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Fiber
Art
:
Following the Thread |
Created
on
July 5, 2002 |
Francis
Sumner Merritt Papers |
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| Francis
Sumner Merritt (1903–2000), the founding director of Haystack Mountain
School of Craft in Deer Isle, Maine, encouraged international exchange and
experimentation in the field of fiber by bringing weavers and other textile
artists from around the world to Haystack. During Merritt's tenure from
1951 to 1977, landmark summer sessions included instruction from British
weaver Peter Collingwood, German sculptors Peter and Ritzi Jacobi, and British
batik specialist Noel Dyrenforth, as well as American luminaries such as
Anni Albers, Lili Blumenau, Lia Cook, Trude Guermonprez, Mariska Karasz,
Jack Lenor Larsen, and Kay Sekimachi. |
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| Letter
from Garnette T. Johnson to Merritt, August 18, 1969, about founding the
Handweavers Guild of America and producing the first issue of the Shuttle
Sprindle & Dye-Pot. |
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| Photograph
of Merritt by L. Kienes ca. 1974 |
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| Letter
from German fiber artists Peter and Ritzi Jacobi to Merritt about their
introduction to American culture at Haystack, October 13, 1972. |
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| Letter
from British batik specialist Noel Dyrenforth to Merritt, December 2, 1975.
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| Letter
from fiber artist Allen A. Fannin to Merritt, January 19, 1972, about broadening
Haystack's reach to African American students. |
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| In
the summer of 1974, Merritt invited African craft artists to Haystack to
teach. Pictured here are two Nigerian teachers, weaver Nike Olenike and
her husband, printmaker Twins Seven-Seven. Photographer unknown. |
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| Letter
from fiber artist Diane Itter to Merritt, July 13, 1975. |
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| A
thank- you note sent with goodies from Diane Itter to the staff at Haystack
Mountain School of Crafts, July 16, 1975. |
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| Letter
from writer and quiltmaker Beth Gutcheon to Merritt, offering him a gift
toward the purchase of a sewing machine for Haystack, January 6, 1976. |
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| Letter
from fiber artist Alma Wallace Lesch to Merritt, September 14, 1970. |
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| Letter
from fiber artist Walter Nottingham to Merritt, September 22, 1969, recalling
his time at Haystack. |
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