Michelle Weiner

Michelle was first exposed to textiles as a young girl when family members taught her the traditional “needle arts”. Those early experiences allowed her to refine technique, but more importantly, demonstrated to her the power of textiles in storytelling. Sharing in the act of creating with her female elders and appreciating their work and the context in which it was produced left a lasting impression. It also made her eager to establish her own place in a long line of resilient, resourceful women-artists.

Those early skills were expanded and formalized when she earned a BFA in textile design from Northern Illinois University in 1980 under professors Mahboob Shahzaman and Renie Breskin Adams. 

After working for two and a half decades in interior design and construction she returned to her original passion in 2004, but with "no room for the loom" in the life of a working mom, she resurrected embroidery. The medium satisfied her desire to create and adapted to the demands of the day.

Today she employs technology with the hoop to examine how she views the world...one stitch at a time.

The artist in 1961.