Annual Sinton Lecture: Barbara Shapiro — Weaver, Dyer, and Basket Maker

Annual Sinton Lecture: Barbara Shapiro — Weaver, Dyer, and Basket Maker

Barbara shares her long career in textiles and the burst of artistic output inspired by moving her studio to San Francisco in January 2020.

By Textile Arts Council

Date and time

Saturday, June 15 · 10 - 11:15am PDT

Location

Online

Refund Policy

No Refunds

About this event

Annual Sinton Lecture: Barbara Shapiro — Weaver, Dyer, and Basket Maker

Eventbrite tickets are for the online presentation via Zoom.

The presentation will be broadcast live from the Koret Auditorium at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Tickets for the in-person presentation are sold at the auditorium doors, and cost $5.The presentation will be broadcast live from the Koret Auditorium at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Tickets for the in-person presentation are sold at the auditorium doors, and cost $5.

Eventbrite tickets are for those who cannot attend in person and would like to view the webinar.

A recording will be available for 14 days following the talk.

Drawing on her well-honed craft, Barbara Shapiro has created artwork that has moved us for decades. She relies upon a deep understanding of her materials, mastery of her techniques, and the spirit of exploration that leads from one series to another. Her artwork makes visual what inspires her in her quiet and personal textile voice. Convinced that “a rising tide lifts all ships,” Barbara is generous with her colleagues and many students, also in her time to devoted textile organizations, including TAC. Join us for a look at the evolution of her artwork and other textile undertakings through the years, and especially the burst of creativity that came with the isolation of Covid.

Barbara Shapiro has created textile art for decades. She combines rich knowledge of historic and ethnic textiles with broad technical experience in weaving, dyeing and basketry. Indigo has colored her materials through the decades. She had a small handwoven clothing business inspired by the SF Artwear movement in the '70s and '80s, then shifted focus to handwoven textile art, often woven silk scrolls with surface design. For much of the past 20 years, much of her art practice has been devoted to coiled and plaited basketry, often with indigo dyed elements. She teaches frequent workshops and has taught at San Francisco State University and Osher Lifelong Learning through SFSU. A past Board Member of the Textile Society of America, she served on the TAC board for years and is now a TAC Advisory Board member and a board member of the World Shibori Network Foundation. She was a docent at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art, a guest curator of Three Left Coast Artists: Linda Gass, Gyongy Laky and Linda McDonald at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles and has juried many exhibitions. She has written numerous articles for textile publications and her award-winning wall pieces and baskets have been widely published and exhibited throughout the USA and in many other countries. Barbara translated the early 20th century French book Card Weaving in Ancient Egypt and teaching materials for French indigo expert Michel Garcia. Barbara looks forward to sharing her story and artwork with you.

The annual Sinton Lecture is made possible with the generous support of The Carol Walter Sinton Fund for Fiber Arts Studies.

Barbara Shapiro with recent baskets, 2023, photo Senja Larsen.

Top Knot V, Barbara Shapiro, 2020, photo Mike Watson, 7.5 x 7.5 x 8”, Japanese flower knot plaited indigo dyed sedori cane.

Tikkun Olam: Repair the World, Barbara Shapiro, 2020, photo by the artist, 14 x 14 x 14”, Hexagonal woven Sedori cane, repurposed tea bag papers, Persimmon dye, indigo dye, sumi ink, raw kozo fiber, gold leaf.

Learn more about the Textile Arts Council.

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MISSION

We are a support group of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco with the goal of advancing the appreciation of the Museums’ textile and costume collections. We are a Bay Area forum that provides lecturers, workshops, events and travel opportunities for artists, designers, aficionados and collectors of ethnic textiles, rugs, tapestries, costume, and contemporary fiber art.