Anne McKenzie Nickolson
Visual Arts: Textiles, Visual Arts
My interest in working with fabric goes back to my early childhood when I learned to sew, embroider, knit and crochet. These interests turned toward art making as I earned my BFA in Textile Design from Northern Illinois University, and my MFA in Textile Design from Indiana University.
I have been a practicing, exhibiting fiber artist since 1977. My early work was pieced, appliquéd, embroidered often with hand dyeing and airbrushing. A natural evolution of ideas led to layered, pieced and appliquéd compositions which became quilts in 1997, and I created a rich body of work of these layered pieces. In 2015, I returned to some earlier threads of investigation and began doing embroidery on pieced grosgrain ribbon. This work allows me to incorporate rich, bold, coloration in the ground, with the delicate intensity that I want to bring to resilient images from past travels and experiences.
My works have been exhibited in 32 states, 12 countries and 5 continents, including 5 Quilt Nationals and a SITES (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Series) Show. I have received several grants in support of my work from the Indiana Arts Commission and a Creative Renewal Grant from the Arts Council of Indianapolis. Throughout my career, I have done commissions and have work in many public collections including Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City, A T & T in Kansas City, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and the Indiana State Museum. Publications include articles and feature photographs in “American Craft”, “Fiberarts”, “Art in America”, “Surface Design Journal”, and numerous books.
