Barbara Lee Smith
Resume
Education
Northern Illinois University, MFA Mixed Media 1979
Douglass College, Rutgers University, BS 1959
Further study:
Governor’s State University 1976
College of DuPage 1974-76
Smithsonian Institution 1973
Solo Exhibitions
2009 Snyderman/Works Gallery, Philadelphia (March)
2008 Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe (March)
2006 Bellevue Arts Museum
Tacoma Community College
Knitting and Stitching Shows (Birmingham, London, Dublin, Harrogate UK)
2005 University of Nebraska, Lincoln
2002 Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe
Orie Gallery, Tokyo 1996, 2000
The Source Fine Art, Kansas City 1997
Ginza-Eye Gallery, Tokyo 1994
Peden Gallery II, Raleigh, NC 1994
Ariel Gallery, Naperville, IL 1985
Kretzman Gallery, Concordia University, River Forest, IL 1983
Art in Fiber Gallery, Washington, DC 1982
Crescent City Guild Gallery, New Orleans 1979
Ann Arbor Art Center, Ann Arbor, MI 1979
Hays Art Center, Hays KS 1978
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 1978
Public Museum, Kenosha, WI 1977
All of the Above Gallery, Chicago 1976
Chicago Public Library 1975
College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL 1975
Two Person Exhibitions
The Source Fine Arts, Kansas City 2000
SouthWest Craft Center, San Antonio 1997
The Farrell Collection, Washington DC 1993
Interwoven Designs Gallery, St. Louis 1989
Textile Arts Center, Chicago 1987
Craft Alliance Gallery, St. Louis 1978
Three Person Exhibitions
Insights, Barbican Centre, London and Shipley Art Gallery,
Gateshead, England 1999
Fiber Invitational, Baylor University, Waco, TX 1996
Three Fiber Artists, Lee Gallery, Washington DC 1986
New Artists, New Approaches, Gayle Willson Gallery, Southampton, NY 1985
Invitational Group Exhibitions
Fiber Biennale, Snyderman Gallery, Philadelphia 2006, 2008
Material Difference: Soft Sculpture and Wall Works, Chicago Cultural Center 2006
Baskets: Beyond Structure, Jane Sauer Thirteen Moons Gallery
Santa Fe
50th Anniversary Exhibition, Northwest Designer Craftsmen,
Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA; Contemporary Craft
Museum, Portland; Bellevue Arts Museum (traveling 2004-6) (catalog)
Recent Acquisitions, Indianapolis Museum of Art 2000
9th Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland 1998 (catalog)
Embroidery Now, Denver Art Museum 1977
Art Embroidery: A wide focus on new territories, (traveling 2004-05, England and France)
(catalog)
20th Anniversary Exhibition, Virginia Breier Gallery, San Francisco 2004
Crossing Borders, Highland Park, IL Arts Center 2004
Prism, Mall Galleries, Trafalgar Square, London 2004
Natural Elements: Sculptural Expressions, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University,
Bethlehem, PA 2003 (catalog)
Survey Fiber, Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia 2002 (CD catalog)
Pertaining to Line, Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia 2000 (catalog)
Embroidery 2000, Gallery Materia, Scottsdale, AZ 2000
Faculty Exhibition, Joshibi College of Art and Design, Tokyo 2000 (catalog)
Surface-Strength-Structure, Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia PA 1999 (catalog)
SOFA NY and SOFA Chicago, 1996-2007 (catalogs)
New Traditions, Worcester MA Center for Crafts 1999
50th Anniversary Traveling Collection, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Anderson
Museum of Art, Ocean Springs, MS 1998
Lin Majuscule, 1st Linen and Flax Biennial of Upper-Normandy, France 1996 (catalog)
Lin (traveling) Hotel des Archeveques de Sens, Paris, Museum of Textile, Ecomuseum of
the Region Fourmies-Trelon, Fourmies, France 1996
Artists in Residence, Oregon College of Art and Craft, Hoffman Gallery, Portland 1996
A Textured Language: Honoring 20 Years of Fiberarts Magazine, Blue Spiral I Gallery,
Asheville, NC 1996 (catalog)
The Essential Textile: A National Exhibition of Unconventional Fiber Art, The Guilford, CT,
Handcraft Center, 1995
Shaw Cramer Gallery, Vineyard Haven, MA 1995
Homage: Inspirational Leaders in Regional Fiber Arts, 1920s-1980s Art St. Louis, MO 1995
Artists and Architects: Influence and Collaboration, Chicago AIA, Prairie Avenue Gallery,
Chicago 1995
DMC-HIA Euro Fair, Maastrict, the Netherlands 1995
Au Fils Du Temps, (traveling) Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Yokohama 1994 (catalog)
Small Works, Gallery at Studio B., Lancaster, OH 1994
Celebrating the Stitch (traveling) USA, Canada, UK, Japan 1992-95 (book and catalog)
Uncommon Threads, Atlanta 1994
Needle Expressions (traveling) 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992 (juried) (catalogs)
Inspirations: Artists working in fiber find inspiration in architectural forms, O’Connor
Gallery, Rosary College, River Forest, IL 1992
Expanding the Medium: Works by the Art Quilt Network/New York, Rockville, MD Arts
Place 1992
Thread Dimension, North Arts Center, Atlanta 1990
Tapestry Today, Holthaus Gallery, Pt. Washington, NY 1989
Redefining the American Quilt, Pennsylvania State University 1987
Celebration in Embroidery, Carnegie Centre, Dunedin, New Zealand 1986
Fiber II, The Mindscape Collection, Chicago 1985
Made in Chicago, Festival of the Arts 1985
Fiber I: Concepts and Constructions, The Mindscape Collection, Chicago, 1984
6th Annual National Textile Invitational, Weber State College, Ogden, UT 1982
Fibers for Architectural Spaces, Houston 1981
Well Bred Threads, Columbia College, SC 1981
The Enchanted Object, Birmingham Bloomfield Art Asso. MI 1979
Textiles, Art Gallery, Southampton, England and Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead, England
1977
Illinois Craftsmen 1975, Illinois State Museum, Springfield 1975
Represented By
Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia PA
Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe NM
Cervini-Haas Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Arts Related Employment
International
Visiting Professor, Department of Design and Embroidery, Joshibi
College of Art and Design, Tokyo 2000-2005
Stik Plus, the Netherlands (taught workshops and lectured) 2004,
2002, 2000, 1999
Netherlands Textile Museum, Tillburg, (lecture and workshop) 2000
Visiting Lecturer, Windsor College, England 1991, 1995, 2000,
2004
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Design and Embroidery, Joshibi College of Art and
Design, Tokyo 1999
Swiss-Bernina of Japan, Tutor, 1994, 1999-2005
Designer/Consultant for Aid to Artisans, Central Yucatan, Mexico 1991
Canadian Embroiderers Guild, London, Ontario (taught, lectured and judged exhibition)
Embroiderers Guild UK, First International Tutor in England and Scotland (taught and
lectured) 1991
Association of New Zealand Embroiderers (taught and lectured) 1990
Australian Embroiderers Guilds (taught and lectured) 1990
Association of New Zealand Embroiderers, (taught and lectured) 1987
Brescia College, University of Western Ontario (workshop) 1979, 1983
Ontario Crafts Council, Chatham College (taught, lectured and judged exhibition) 1975
National (Selected)
Self-Employed Studio Artist since 1979
Lectures: SOFA-Chicago 2004, 2005
Visiting Artist, U Mass/Dartmouth 1997
Visiting Artist, Southwest Craft Center, San Antonio 1997, 1995
Visiting Artist, Colorado State University 1995
Workshop Instructor/Lecturer (Selected)
Split Rock, University of Minnesota 1999
Oregon College of Art and Craft, Portland 1995, 1991
Arrowmont School of Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN 1991, 1983, 1977
Council of American Embroiderers Study Retreats 1988, 1985
Council of American Embroiderers Annual Seminars (instructor)
1986, 1983, 1980, 1979, 1977, 1976, 1974
Artist in Residence, College of DuPage, IL 1977
Part-time faculty, College of DuPage, IL 1974-78
Juror: Tacoma Community College Summer Show 2005, 2003
Juror: Fiberart International, Pittsburgh, PA 2004
Juror: Beadworks, The Dairy Barn, Athens, OH 1998
Juror: Fiber Focus, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 1995
Juror: Betty Park Critical Writing Award, Surface Design Journal 1994
Juror: Texas Fiber Artists State Exhibition, San Antonio 1994
Juror: Needle Expressions 1984
Curatorial
Celebrating the Stitch: Midwest Artists, Textile Arts Center, Chicago
1991
Celebrating the Stitch, Exhibition of 140 works of contemporary embroidery (traveling)
Newton, MA Arts Center, Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Traveled to 11 venues in
USA, Canada, UK and Japan
The US and Us. Exhibit sponsored by the Association of New Zealand Embroiderers,
toured New Zealand 1996-97
Currently working on an exhibition of artist-made books by Pan-Arab artists that will travel
in the UK in 2006 with the cooperation of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt
Awards Honors Residencies
University Fellow, Northern Illinois University 1977-78
Honorary Member, The Embroiderers’ Guild, London, UK
Honorary Member, DuPage Textile Art Guild
Resident: The Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL 2000, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1994
Named Distinguished Resident, The Ragdale Foundation 2002-present
Resident: Brisons Veor, St. Just, Cornwall, England 2004
Senior Resident: Oregon College of Art and Craft, Portland 1996
Commencement Speaker, Oregon College of Art and Craft 2002
Museum and University Collections
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Indianapolis, IN Museum of Art
American Embassy, Lima, Peru (Art in Embassies)
American Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka (Art in Embassies)
Racine, WI Art Museum
Arrowmont School of Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Embroiderers’ Guild Museum, London, England
Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Moraine Valley Community College, IL
Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Business
Tacoma Community College, WA
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Public Collections
Abbott Laboratories, N. Chicago, IL
Allstate Insurance Company, Northbrook, IL
American Express, Chicago
American Investors Life Insurance
American Medical Association, Chicago
American National Bank
Aquilacorp, Kansas City
Baker, Knapp and Tubbs, Chicago
Beatrice Foods Inc.
Borg-Warner Corporation
Citicorp, New York City and Brussels, Belgium
Chicago Board of Education
Controller of the Currency, Chicago
Dow Chemical Co.
Duff and Phelps, Chicago
Enterprise Savings and Loan
Evanston Hospital, IL
Gildorn Savings and Loan, Chicago
Itabashi Housing Loan Bank, Tokyo
Lakeside Bank, Chicago
Lincoln Marriott, Dallas, TX
Madeira UK Ltd., Thirsk, England
Marshall Fields, Chicago
MacNeal Memorial Hospital, Berwyn, IL
Mercy Hospital, Chicago
Mitsubishi Financial Services, Tokyo
Naperville, IL National Bank
National Boulevard Bank, Chicago
Northern Trust Bank, Chicago
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
Packaging Corporation of America
Pittsburgh, PA National Bank
Resurrection Health Care, Chicago
Ramada Hotels
Rockwell Industries
Salvation Army Headquarters, Dallas, TX
Schuyler, Roche and Zwerner, Chicago
Swiss-Bernina Headquarters, Switzerland
Universal Access, Chicago
Washington National Insurance Company, Evanston, IL
West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park, IL
Volunteer Art-related
Initiated the Hand to Hand project that encouraged donations of
books on craft to be donated to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt Positions: 2002-
present
Editorial Committee, Surface Design Journal 2002-present
Tacoma Community College, % for Art Awards Committee 2004
Tacoma Community College, Gallery Board 2004-present
DuPage Textile Art Guild, Founding President
Design Review Commission, Village of Oak Park, IL 1982-86
Community Design Commission, Oak Park, IL 1982-86
Textile Arts Center, Chicago, Board of Directors 1986-87
Textile Arts Center, Advisory Board 1984-85
Friends of Fiber Arts International, Professional Board
Editorial Advisory Board and Contributing Editor, The Working Craftsman 1974-78
American Crafts Council, Illinois Representative 1974-80
Publications and Books
Barbara Lee Smith, Monograph 2006 with essays by Patricia Malarcher and Lynda Lowe
The Fiberarts Design Books #s 1, 2, 4 and 5, 1980, 1983, 1991,
2004
A Common Thread: US Embassy, Colombo (catalog) 2005
100th Anniversary Exhibition catalog: Joshibi College of Art and Design, Tokyo 2003
Morrell, Contemporary Embroidery: Exciting and Innovating Textile Art, London, Studio
Vista 1994
Wood, Everyday Encounters, Belmont, CA (work illustrated) 1995
Smith, Celebrating the Stitch: Contemporary Embroidery of North America, Taunton Press
1991
Fanning, The Complete Book of Machine Embroidery, Chilton 1986
Lambert, Staepelaere and Fry, Color and Fiber, Schiffer Publishers 1986
Feisner, Needlepoint and Beyond, Scribners 1980
Appel, The Fiber Craft Sampler, Chilton 1979
Belfer, Weaving: Design and Expression, Davis 1978
Michaels-Paque, A Creative and Conceptual Analysis of Textiles
1976
Magazines
Barbara Lee Smith: Water-Washed Light, Fiberarts, Summer 2006
Jane Friedman, Making Connections, American Style, Oct. 2004
Janneken Smucker, Review. Philadelphia’s Month of Fiber, Fiberarts 9/10 2004
Ruta Saliklis, Review. Natural Elements: Sculptural Expressions, Fiberarts 2003
Barbara Lee Smith: Visual Artist, World Traveler, Ragdale Foundation Newsletter 2002
Review: Embroidery 2000: A Wealth of Creative Expression, Fiberarts 2001
Profile, Shenshoku-Alpha, Japan 2001
Judy Weisman, Fiber in Philadelphia, James Renwick Alliance Quarterly 1999
Review, Lodz Triennial, Textiel Forum (Europe) 1999
Gallery of Embroiderers: Barbara Lee Smith, Layers of Meaning, Embroidery, UK 1999
Camille Cook, Lodz Triennial, Fiberarts, Summer, 1998
Aaron Fine, Beadworks: A New Exhibition, Interweave Beadwork, Fall, 1997
Tilleke Schwarz, De Droomboten van Barbara Lee Smith (The Dreamboats), Texteil Plus,
the Netherlands October 1995
Interview, Needle Art Magazine, Tokyo 1995
Cover Art, The Flying Needle, February 1993
Working on a Wide Canvas: The Art of Barbara Lee Smith, Madeira News, UK Fall, 1992
Needle Expressions ’90: The Traveling Show, The Flying Needle Feb. 1991
Barbara Lee Smith, Threads (New Zealand) April, 1991
Patricia Malarcher, Embroidery: State of the Art, Fiberarts, Nov/Dec 1991
Judith Schonbak, Review. Exhibiting the Thread Dimension, Fiberarts 1991
Cover art. Threads (New Zealand) 1986
Textile Trends: Collecting in Chicago, Fiberarts 11/12/1985
Jane Lucas, Barbara Smith: Views from Within, Fiberarts Sept/Oct 1983
Loraine Meyer, Barbara Lee Smith, Fiber Artist, Needle Arts, Fall,1983
Robbie Fanning, B.L.S. Open Chain, July 1983
Objects of Play, Review. School Art 1/19/1979
Newspapers
Betty Freudenheim, Review. Uniting Tapestry and Technology, The New York Times,
Sunday 10/15/1989
Jacqueline Hall, Review. Fabric the medium for brilliant creativity, Columbus, OH Dispatch
6/12/94
Blue Greenberg, Review. Stitched with a godly touch. Durham, NC The Herald Sun, 1/30/
1994
Mary Breslin, Weave World (profile), Forest Park Review, 11/9/1994
What a Stitch, Kirkland, WA Eastside Week 6/23/93
Renee Enna, Exhibit celebrates fabric of art, Pioneer Press, IL 9/9/1992
Mary Houlihan-Skilton, Stitching in a New Light (profile), Chicago Sun-Times, Sunday 7/
26/1992
Roberta Morgan, ‘Expanding the Medium’: quality quilts at R.A.P. (review), The Rockville
MD Gazette, 8/5/1992
Susan Phinney, The New Art of Crafts, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/11/1992
The Bridge is Embroidery, Kerrville, TX Mountain Sun 9/23/92
Profile. Auckland, New Zealand Herald 1990
Melisse Laing, Workshop participants have designs on words, Longview, WA Daily News
9/23/1988
Eve Dumavich, Colorful Threads trap feelings in fabric (profile), Tacoma WA News
Tribune 5/31/1986
Marie Irvine (review) Weber State National Invitational, Craft Range, 5/6/1982
Fiber as Structure, Review. Artweek 12/11/1982
Marion Beam, Stitcher’s Studios, Flying Needle, May 1978
Carla Kelson, Something Different, Chicago Magazine, Nov 1976
Author
Celebrating the Stitch: Contemporary Embroidery of North America. Newton CT, The
Taunton Press 1991
Forward, Threads of Experience: Fabric and Thread Imagery by Deidre Scherer, Papier
Mache Press 2003
Catalog Essay, Renie Breskin Adams 2002
Needle and Thread: Old Tools, New Magic, Surface Design Journal, Summer 2007
Audrey Walker:The Textured Figure. Surface Design Journal, Summer,2006
The Presence of Absence, Surface Design Journal, Winter 2005
Review: Selvedge Magazine, Surface Design Journal, Spring 2005
Review: Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit, Fiberarts, Summer 2004
Review: Jac Scott, Textile Perspectives in Mixed-Media Sculpture, Fiberarts, 11/12 2004
Beadwork of Laura Willitts, Surface Design Journal , Summer 2003
Found in Translation: Three Artists from Japan, Fiberarts 11/12 2001
A Spiritual Collection: Fiberarts, 9/10 2001
Judith Scott: Finding a Voice, Fiberarts, Summer, 2001
Profile: Lynda Lowe, Surface Design Journal, Winter, 2001
Textured Time, Surface Design Journal Spring, 1999
In Praise of Amateurs, Fiberarts Commentary 3/4 1999
A Brief History of Mine, Fiberarts 9/10 1999
Deceived by Ornament, Surface Design Journal Winter, 1998
Reviews: Art Textiles of the World: Great Britain and Japan, Laury, Imagery on Fabric,
Fiberarts, Summer, 1998
Collaborating with Nature: From Photo to Fiber, Surface Design Journal Spring, 1997
Visual Journals: Ways of Seeing, Fiberarts 11/12 1997
Reviews: Wells, Creative Bead Weaving and Contemporary Beads and Beadwork,
Loveland Co Museum catalog, Surface Design Journal, Summer 1997
Mending Lives: Art and Healing, Fiberarts 1996, reprinted in Social Issues Resources
Series, Renaissance Electronic Database CD
The Weight of Shadows: Noriko Narahira’s Reinvented Lace, Surface Design Journal
1996
Essential Stitches: Marks of Memory, Magic and Meaning, Surface Design Journal Fall,
1995
Art and Illness, Fiberarts 1995, reprinted in Social Issues Resources series
Three Years on the Road and Some Thoughts on Embroidery, Flying Needle, May 1995
Review: The New Beadwork, by Moss and Scherer, Fiberarts 3/4 1994
Connecting Threads, Craft Arts International, Australia Volume #27, 1993
Review: Flowers for Embroidery, Box, Threads USA 1993
The New Embroidery: Tradition and Innovation, Surface Design Journal Summer, 1992
A Song Without Words, Embroidery UK 1990
Paints, Brushes and Stitches: Artists at the Sewing Machine, Threads USA Dec. 1991
On Creativity, Threads NZ 1988
Four Embroiderers: Small and Large Scale, Fiberarts 9/10 1989
Creativity: It’s the Work that Counts (also cover photo) Flying Needle, Nov. 1987
Creativity, Threads NZ 1987
On Design and Creativity, Handwoven 11/12 1984
Guest Column on Design, Open Chain, July 1984
Restorations: A Personal Approach to Design, Flying Needle, August 1980
Book Columnist, The Working Craftsman 1976-78
On Mixing Media, Flying Needle, Winter, 1976