Nick DeFord is an artist, educator, and arts administrator who resides in Knoxville, TN. His mixed-media work explores the visual culture of cartography, occult imagery, game boards, geographical souvenirs, and other structures of information that he alters to examine the relationship between identity, space, and place.Deford uses hand-stitching and embellishment to combine and recontextualize elements of his pieces instead of simply using adhesives. This slower way of attaching materials gives the works a more articulated surface. It also means that the collage is not just on the surface. It becomes a whole new object throughout, as the thread and needle pierce and bind objects together from back and front.Deford never starts from a black fabric or piece of paper. Instead, he prefers to start with found papers, material, and ephemera as a way of repurposing and combining visual information already out in the world."I don't see myself as an artist who creates images and meaning from nothing," says Deford. "Instead, I rearrange information and remix images."Deford received his MFA from Arizona State University and an MS and BFA from the University of Tennessee. He exhibits his work nationally and has had both artwork and writing published in Surface Design Journal, Elephant Magazine, Hayden Ferry Review, and Willow Springs. Currently, Deford is the Program Director at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee and works on his fiber art practice from his home studio.