What's Happening
Check this page regularly for updates on current, upcoming, and recent activities. I'll post information about exhibitions, special projects, teaching, and the influences that are inspiring my artwork.
Gas, cotton Jacquard tapestry currently exhibited online in Loose Thread at BLANK SPACE Gallery. Photo by Carin Quirke deJong.
Nest, cotton Jacquard tapestry exhibited in For the Love of the Loom—The Fine Art of Weaving. Photo by Nancy Donskoi.
White stoneware decorated with black underglaze paint beneath a clear glaze.
Current and Forthcoming Exhibitions
I am one of seven contemporary fiber artists with work in Loose Thread, an online group exhibition presented by BLANK SPACE. The exhibition is live in the New York gallery’s online viewing room August 6–September 13, 2020.
Impromptu, a group exhibition presented by the Eclipse Mill Gallery, North Adams, Massachusetts, will go live online on August 15, 2020. For further information, visit eclipsemill.com.
Recent Exhibitions
Gas was one of three Jacquard tapestries I exhibited in Threaded: Contemporary Fiber Art in New England at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, Massachusetts, February 6–March 20, 2020.
The Westbeth Gallery in New York presented my work in The Gold Standard of Textile and Fiber Art, an exhibition of work by members of The Textile Study Group of New York (TSGNY), February 5–23, 2020. The exhibition celebrated the 50th anniversary of Westbeth Artist Housing and highlighted the diversity of style and techniques in the work of TSGNY artists.
A longtime member of the TSGNY, I also have work illustrated in the organization’s recently published book, The Language of Making (available at Amazon.com). It includes the work of 168 artist members. TSGNY’s mission is to educate the public, promoting a wider appreciation of fiber art. It achieves this through its acclaimed speaker series, exhibitions, workshops, a newsletter, show listings, and a blog about member artists.
For the Love of the Loom—The Fine Art of Weaving, at the New Hope Arts Center in New Hope Pennsylvania, featured my work along with that of six other contemporary weavers. The exhibition of nearly 50 tapestries opened on November 16, 2019, closing on January 5, 2020.
The exhibition also highlighted the influence of Michelle Lester and Archie Brennan—two tapestry artists who spurred renewed interest in textile art by combining ancient techniques with modern themes and styles. They had a profound influence on many fiber artists, including six of the artists in For the Love of the Loom. I have warm memories of working in Michelle Lester’s New York studio alongside my fellow weavers as we helped bring her large commissioned tapestries to fruition.
It was wonderful to participate in Vessels for Change, a fundraising project to benefit the Berkshire Immigrant Center. Organized by a group of ceramic artists in 2017, the project involved their creating 100 mugs, which were then decorated by artists. Each mug would be given to someone willing to donate $100. Shortly after the initial project was announced, all 100 mugs had been spoken for, and more mugs had to be created. The project had already exceeded its fundraising goal!
In 2017 and 2018, I painted two mugs (see one of them at left) and enjoyed the opportunity to work outside my usual medium. It has been an honor to be part of this big-hearted project. Each project has culminated in a celebratory event in North Adams, Massachusetts, at Bright Ideas Brewing where donors could collect their randomly assigned vessels.
Fun (detail), cotton Jacquard tapestry. Photo by Roman Iwasiwka.
Solo Exhibitions
December 15, 2017, Betty Vera: Urban Textures opened at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, Missouri, and ran through January 26, 2018. This show was part of the FAC's Going Solo Award Series. In June 2018, as part of Downstreet Art, the show was presented at MCLA Gallery 51 in North Adams, Massachusetts.
At the exhibition Out on a Limb, at the Eclipse Mill Gallery. Photo by Diane Drescher.
Recent Awards and Exhibitions
In November 2018, I was thrilled to receive a prestigious A.R.T. Award from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation in support of my project to develop a new body of work on computer-assisted hand looms as an outgrowth of my work in Jacquard weaving. Since the beginning of 2019, my project has moved forward steadily and will result in several new series of handwoven works.
Exhibitions in 2018 included Cross-Section: Fiber Artists Transcending Tradition at the Eclipse Mill Gallery in North Adams, Massachusetts, which presented diverse art textiles by the members of North Adams Fiber Artists. I was also honored to have my work selected for Excellence in Fibers, exhibited at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles and published by Fiber Art Now as an Exhibition in Print.
In October 2017, my work was featured alongside that of Debi Pendell and Sarah Sutro in Out on a Limb: How New Ideas Push Change at the Eclipse Mill Gallery, North Adams, Massachusetts.
Since 2013 I have participate in the annual October North Adams Open Studios at the Eclipse Mill. Each year, more than a dozen artists present their work to the public, giving visitors the opportunity to visit participating studios, see contemporary artwork on display, meet the artists, and purchase art directly from them.