About the Artist

Melinda Raber McCain is a fiber artist and graphic designer who brings her artistic eye to everything she does. She is a self-described geek and loves to learn all the new technology. She connects her laptop to her looms to create intricate and original handwoven fabrics and serves as web master for several artist groups.

Born and raised in Indianapolis, Mindy received an art education degree from Western College (Miami University) in Ohio and a BFA in Visual Communication from Herron School of Art in Indianapolis.

Mindy runs her “NiNi handwoven” business from her home studio on the White River in Indianapolis. She also works as a freelance graphic designer/web producer and computer maven. When she is not at her computer or her looms, Mindy is in a kayak on the river or on a bicycle riding local rail trails.

With her illustrator husband, she shares a web site  at www.crittur.com. You may This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.

Always a fan of technology, Mindy loves the mechanics of the loom and the structured weaving process. Her 24-harness Louet Magic and 16-harness Louet Megado compu-dobby looms allow her to combine computer design with age-old weaving techniques to create original fabric patterns and designs.

Her current fascination is a weave structure called “shadow weave” which gives a color-and-weave effect. Alternating colors in both the warp and weft interact according to the threading and treadling, giving a mix of horizontal and vertical lines. Where these lines intersect form the shapes and patterns in her fabrics. This balanced weave structure creates an extremely strong and sturdy fabric, perfect for garments and fashion items.