Tricia Goldberg

Tricia Goldberg’s Artist Statement

My tapestry designs often begin with inspiration about an idea, a place, an object, a person, or a theme. I consider the imagery and size and scale of a new tapestry but I look forward to surprises during the creative process of weaving. I may use one or several photographs, a postcard, a drawing, or a watercolor sketch possibly of a flower growing in my garden. I’m excited by the medium in the same way as I was when I began tapestry weaving. I love to express this joy in my work and with my teaching.

Stamps is a continuum of my love of travel and how stamps and postcards evoke romance and intrigue. I enjoyed playing with their scale—enlarging them seemed to reveal things not apparent in the original size. California Poppies began with a seed packet and thoughts of my first spring in California, seeing these small flowers with their delicate shape and bright, glowing colors beautiful against the often stark landscape. Scale came into play again, with a giant cup and tiny flowers. The design at the bottom of the tapestry is enlarged from a tiny note card of a reproduction of an ancient Turkish carpet. In Postcard for Angela, I wanted the partial text to invite interest and interpretation of a story. I also wanted to play with various kinds of writing and patterns. This tapestry is inspired by a beloved postcard from my dear friend Angela of an 18th-century Greek embroidery mailed from Spain 25 years ago. It found its way into a tapestry design as a tribute to her 5 years after her death at age 50. The weaving was about loss, but the process was joyous. During the making of the tapestry, I had the luxury to be “with” Angela and to appreciate her love and friendship.

Tricia Goldberg’s Biography

Since American Tapestry Alliance’s premiere exhibition, the Panorama of Tapestry in Toronto in 1986, Tricia’s tapestries have been in many exhibitions. Her work appears in public and private collections and in publications including The Fiberarts Design Book 3, 4, and 7; The Tapestry Handbooks, by Carol Russell, and Shaped Tapestries by Kathe Todd-Hooker. She’s thrilled to have exhibited Postcard for Angela in the most recent ATA exhibition, ATB9. This tapestry received an award of excellence in the exhibition Crossroads at the Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, California.

Tricia has taught tapestry weaving for over twenty-five years. She offers small classes and individual instruction in her studio in Berkeley, California. She also travels to teach at weaving guilds, textile conferences, art centers, and museums. Tricia lectures about her designing and weaving process. She weaves commission tapestries as well as her exhibition work. Tricia is an active and founding member of Tapestry Weavers West, begun in 1985, and is also a member of the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles and the Richmond Art Center.