LOCAL TAPESTRY ARTISTS SELECTED FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Three Sarasota County tapestry artists have been selected to display their work in the American Tapestry Alliance's Biennial 8 (ATB8). The three artists – Lynn Mayne, John Nicholson and Becky Stevens are all members of the local group Tapestry Artists of Sarasota (TAOS).  Their tapestries were selected from the more than 100 pieces that were submitted for entry into the ATB8 by artists representing fifteen different countries.

The ATA organizes and tours an international juried exhibition every two years, bringing the best of international contemporary handwoven tapestry into one coherent show.  Tapestries art is rarely exhibited, allowing the ATA's exhibitions to draw excellent attention worldwide.

Rebecca A. T. Stevens, consulting curator for contemporary textiles at the Textile Museum in Washinton, DC, was the featured juror. ATB8 will open at Elder Gallery in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the fall of 2010, and will then travel to The American Textile history Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts in 2011.

TAOS is composed of five experienced tapestry artists (Becky Stevens, John Nicholson, Lynn Mayne, Pat Looper and Terri Stewart) who came together in 1997 with the shared interest of exhibiting their work and promoting the art of handwoven tapestry.

Pictured above (from top): "Bird Meets Bird" artist Lynne Mayne. 31"h x 62"w. wool on cotton warp.
"Tides of Fate" artist Becky Stevens. two panels 24" x 24". wool.
Pictured in ARTbeat: "Riveroad" artist John Nicholson. 24"h x 26"w.  wool.