About​

Bio

Currently based in Eastern TN, Sarazen is a fiber artist specializing in dimensional wool paintings using a variety of materials, including wool, silk, paper, feathers and fiction. She began her fiber arts journey in the early 1970’s learning embroidery. Her skills also include sewing, knitting, designing, crochet, spinning, wet felting, dry felting and writing. She began wool painting in 2014 and in 2018 began developing the world of Broken Elms. Her work is inspired by themes of identity, authenticity, vulnerability, psychology, the complexity of reality and the terrible beauty of nature itself.

A Bailey Opportunity Grant winner and the 2022 President of the Tennessee Valley Handspinners Guild, she works surrounded by lush forests and the legacy of the Manhattan Project.

Statement

Some of my earliest memories are of my hands tangled in embroidery floss, learning stitches before I could even write my name. Fiber arts have been with me ever since—woven into my life like the threads I spin, stitch, and sew. Today, I embroider, sew, knit, crochet, nalebind, spin yarn, and felt in several forms, among other techniques. I love the warmth of wool and the way textiles connect us to our deepest roots. Ancient Egyptian mummies were wrapped in linen that still endures thousands of years later. How incredible is that?

I’m also deeply drawn to history. To understand who we are, we must know where we come from—not as an exercise in nostalgia or grievance, but as a meditation on the struggles and triumphs that define the human experience. To me, peeling layers of wallpaper in an old home isn’t just renovation; it’s time travel. It’s revealing stories no one has seen in decades, or even longer. We are always surrounded by echoes of the past. What were their lives like? What did they hope for?

In a world that often feels untethered, where despair creeps in despite all our advancements, I believe in the power of art to reconnect us to wonder.

Awe, curiosity, and hope—they light the way even in the darkest times. Life doesn’t always offer easy solutions, but what we can do is bear witness to each other’s journeys, finding solace in shared experience.

I am a storyteller, weaving threads of the past into the present. Wherever you are—whether certain of your path or feeling hopelessly lost—you are not alone. Let’s rediscover the magic in the world together.

CV

Sarazen AnYin

Currently lives and works in Oak Ridge TN

Solo Shows
2022 May-June, Tomato Head, Knoxville
2021 Aug-Sept Lox Salon, Knoxville
2021 June, Coffee and Chocolate, Knoxville
2021 April, Awaken Coffee, Knoxville
2021 Feb, South Knoxville Library

Group Exhibitions
2024 Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville
2023 Alliance Members Show, The Emporium, Knoxville
2023 Rarity Bay Exhibition
2022 – 2023 Mayor’s Office Exhibit, Knoxville
2021 – 2022 Nov-Jan, Oak Ridge Library
2021 – 2022 Mayor’s Office Exhibit, Knoxville
2021 Group Exhibition, The Emporium, Knoxville
2021 Bailey Opportunity Grant show, The Emporium, Knoxville
2021 Project Cosplay Past Winner’s Show, Animazement
2020 Alliance Members Show, The Emporium, Knoxville
2020 – 2021 Mayor’s Office Exhibit, Knoxville
2020 Group Exhibition, The Emporium, Knoxville
2020 Project Cosplay Past Winner’s Show, Animazement 
2018 Group Exhibition, The Foothills Craft Guild Show

Collections
Private Collections, Knoxville TN
Animazement, Raleigh NC
Private Collection, Lancaster PA
Private Collection, Phoenix AZ

Teaching
2023 Otakon, Expert Hours
2023 Instructor, KnoxMakers
2021 Session Instructor, PA Guild of Craftsmen
2021 Session Instructor, Smokey Mountain Fiber Arts Festival
2020 Session instructor, Smokey Mountain Fiber Arts Festival
2019 Instructor, KnoxMakers

Awards
2023 Gaudy Gold Frame Contest, Broadway Studios 
2021 Bailey Opportunity Grant winner
2019 Hallway Costume Contest, Animazement
2019 Project Cosplay, Animazement

Education
Studied under: Tom Knisely, Dale Lyles, Sigrid Briansdotter, Kim Caulfield, Victoria Walker, Geri Forkner, Cathy Briscoe, Nancy Sheddon

Professional Organizations
Foothills Craft Guild, member
Tennesseee Valley Handspinners Guild, President & Vice President
PA Craft Guild, Former Member at Large
York Town Craft Guild, former member