Julia Mitchell

Julia Mitchell’s Artist Statement

I believe very strongly in making art which is accessible to people. I want in some way to help to elevate our sense of inquiry, hope, and mystery.

My subjects – wind, water, rock, grasses – are particularly well suited to the medium of tapestry. I choose images that are weaverly, and try to work with the materials, to do what they tell me to do. I consider myself a sort of conduit through which the images flow from who knows where, to reveal the spirit – the insides – of my subjects.

Why tapestry? I don’t know. It chose me at an early age, and I never found a better means of expression.

Julia Mitchell’s Biography

Julia grew up in a family of artists, adopting tapestry as a means of expression at 15, as an adjunct to her art history and design studies. She majored in textiles at California College of Arts and Crafts (1969 – 1972); helped to found the Artworkers’ Guild, an artists’ cooperative on her home island of Martha’s Vineyard (1972 – 1976); and has since run a series of one-person tapestry studios on the East and West Coasts.

Julia is a mother, wife, cook, gardener, designer, tapestry weaver, Italian student, traveler, reader, walker, and teacher.  She lives with her husband in their 300-year-old family farmhouse.