Julia Mitchell, Very Large Hand Woven Wool Tapestry "Boulders II" River Stones, 1982

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Julia Mitchell Wool on Linen Tapestry, Boulders II Signed and dated JM 82

Julia Mitchell’s Biography
Julia grew up in … Read more Julia Mitchell Wool on Linen Tapestry, Boulders II Signed and dated JM 82

Julia Mitchell’s Biography
Julia grew up in a family of artists, adopting tapestry as a means of expression at 15, as an adjunct to her art history and design studies. She majored in textiles at California College of Arts and Crafts (1969 – 1972); helped to found the Artworkers’ Guild, an artists’ cooperative on her home island of Martha’s Vineyard (1972 – 1976); and has since run a series of one-person tapestry studios on the East and West Coasts.

"The foundation of every tapestry is the warp, the threads that extend lengthwise in the loom and upon which the design is woven. I use Irish linen, chosen for its strength and durability.
The patterns in my tapestries are created in the weft — the threads that are woven into the warp. Much as other artists use paint, I employ a variety of different wefts to achieve different colors and tones. My palette includes mixtures of Australian grown, English dyed merino wool; Scottish tweed wool; Swedish wool; Japanese silk; and lots of other materials as the inspiration strikes me. Blending strands of all of these yarns produces the desired colors.
Each tapestry is a unique work of art, taking many months to complete."

EXHIBITIONS
Solo:
2016 A Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
2014 Tapestry Retrospective, West Tisbury Library, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
2012 Shaw Cramer Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
2009 Waverly Street Gallery, Bethesda, MD
2006 Belushi/Pisano Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
2004 Etherington Fine Art, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
1995 Shaw Cramer Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
1987 “On the Vineyard” Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
1982 Textiles by Design, Berkeley, CA
1983 Tisbury Exchange, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
1982 Berkeley Repertory Theater, Berkeley, CA
1978 Artworkers’ Guild Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
1980 Pratt Gallery, Amherst, MA

Group:
2016 American Tapestry Biennial 11, South Bend, Indiana and traveling
2016 Featherstone Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA (also curated by J.Mitchell)
2015 A Gallery, Oak Bluffs, MA
2015 Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ
2014 The Art is the Cloth, NH Institute of Art, Manchester, NH
2014 Tapestry Weavers in New England, URI, Providence, RI
2013 Imagine Gallery, Northampton, MA
2011 Featherstone Center for the Arts, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
2010 Shaw Cramer Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
2010 Washington Craft Show, Washington, DC
2010 Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, Philadelphia, PA
2010 American Tapestry Biennial 8, Lincoln, NE and Lowell, MA
2008 American Tapestry Biennial 7, Tampa, FL and traveling
2008 Art in Action: What it Takes, Featherstone Center for the Arts, Martha’s
Vineyard, MA
2007 Fuller Craft Museum Members’ Exhibition, Brockton, MA
2001 Hanging by a Thread, Sharon Arts Center, Peterboro, NH
2001 Moments in Tapestry, Fine Line Creative Arts Center, St. Charles, IL
2000 American Tapestry Biennial III, American Tapestry Alliance,
Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY
1998 Threadscapes: Interpretations of the American Landscape in Fiber,
Atlanta, GA
1997 Connecting Threads, Worcester Center for Crafts, Worcester, MA
1997 TWINE Exhibition, Portsmouth, NH
1997 American Tapestry Biennial I, travelling
1995 A Taste of Tapestry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
1994 National Tapestry Invitational Exhibit, Ohio State University, Lima, OH
1993 New Threads: Contemporary Tapestry in New England,
DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA
1993 National Tapestry Invitational, NAU Art Gallery, Flagstaff, AZ
1992 Gallery North, Setauket, NY
1991 Island Artists’ Show, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
1990 American Tapestry Today, Syntex Corp. Palo Alto, CA
1990 “On the Vineyard” Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
1989 American Tapsestry Since 1930 and its European Roots,
University of Maryland, College Park,
1989 Creative Collaborations/Artist-Architect, Cambridge Art Association,
Cambridge, MA
1988 Tapestry Bouquet, Scheuer Tapestry Gallery, New York, NY
1988 Images in Contemporary Tapestry ’88, NAU Art Gallery, Flagstaff AZ
1988 Regional New England Artists’ Federal Reserve Show, Boston, MA
1985 Panorama of Tapestry, American Tapestry Alliance, Toronto, Canada
1984 Curtis Gallery, New Canaan, CT
1983 San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
1983 Glastonbury Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1981 Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1981 Textiles by Design, Berkeley, CA
1975 Artworkers’ Guild Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA

BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Contemporary International Tapestry”, Carol K. Russell, Schiffer Books
“Excellence in Fibers”, Fiber Art Now magazine, Winter 2015-2016
“The Art is the Cloth, a Series of Reflections”, NH Institute of Art, pub. 2014
“Dream Weaver”, Vineyard Gazette, August 13, 2011
“Where They Work: Artists’ Studios”, Martha’s Vineyard Times, August 2010
“A Living Tapestry”, Cape Cod Home, Summer 2010
“Textures and Tapestries of Julia Mitchell”, Vineyard Style Magazine,
“The Tapestry Handbook, the Next Generation”, Carol K Russell, Lark Books
“Julia Mitchell”, Cape Cod Life Magazine, Summer/Fall 2006
“Garden Tapestry,” Cape Cod Life, June 1999
“Weaving Illusions with Wool and Silk,” Planet Vineyard, Winter 1997
“Dream Weaver,” Cape Cod Life, January 1997
“Woven Images,” Traditional Home, August 1991
“Tapestry, the Art of Julia Mitchell,” On Island, Summer 1990
“The Tapestry Handbook”, Carol Russell, Lark Books, Pub. 1990
“Tapestry, the Art, of Julia Mitchell,” Martha’s Vineyard Times,
“Scene Weaver,” Bostonia, March/April 1989
“Julia Mitchell Weaves the Landscape of the Vineyard Into her Tapestries,” Vineyard Gazette, August 7, 1987
“Weaver Julia Mitchell Spins Beautiful Flowers,” Martha’s Vineyard Times, September 25, 1986
“Contemporary Tapestry, a Panoramic View,” Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot,
“Weaving Vineyard Views,” Cape Cod Life, Fall 1985
“Julia Mitchell Weaves Bright Tapestries of Many Colors,” Vineyard Gazette,
“Swatches,” Fiberarts, July/August 1984
“Julia Mitchell: On Martha’s Vineyard,” Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot, 1984
“Julia Mitchell: Landscape Tapestries,” Fiberarts, November/December 1983
“Portfolio,” Goodfellow Review of Crafts, June/July 1983
“Pictorial Tapestry, a Portfolio of Contemporary Work,” Fiberarts,

EDUCATION
1983 San Francisco Tapestry Workshop, San Francisco, CA
1979–1980 Fiberworks, Berkeley, CA
1969–1972 California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
1967–1968 Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH

SELECTED GALLERY AND PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
A Gallery, Oak Bluffs, MA
American Tapestry Alliance, San Jose, CA
TWINE (Tapestry Weavers in New England), Northampton, MA
American Craft Council, New York, NY
Friends of Fiber Art International, Western Springs, IL

SELECTED COLLECTIONS
The Stanley Works, New Britain, CT
Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co., Philadelphia, PA
TRW Inc., Cleveland, OH
McGraw-Hill Companies, New York, NY

Amongst her private collectors,
Meredith Baxter, Beverly Hills, CA
Carly Simon, New York, NY
Al Pacino, New York, NY See less