variable)
Materials: Book board, mulberry paper, acrylic paint, bookbinding cloth, archival adhesive, hemp cord, watercolor paper, book repair tape, book hinging tape, archival pigment prints on Moab Entrada rag paper .
Michelle’s resonant prints, combined with my box structure created an immersive environment, inviting viewers to spend time “In the WOODS’ with us. The doors open and shut, but this work does not present an open and shut case.
Three prints, the brightest one in the center, adhered with acid-free adhesive, to three walls of the structure, leading the viewer to the dark house.
Facing darkness by moving through it.
Corners created with accordion folded heavy but foldable acid-free watercolor paper, resurfaced with strips of mulberry paper, overlaid with netted book repait cloth. Thank you to the devine Adrienne Devine for the book repair cloth as a material idea!
Creating an immersive environment, as per Michelle into which the viewer can become lost and found again, through their own journey.”Your dark forest of wonder is a great set of true. I experienced the darkness but its didn’t scare me at all.” — Gala Kovshilosky (@galaverse_art) March 1, 2026, Start up Fair, Los Angeles
In community with other works, each piece becomes something a bit different than the artists’ original intent, for the time they are together.
You have to look.
In Gratitude,
debra and michelle
Showing, “FINALLY”, 48 x 19.5″, canvas, lace, hemp cord, sewing thread
Textiles—among the oldest and most universal artistic mediums—carry stories in every stitch. Woven, sewn, dyed, layered, felted, quilted, knotted, or repurposed, fiber-based materials offer a tactile language that speaks to memory, identity, resilience, and cultural tradition. From the intimate textures of handwork to bold contemporary experiments with fabric, thread, and mixed media, textile art reminds us that creativity is something we all touch, wear, and share.
This exhibition presents works that explore connection—connections between people, cultures, materials, and ideas. We welcome pieces that honor traditional craft, push the boundaries of fiber as a modern art form, or reimagine textiles in unexpected ways. Whether your work is deeply personal, abstract, conceptual, or rooted in community stories, we want to hear your voice. Join us as we bring together the diverse perspectives that make up the fabric of our community.
Artists and devoted workshop attendees Amy and Cathie share their BookWorks!
Moms and sons create books!
A a beautiful, learning-filled and fun time was had by all.
