Tina Marais is starting a Soft Revolution

You don’t need to use the materials I’m using – the invitation is to find what is local, what is already around you, and to see it differently. The world needs more textile artists, and the more we share knowledge, the more we can push the medium.

– Tina Marais
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Tina Marais is starting a Soft Revolution
Internationally acclaimed textile artist Tina Marais invites us into her sculptural world, where memory, material and meaning are intimately stitched together. From community to creative courage, this conversation explores Tina’s poetic practice and her new Take Two course, Soft Revolution – a deeply personal offering shaped by years of experimentation and a lifelong reverence for cloth.

Show Notes

Takeaways from this episode:

  • Textiles carry memory.
    For Tina, cloth is far more than material – it’s a second skin, a vessel of emotion and experience that “moves through lives, through time, and through us.” Her practice honours the deep human histories embedded in fibre.

  • Technique leads to freedom.
    Tina teaches sculptural textile techniques not as rigid formulas, but as pathways to personal expression. By understanding dimensional form, artists can unlock the freedom to shape their own visual language.

  • Creativity begins with noticing.
    Whether wandering a rewilded park or a bustling antique market, Tina encourages artists to observe the textures, objects and traces of time in their environment – and to let these fragments guide their making.

  • Repetition is ritual.
    Acts like folding, binding and stitching are more than technical processes – they are meditations. In repetition, Tina finds grounding, clarity, and connection with both material and self.

  • Art doesn’t exist in isolation.
    Tina speaks beautifully about the role of community in sustaining creative practice. From her own collaborations to her invitation to students, she reminds us that sharing knowledge strengthens the field for everyone.

Join the conversation

What inspired you this episode? Share your biggest insight or favourite moment by tagging @TakeTwoArtCourses on social media or using #FibreArtsPodcast

Explore the artwork from this episode below

During the live interview, we shared some images of Tina’s artwork. Since you’re listening to the podcast version, we’ve made these images available for you below. 

1 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
2 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
3 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
4 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
5 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
6 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
7 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
8 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
9 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
10 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
11 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
12 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist
13 Tina Marais - Friday Feature Artist

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