|
|
|
|
The Turning
|
|
33.5' x 18"
|
|
$680
|
|
|
Earth and Sky
|
|
36" X 18"
|
|
$850
|
|
|
|
|
|
Winter Moon
|
|
39" X 36"
|
|
$1425
|
|
|
Dark Passage
|
|
19" X 16.5"
|
|
$360
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Working in her home studio on the Chama River in Abiquiu,NM, Catherine Viele creates colorful rugs and tapestries made of local churro wool which she hand-dyes herself using both natural and chemical dyes. She has been weaving since 1996, when she started in the Fiber Arts Program at Northern New Mexico Community College in El Rito. She also learned a great deal as a contract weaver for Irvin and Lisa Trujillo at Centinela Traditional Arts in Chimayo.
Originally from Western NY and Maine, she has lived in the Southwest...Northern Arizona and Northern New Mexico...for 16 years. "I come to weaving from a varied background, having been over the years a writer, park ranger, technical researcher, bookseller, photographer, solar energy advocate and a few other things in between. All these experiences inform my weaving, as do my explorations of the outdoors as hiker, river-runner and beach-walker. I do feel that in discovering weaving, I have in some way come home.
"I am still quite new to this craft and find myself in an exciting period of intense exploration of both technique and vision. I am drawn to an ever-changing combination of natural, abstract and geometric forms. The investigation of color is also an important frontier for me now...hours spent in the dye studio experimenting with shades and hues are as rewarding to me as those actually spent weaving. I enjoy the interplay of planning and serendipity inherent to the creation of a rug or tapestry, as well as the gradual unfolding of the woven piece on my loom."
Though influenced by native weaving traditions, including Rio Grande and Navajo traditions of the Southwest, she creates an expression uniquely her own. From a background in anthropology and comparative religions, she bring a fascination with the study of how traditions over the centuries have expressed their most profound ideas in visual form.
"Like many Southwestern artists, I absorb deep inspiration from the ever-abiding landscape here, its creatures and hardy plant life."
