Amanda Rataj is a Canadian craft artist who works in hand weaving. She holds a BFA from the Ontario College of Arts and Design University and has attended Kawashima Textile School in Kyoto, Japan. She developed her contemporary craft practice through research-based projects, artist residencies, professional exhibitions, and lectures. Recent exhibitions include Soft Curve, Hard Line as part of the DesignTO festival (2026), Generation at Craft Ontario as part of the Design TO festival (2023), Crosscurrents: Canada In the Making at the Textile Museum of Canada (2018), and Nothing is Newer Than Tradition (Art Gallery of Burlington, 2017).

In my practice, I use pattern and materiality to explore craft and making, working with traditional weaving techniques to explore ideas such as craft heritage, place, and material sustainability. My focus on using natural materials like wool, cotton, and linen creates textiles that engage on a deep level with regional textile systems. Working with these fibres allows me to create a distinct materiality and explore texture, colour interaction and surface effects that are at the heart of my practice. My ongoing interest in understanding the agricultural origins of my materials has deepened my practice and lead to new relationships with farmers, producers, and land-based making.

I’ve also given artist lectures, including: Conscious Consumption: Focus on Local Linen at the Textile Museum of Canada (2018), at the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Central Regional Seminar (2018), and Ideas Forum: Living Well, Toronto (2017).