Joan Griffin

Joan Griffin’s Artist Statement

The landscape is the primary influence on my tapestries. I focus on a detail of a landscape and translate my own imagery. It may be near the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia where I live or other places I travel. The relationship between color and form is the most important consideration, with combinations of fine wool, silk, and metallic yarns. As each tapestry develops,  the shapes and memories from the landscape evolve.

“Breeze” reflects leaves falling, and floating to the ground. “Shadows in the Forest” depicts the colors and motions in the forest, the lights, the darks, and the shapes. “Following the River” is another interpretation of fall where the leaves are floating along the water traveling wherever the flow will take them.

Joan Griffin’s Biography

I began my art career as a watercolor painter and art teacher but have concentrated on tapestry for the last 35 years. My preliminary designs for a tapestry are often done in watercolors or collage.  I work on mixed media pieces as small as 4 inches sq. to large 8 ft wide tapestries. The scale is always a challenge and I like the change. My work has been shown both nationally and internationally as well as completing commissions.   I have participated in several exhibits sponsored by the U.S. State Department, Art in Embassy program. Periodically,  I teach small group tapestry workshops in my Charlottesville, VA studio.