The Jingle Bash isn't just about shopping for handmade art and crafts. It's also about making your own handmade creation. This November 20th, head over to the Palladium where the Bash will feature free DIY crafts to get shoppers in the holiday spirit. Oil and Cotton, will have the supplies and know-how on-hand for you to make your choice of either a paper ornament or beautiful paper angel. Arrive early - supplies are limited!

What Is Oil and Cotton?
Oil and Cotton, a new arts and crafts studio, opened this past September, shortly after owners Shannon Driscoll and Kayli House Cusick met while volunteering for Oak Cliff's Better Block, a neighborhood improvement project that included a free public art studio.

Blending an appreciation of the past with current art practices, Oil and Cotton provides creative space for education, exhibition, performance and exchange between the public and the art community. Their hands-on classes are taught by professionals with knowledge of both traditional and contemporary practice.

About the Owners

Shannon had been working as an art conservator of works on paper and instructor of adult workshops in traditional handcrafts and materials-based projects. Kayli was a piano teacher, composer, and children’s arts curriculum writer who had recently relocated from Brooklyn.

Their motivating philosophy is to make do with what you've got by placing a high value on the resourcefulness within each person. They are dedicated to doing things the old-fashioned way, whether through the reuse or repurposing of materials (turning fallen walnuts into inks) and accepting the possibilities of what can be created by hand. The ladies of Oil and Cotton honor the pioneering spirit of our elders and the character of our community.

What's In a Name?
Both oil and cotton are natural resources of Dallas and are the foundation of the most basic art materials. Oil is a binder in paint and inks. Cotton is used to produce textiles like fabric, canvas and paper. The arts, like oil and cotton, provide a canvas and medium that bind our community together.

posted by Stephanie/tefi