ARTIST STATEMENT

I am presently working on a series of small contemporary tapestry pieces using the digital images I have taken of Mary's face from a bust of Michaelangelo's "La Pieta."
These smaller contemporary, yet more representational and very detailed tapestry weavings are woven in the Aubusson style, using various intricate tapestry techniques, and woven with Norwegian Spelsau wools, while my larger Southwest style weavings are woven using New Mexico Churro wools, blending color and technique to express the landscape and sunsets of New Mexico and the Southwest.

The Rio Grande blankets are handwoven in collaboration with architect Chris Ferguson, of Taos, New Mexico and Austin, Texas, as part of his Tres Estrellas Collection, museum reproductions of classic pre-1860s Rio Grande blankets, several taken pieces in the Albuquerque Museum collection.

I feel that tapestry weaving best expresses what I want to say, and used the problem solving skills and techniques that challenge me. I used to like designing with loom controlled fabric, but found I got bored just throwing the shuttle, even with having to pay attention with intricate loom treadling designs. I found that I excelled at tapestry weaving in a way that I have found in no other medium thus far.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

I began to explore my artistic side in my early 20s in San Antonio, Texas when I began working for a gemstone bead importer and began to string, knot, and design gemstone beaded necklaces. This evolved into providing restringing and repair services to most of the fine jewelry stores in San Antonio, Texas for over 20 years, until 2001. During that time I experimented with my own creations out of gemstone and vintage pre-WWII glass beads, selling my work at local art & craft shows, and for a time through Saks Fifth Avenue in San Antonio, a few pieces here and there at a couple of local galleries, and the Blue Fox Gallery in Rumson, New Jersey.

Through the 90s I offered beginner, intermediate and advanced level classes at Southwest School for Art & Craft in bead stringing, knotting, design, on loom and peyote bead weaving, bead clothing embellishment, etc. for adults. Liking my experience working with adults, I created a group of beading and woven bead projects for after school children’s classes at local schools and as well, a summer textile workshop at a Montessori school that was integrated with other teachers in math, science and language skills for 1st through 3rd graders.

I had started taking weaving classes for the first time at Southwest School for Art & Craft around 1990, after beading for many years, and having a longing to try it. I found that I really loved it and many of the techniques in my first sampler using lace, intricate designing, various joining techniques, and adding beads to accent my piece, showed my love for the intricacies that weaving entailed. I had also developed a lot of patience from working with bead designs of my own, as well as the challenge of creating for someone else, making the pieces fit well, having to provide professional work and finishing techniques due to my clientele in the jewelry business for so many years.

I had been attending the local community college off and on for years since finishing high school, and had taken a few art classes that allowed me to explore other artists, history, and techniques, but was not confident in my drawing or painting classes working on paper. I did not like working with clay, as I found I liked my hands clean, I found I liked manipulating fibers, and remembered that I had always like batik, after trying it in high school on a project, and the graphic quality it evoked. I admired photography, as my father and my brother, although not professionals, were quite good at it, so I was taking in all of this it seems, over the years, as to what brought together a good image and how would I translate that somehow.

I started going to University of Southwest Texas in San Marcos in the mid-90s and decided that I was going to work toward a BFA in Textiles that was offered. I found that I was one of two students that wanted to take weaving, and so continued there for a while and took professional weaving workshops, including with Rebecca Bluestone, Robin Reider, Micala Sidore, and a few others over the next few years, and entered a juried show now and then. My tapestry weaving took a back seat for a number of years in between many other things happening in life, and is finally now becoming a part of who I am and how I express myself in transposing what I see in the world around me which inspires me.