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Bio & Résumé
How did I come to work with thread and fabric rather than paint or stone or clay and glazes? I have felt an affinity to fabric, to color on fabric, and to the types of patterns that decorate fabric for as long as I can remember. Letting my eyes rest on a fabric that attracts me is like a meditation and has been since I was a child. I can feel the world drift away as I sail into the color, the texture, and the pattern. I had some very close relationships with quilts while I was growing up, still do. Early on I learned to sew to make my own clothes, being a very long, slender girl. I made clothes and quilts for my dolls and worked sampler kits. In high school I discovered a love of art, of making things, of the current-ness of the art world, the liveliness, the freedom. Eventually I put that together with the material that calls to me and began to make art with fiber. The final piece in the puzzle was finding this punch needle embroidery technique that allows me to use fiber and enjoy a painterly flow as the work evolves.
Born: Glen Ridge, NJ in 1952
Today: Washington, Connecticut
Email: missy@missystevens.com
Video
- This film, created Rusty Dyer of DigiDyer Productions, had its broadcast premier on Connecticut Public Television in June 2017.
- Silvermine Galleries "Fiber 2020" show during the pandemic provided this format to explore the work of exhibiting artists.
- In 2020 Peters Valley School of Craft in Layton, NJ had an annual exhibition with a virtual artist reception via Zoom, which can be seen on YouTube (my appearance begins at 56:40).
Education
- 1980 Boston University, Program in Artisanry, BAA
- 1971 New England College, NH
Collections and Awards
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
- Museum of Arts and Design, NYC
- Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
- Racine Art Museum
- Daphne Farago Collection, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design.
- Connecticut Artists’ Collection, State of Connecticut
- Karen Johnson Boyd Collection
- Rebecca Stevens Collection
- Gayle & Robert Greenhill Collection
- Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington DC -- Craftsmen's Choice Award, 2001
- Connecticut Commission on the Arts -- Individual Artist Grant, 1991
Selected Solo Shows
- 2017 Like a Flower - Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
- 2016 Many Journeys - Clapp & Tuttle Gallery, Woodbury, CT
- 2011 Bellamy-Ferriday House, Bethlehem, CT
- 2004 Hibberd McGrath Gallery, Breckenridge, CO
- 2002 Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY
- 2000 To Be Dreamed - Marie Louise Trichet Art Gallery, Wisdom House, Litchfield, CT
- 1996 Thread Painting - World Rugs, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT
- 1994 Thread Paintings - Okun Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- 1992 Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT
- 1991 The Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
- 1986 Almquist Gallery, New Preston, CT
- 1982 Wool Bureau Offices, New York, NY
- 1981 Alan Brown Gallery, Hartsdale, NY
Selected Group Shows
- 2023 "Interwoven: Seeing and Making" at Art & Frame of Newtown, CT
- 2022 "Clay Way Studio Tour" weekend studio tour of potters in northwest CT and eastern NY
- 2020 "Clay Way Studio Tour" weekend studio tour of potters in northwest CT and eastern NY
- 2020 "Making Matters: Fresh Perspectives in Fine Craft" at Peters Valley School of Craft in Layton, NJ
- 2020 "Fiber 2020" at Silvermine Galleries in New Canaan,
- 2020 "In Stitches: Contemporary Approaches to Needlework" at the Racine Art Musuem in Racine, WI
- 2019 "Clay Way Studio Tour" weekend studio tour of potters in northwest CT and eastern NY
- 2019 "Domestic Matters: The Uncommon Apron" at Peters Valley School of Craft, Layton, NJ
- 2017-2019 "The Spirit of Togetherness," was hung in the United States Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine.
- 2017 "100!" women artists celebrating 100 years of women's suffrage - Howland Cultural Center, Beacon, NY
- 2017 "Living with Art: The Newman Collection" - 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, OK
- 2016 "By a Thread" - The Fine Art of Fiber" at the Ridgefield Guild of Artists, Ridgefield, CT.
- 2015 "On the Fringe - Explorations in Fiber" at the Bruce S Kershner Gallery in the Fairfield Public Library, Fairfield, CT.
- 2015 "Open Your Eyes Studio Tour" - various artists in Washington, Morris, Roxbury & Bethlehem
- 2014 "The Generator" - one of three artists talking about storytelling in relation to our work, Ridgefield, CT
- 2014 "Earthly Delights" - Gallery on the Green, Pawling, NY
- 2014 "SOFA Chicago" - represented by Katie Gingrass Gallery
- 2014 "Hooked Art 2014" - The Gallery at University of Connecticut, Stamford, CT
- 2014 "Meeting Past" group show and artist talk - Akin Library and Museums, Pawling, NY
- 2014 "Art & Food"- Washington Art Association, Washington, CT
- 2014 "Considering the Kylix: Contemporary Interpretations of a Classical Form" - Peters Valley School of Craft Gallery, Layton, NJ & Marywood University, Scranton, PA
- 2014 "Re-Imagined" - Ridgefield Guild of Artists, Ridgefield, CT
- 2014 "9th Annual Fiber Biennial" - Snyderman/Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
- 2014 "Focus on Fiber" - Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
- 2013-2014 "Prints and Pots" with Alison Palmer at Gunn Memorial Library, Washington, CT
- 2013 "Art for the Animals" - Washington Art Association, Washington, CT
- 2013 "Earthly Delights" - Gallery on the Green, Pawling, NY
- 2013 "Meeting Past" - The Akin Library and Museums, Pawling, NY
- 2013 "The Women" - Ridgefield Guild of Artists, Ridgefield, CT
- 2013 "The Artistry of Connecticut Craft" - Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
- 2012 "60 Years, 60 Artists"- Washington Art Association, Washington, CT
- 2012 "Hanging Around: Necklaces from MAD’s Collection" - Museum of Arts and Design, NYC
- 2012 "Faculty Exhibition"- Peters Valley School of Craft, Layton, NJ
- 2012 "8th International Fiber Biennial" - Snyderman/Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
- 2011 "Extraordinary Friend of Fiber Art: Karen Johnson Boyd" - SOFA Chicago, International Exposition of Sculpture, Objects & Functional Art
- 2011 "Connecticut Artists: Form and Function" - Washington Art Association,Washington, CT
- 2010 "Botanical Dreams and Nightmares" - Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT
- 2010 "7th International Fiber Biennial" - Snyderman Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
- 2009 "Farewell Show" - Bachelier Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT
- 2009 "20 Years: A Retrospective" - Harmony Hall Regional Center (Arts), Ft. Washington, MD
- 2009 "Out of the Loop: Innovations in Hooking" - Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
- 2009 "Seen Anew: Art From Everyday Objects" - Washington Art Association, Washington, CT
- 2009 "Sacred Containments" - Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
- 2009 "15TH Anniversary Retrospective" - Wisdom House, Litchfield, CT
- 2007 "25th Anniversary Show" - Hibberd McGrath Gallery, Breckenridge, CO
- 2007 "Intimate Narratives" - Washington Art Association, Washington, CT
- 2007 "Private Pleasures" - The Textile Museum, Washington, DC
- 2007 "Connecticut Collects" - Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
- 2006 Trashformations - show travelled to the Southern Ohio Museum & Ohio Craft Museum
- 2006 Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts
- 2006 Embroiderer's Guild International - Art of the Stitch 2006: biennial exhibited in three cities in England
- 2006 SOFA, Chicago - International Exposition of Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art
- 2006 5th International Fiber Biennial - Snyderman-Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
- 2006 Folks in Fiber - Cahoon Museum of Art, Cotuit, MA
- 2005 SOFA, Chicago - International Exposition of Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art
- 2005 Trashformations - Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
- 2004 50/50 The Craft Continuum - Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
- 2004 SOFA, Chicago - International Exposition of Sculpture, Objects & Functional Art
- 2004 Poetic Spirits - Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
- 2004 The Perfect Collection: A Shared Vision for Contemporary Craft - Fuller Museum of Art, Brockton, MA
- 2004 Fiber Biennial - Snyderman-Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
- 2003-2004 Craft Transformed: Boston University's Program in Artisanry (1975-1985) - Fuller Museum of Art, Brockton, MA
- 2003 SOFA, Chicago - International Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art
- 2003 Smithsonian Craft Show, National Building Museum, Washington, D.C.
- 2002-2003 Threads on the Edge: The Daphne Farago Fiber Art Collection - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
- 2002 Small Works in Fiber - curated by Mildred Constantine and Jack Lenor Larsen - East Hampton, NY; Chicago, IL; Tokyo, Japan
- 2002 Fiber Art Exhibition - Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA
- 2002 SOFA, New York - International Exposition of Sculpture, Objects & Functional Art
- 2002 Threads of Memory: Contemporary Narrative Textiles - Center for Visual Arts, The Metropolitan State College of Denver
- 2001 SOFA, Chicago - Fine Fiber: Art for the 21st Century, Friends of Fiber Art International
- 2001 SOFA, New York - International Exposition of Sculpture, Objects & Functional Art
- 2001 Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, D.C.
- 2001 Muse of the Wild: Animal Inspirations, Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery, Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
- 2001 Hibberd McGrath Gallery, Katie Gingrass Gallery, SOFA International Exposition, Chicago, IL
- 2001 Uncommon Threads: Embroidery as Fine Art, Harmony Hall Regional Center, Ft. Washington, MD
- 2000 Nancy Margolis Gallery, SOFA International Exposition, New York, NY
- 2000 Surface - Strength - Structure: Pertaining to Line, Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia, PA
- 2000 Material Evidence, Reed Whipple Cultural Center Gallery, Las Vegas, NV
- 1999 Hibberd McGrath Gallery, Katie Gingrass Gallery, SOFA International Exposition, Chicago, IL
- 1999 Avant Garde Classicism, Paris - New York - Kent Gallery, Kent, CT
- 1999 The Storytellers’ Art - Contemporary Embroidery, Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery, Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT
- 1999 Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY
- 1999 Nancy Margolis Gallery, Katie Gingrass Gallery, SOFA International Exposition, New York, NY
- 1998 Ragtime - Weaving Contemporary Rag Rugs, Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, Madison, GA
- 1998 Modus Operandi - A Survey of Contemporary Fiber, Snyderman/Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
- 1998 Contemporary Religious Fiber Art, Friends of Fiber Art, SOFA International Exposition, New York, NY
- 1998 Made in the USA by Four Women Artists, Paris - New York - Kent Gallery, Kent, CT
- 1997-2000 Trashformations: Recycled Materials in Contemporary Art and Design, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA, traveling nationally.
- 1997 The Renwick at 25, Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
- 1996 Just Add Water - Artists and the Aqueous World, Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI
- 1996 A Continuing Tradition - Litchfield County Craftsmanship Today, Litchfield Historical Society Museum, Litchfield, CT
- 1995 Storytellers: Threads, Society for Contemporary Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA
- 1995-2000 Hibberd McGrath Gallery, Breckenridge, CO
- 1995-1996 Wetsman Collection, SOFA International Exposition, Chicago, IL
- 1995 Investing in Dreams - Connecticut’s Commitment to Imagination, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT
- 1995 The Connecticut Artists Collection, Recent Acquisitions, Housatonic Museum of Art, Bridgeport, CT
- 1995 Contemporary Fiber from St. Louis Collections, St Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
- 1995 Okun Gallery, SOFA International Exposition, Miami, FL
- 1994-1998 Rags to Riches - Recycled Rugs, traveling nationally
- 1994 Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Artist Showcase, Bradley International Airport, CT
- 1994 The Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
- 1994 New Threads - Contemporary Tapestry in New England, DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA
- 1993 Okun Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- 1993 Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT
- 1993 Year of the American Craft - In Celebration, Brunnier Art Museum, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
- 1993 Face To Face - Farmington Valley Arts Center, Avon, CT
"Across the River" 1992; 8 1/4 x 6 1/4"
- 1992-1993 Mobilia Gallery, International New Art Forms, Chicago, IL
- 1992-1997 Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT
- 1992 The Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
- 1992 New World - Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT
- 1991 Ferrin Gallery, Northampton, MA
- 1991 Small Treasures - The Hand & The Spirit Gallery, Scottsdale AZ
- 1990-1994 Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA
- 1989 Fun and Games: Artist Designed Diversions - Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT
- 1989 Society of Arts & Crafts, Boston, MA
- 1989 Anna Howard Gallery, Washington, CT
- 1988 Washington Art Association, Washington, CT
- 1988 Connecticut Gallery, Marlborough, CT
- 1986 Silo Gallery, New Milford, CT
- 1985 Alan Brown Gallery, Hartsdale, NY
- 1983 Elements Gallery, Greenwich, CT
- 1983 Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
- 1982 Craftsmen Gallery, Scarsdale, NY
Magazine and Newspaper References
- Boston Voyager - 2018 profile
- One New England - July 2011, review of my show at Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden
- The New York Times - September 20, 2002 review of show at Nancy Margolis Gallery.
- Lapidary Journal - August 2003
- The New York Times - May 31, 2002 review of SOFA exhibition
- Home - May 1997, August 1985
- American Crafts - feature article April/May 1997; February/March 1995; July 1994; December 1987; 1983
- Fiberarts - volume 22, #3 1995; volume 14, #4 1987
- Northeast Magazine, Hartford Courant - October 2, 1994
- Better Homes & Gardens - Spring 1990
- House Beautiful - March 1988
- Practical Homeowner - 1988
- Connecticut Magazine - November 1987
- Victoria - 1986
- Country Living - 1986
- The New York Times - Dec. 14, 1986
- Creative Ideas for Living - October 1985
- Metropolis - May 1983
Books
- Making Good, an Inspirational Guide to Being an Artist Craftsman by Jacklyn Scott, Kristin Muller and Tommy Simpson; Schiffer Press
- Hand and Home, Inside the Homes of American Craftsmen by Tommy Simpson; Bulfinch Press
- Come Home to Country by Gayle Butler; Better Homes and Gardens Books
- Architectural Ornamentalism by Jim Kemp; Whitney Library of Design
- American View by Waites, Martin & Skurka; Harper and Row
- Trashformations - Recycled Material in American Art and Design by Lloyd Herman; Whatcom Museum of History and Art
- Weaving Contemporary Rag Rugs by Heather Allen; Lark Books
- Rag Rug Handbook by Meany & Pfaff; Interweave Press
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