AN ILLUSTRATED LECTURE by Alice Zrebiec, sponsored by the Stark Museum of Art

TITLE: “Making Tapestry an American Art: The Legacy of Lorentz Kleiser.”

WHEN:  Friday, January 22, 2010, 6:30 p.m.

Originally inspired by European masterpieces, artist Lorentz Kleiser (1879-1963) turned to American literature, history, flora and fauna as subjects for tapestries designed for public buildings as well as private homes. Founder of the Edgewater Tapestry Looms in New Jersey, Kleiser was instrumental in introducing tapestry to the general public both through his work and his nationwide lectures.”

WHERE: Lutcher Theater, 707 Main Street, Orange, Texas 77630

Followed by Reception at the Stark Museum of Art

712 Green Avenue, Orange, Texas 77630

IN ASSOCIATION WITH the current exhibition:

“Entwined across the Ages: Illuminated Manuscripts and Tapestries”

November 21, 2009 January 30, 2010

This holiday-season exhibition features the Stark Museum of Arts collection of medieval illuminated manuscripts exhibited within a setting of twentieth-century wall tapestries that were inspired by arts from the medieval period. Entwined across the Ages highlights the variety and richness of manuscript illustrations in the Books of Hours and includes images of the Christmas story. It also reveals how the medieval arts influenced artist Lorentz Kleiser whose Edgewater Tapestry Company revived the art of tapestry weaving in the modern era.”

The Gloria F. Ross Center for Tapestry Studies announces a series of lectures at the first annual SOFA WEST (SCULPTURE OBJECTS FUNCTIONAL ART) expo held in Santa Fe, NM, on June 11-14, 2009.

Critically acclaimed, gallery-presented SOFA events focus on 3-dimensional artworks that cross the boundaries of fine art, decorative art and design. With a strong educational emphasis, SOFA fairs include a lecture series and special exhibits featuring both established and emerging artists.” SOFA WEBSITE

In addition to an elite line-up of over forty art dealers, special textile-related lectures will include:

• ALICE ZREBIEC on the work of Colombian fiber artist/sculptor Olga de Amaral (Thursday, June 11, 2:30 pm)
• ANN LANE HEDLUND on emerging trends in Native Southwest weaving (Friday, June 12, 2:30 pm)
• SUE WALKER on contemporary Australian tapestries (Saturday, June 13, 2:30 pm)
• LOTUS STACK will give a special textile curator’s walkthrough (Friday, June 12, 1:00 pm)
• Other lectures and events will also be announced.

Events take place at the Santa Fe Convention Center, with proceeds from the Opening Night Gala benefiting the New Mexico Museum of Art’s Design Collection. Current GFR Tapestry Center members will receive tickets to the 4-day expo (a $25 value); members at the $100+ levels will also receive VIP invitations to the Opening Night GALA Preview & Reception on June 10 and SOFA VIP events during the fair. La Fonda hotel is holding a block of sleeping rooms (800-523-5002, mention the Tapestry Center to receive special event rates). For more information, visit www.sofaexpo.com and www.tapestrycenter.org or call the Tapestry Center at 520-626-8364.

Illustration: Detail of tapestry in process, “Home of Snake in Waterhole,” designed by Yala Yala Gibbs, woven at Victorian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne, Australia, 1980″ (Photo courtesy of Sue Walker, Victorian Tapestry Workshop).

This year, we’re teaming up with the organizers of SOFA (Sculpture Objects Functional Art) when they bring one of the world’s foremost art expositions to Santa Fe, New Mexico, on June 11-14. 2009. Our goal is to share the wonders of tapestry with collectors, artists and gallery staff who might not already consider the artful medium of tapestry. Watch for further announcements about special tapestry-related lectures and conversations-with-curators sponsored by the Gloria F. Ross Tapestry Center during the SOFA-WEST expo.

Current Tapestry Center members may request free tickets for the four-day event to be held at the new Santa Fe Convention Center. Members joining or renewing at $100 or higher levels may request free VIP invitations for the gala opening on June 10 (7 - 9 pm), and for other receptions, tours and special events. If you are interested in these special member benefits, just click here and contact us.

Historic La Fonda hotel  is holding a block of sleeping rooms. Call 800-523-5002 and mention “The Tapestry Center” to receive special event rates.

Illustration: Santa Fe Convention Center, New Mexico.

Whether you’re a collector looking for the next hot trend, an artist exploring a fabulous flexible medium, or a weaver seeking a challenging new technique, TAPESTRY HAS IT ALL. To explore more about what “tapestry” is and looks like - click here

Illustration: Tapestry showroom, Robert Four Gallery, Paris.

Members take part in our programs and support all of our activities.

This year, new and renewing members will receive special invitations to join us at SOFA WEST in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on June 11-14, 2009. SOFA stands for “Sculpture Objects Functional Art” and most definitely includes tapestries and other textiles! Upon request, current Tapestry Center members will receive special entrance tickets to the exposition for all four days (a $25 value); members joining at the $100 level or higher can also receive free VIP invitations to the opening gala on June 10, plus receptions, tours and other special events.

For more about our membership program and an application form, click here.

Illustration: Volunteer Olga Neuts assisting a visitor at the guest loom, “Learn About Weaving!” area sponsored by the GFR Tapestry Center, Southwest Indian Art Fair, Arizona State Museum, Tucson.

We are pleased to announce that Ramona Sakiestewa has been elected to the Tapestry Center’s board and Helena Hernmarck has become a trustee emerita. Both are superb tapestry weavers.”

Following its June 2008 annual meeting in Tucson, the Gloria F. Ross Center for Tapestry Studies welcomed Ramona Sakiestewa (Santa Fe, NM) as the newest member of its Board of Trustees. A widely known weaver, multimedia artist and museum design consultant, she joins trustees Alice Zrebiec (president; Santa Fe, NM), Darienne Dennis (secretary; New York, NY), Margi Fox (treasurer; Bellingham, WA), Susan Brown McGreevy (Santa Fe, NM), Lotus Stack (Minneapolis, MN), and Sue Walker (Melbourne, Australia). For more about these individuals, click this link: Board of Trustees.

Illustration: Tapestry by Ramona Sakiestewa, from the “Migration” series. (Photo courtesy of the artist).

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After completing a term on the board, artist and weaver Helena Hernmarck (Ridgefield, CT) now has an honorary appointment as trustee emerita with the GFR Center. Anthropologist Ann Bookman (Boston, MA) and tapestry weaver Archie Brennan (New York, NY) also hold emeritus status.

The Tapestry Center and its board members champion tapestry-related interests, coming from the disciplines of anthropology, art history, and studio art. Trustees have backgrounds in the art, museum, financial and business worlds and provide invaluable advice and guidance.

Illustration: Tapestry by Helena Hernmarck, “Crumpled Paper.” (Photo courtesy of Brown Grotta Arts).

Have a tapestry that you’re trying to identify? Curious about differences between tapestry and jacquard weaves? Seeking an appraiser for your precious object? Want to care for a disintegrating textile?

Visit our “Resources” section or go directly to Frequently Asked Questions. There you’ll find relevant topics to explore.

Illustration: Detail of a Navajo rug by Daisy Nockideneh, The Gap, Arizona (The Santa Fe Collection; to see the entire rug, click here).

I want to make tapestries.” –Gloria F. Ross

Gloria F. Ross combined traditional European weaving techniques with modern American painted imagery to create over 250 tapestries between 1966 and 1998. A book manuscript with the working title, A Creative Career: Gloria F. Ross & Modern Tapestry , is moving forward. The work-in-progress by Ann Lane Hedlund documents the professional work of Gloria Ross through her own lively correspondence, notes, and sketches. This unique research project explores the artists’ work, weavers’ ways, and most especially the friendships and controversies engendered by Ross’s basic desire to “make tapestries” and her broader hope to instill American interest in this rich European tradition.  

Illustration: Weavers at the loom, Dovecot Tapestry Studio, Edinburgh, Scotland (Photo courtesy of GFR Archives).