Education
- 1982 Master of Fine Arts, Cranbrook Academy of Art
- 1976 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Kansas City Art Institute
Prizes and Awards
- 2019 Individual Advancement Grant, Indiana Arts Commission
- 2016 Niche Award, first prize, DecorativeFiber
- 2004 James R Thompson Award for Excellence in Craft, Illinois Artisans Program
- 2000 Illinois Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship
- Second prize, Measure for Measure exhibition, Surface Design Association
Conference
- Second prize, Measure for Measure exhibition, Surface Design Association
- 1999 James R. Thompson Award for Excellence in Craft, Illinois Artisans Program
- 1997 Illinois Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, finalist award
- Award of Excellence in Weaving, Fiber Focus ’97, Art St. Louis
- 1996 Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies on the Fine Arts, Grant
- 1991 Illinois Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship
- 1986 National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship
- 1985 Leone di Pietra, Venice Biennale of Architecture
Collections/Commissions (selected):
- The Art Institute of Chicago
- Reading Public Museum
- Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum
- The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
- Archives of the Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
- The Denver Art Museum
- Cranbrook Academy of Art/Museum
- Racine Art Museum
- DeLoitte & Touche, Chicago
- Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, Anaheim
- Mallinckrodt Corporation, St. Louis
- American Association of Retired Persons, Washington DC
- The Federal Reserve Bank, Chicago
- Credit Lyonnaise, Chicago
- The Chicago Board of Trade
- American National Bank, Chicago
- Union Bank of Switzerland, Houston
- Prudential Corporation, New York
- AT&T Corporation, Lisle, Illinois
- Quaker Oats, Chicago and Danville, Illinois
- Moody Bank, Galveston, Texas
- Ernst & Young, St. Louis
- Hyatt Corporate Offices, Chicago
- University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago
- La Rabida Children’s Hospital, Chicago
- Balcor Corporation, Chicago
- Masonite Corporation, Chicago
- U.S. Gypsum, Chicago
- Home National Bank, Arkansas City, Kansas
- Loeb & Loeb, attorneys, New York
- Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, attorneys, Columbus
- Le Boeuf, Lamb, Lieby & McRae, attorneys, New York
- Acco Corporation, Chicago
- The collection of Marc & Diane Grainer
- The collection of Karen Johnson Boyd
- The Robert L. Pfannebecker Collection
- The collection of Gerhardt Knodel
- The collection of Lewis Manilow
- The collection of Maxine & Stuart Frankel
- The Collection of Kay & Matthew Buxbaum
Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
- 2017 St Meinrad Archabbey. St Meinrad, IN
- 2016 Henderson Art Center, Henderson, Kentucky
- 2015 University of Evansville, Melvin Peterson Gallery, Indiana
- 2014 Hoosier Salon, New Harmony Indiana
- St. Meinrad Archabbey, St. Meinrad, Indiana
- 2011 McCutcheon Art Center/Pace Galleries, University of Southern Indiana
- Hibberd McGrath Gallery, Breckinridge CO
- Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- 2007 Hibberd McGrath Gallery, Breckinridge CO
- New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art, IN
- Lauritzen Botanic Garden, Omaha
- 2005 Quincy Art Center, Quincy IL
- 2004 Patina Gallery, Santa Fe NM
- Signature Gallery, Atlanta
- 2003 New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art, New Harmony, IN
- Mirabeau Gallery, Houston, TX
- 2001 Minneapolis Institute of Arts, “Conflict or Compromise? The Art of Collaboration” and “Three Weavers”
- 2000 Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- Peterson-Hall Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
- 1999 Russell Hill Rogers Gallery, Southwest School of Art & Craft, San Antonio TX
- Kansas City Art Institute Alumni Gallery, Kansas City, MO
- Sybaris Gallery, Royal Oak, MI
- 1998 Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL
- 1997 Leedy/Voulkos Gallery, Kansas City, MO
- Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
- 1996 LongHouse Foundation, East Hampton, New York
- Graham Foundation, Chicago
- 1995 The Sybaris Gallery, Royal Oak, MI
- Noyes Cultural Arts Center, Evanston, IL
- Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee
- 1993 University of Virginia School of Architecture, Charlottesville, VA
- 1991 Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe IL
- 1990 North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks
- Kemper Gallery, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
- Lydon Fine Art, Chicago
- 1989 Centre des Arts Visuels, Montreal
- 1988 vanStraaten Gallery, Chicago
- 1987 vanStraaten Gallery, Chicago
- University of Houston, Architecture Gallery
- 1986 Hadler/Rodriguez Gallery, New York
- 1985 Hadler/Rodriguez Gallery, Houston
- 1984 Ruth Volid Gallery, Chicago
- 1983 Ruth Volid Gallery, Chicago
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2018 Blue/Green: Color, Context, Code, Brown/Grotta Gallery
- 2017 Still Crazy After All These Years, Brown/Grotta Gallery.
- Fibervisions, Melvin Peterson Gallery, University of Evansville
- 2012-2015 Innovators & Legends Muskegon Museum of Art, traveling exhibition
- 2015 Extreme Fibers: Textile Icons and the New Edge Muskegon Museum of Art
- 2014 SOFA Chicago, Gingrass Gallery
- Beauty Matters, Eastern KY U
- 43rd Mid-States Craft Exhibition, Evansville Museum of Art & Science
- Art from the Heartland, Indianapolis Art Center, Indiana
- 2008 Hibberd McGrath Gallery, Images of Winter
- 2007-08 SOFA Chicago, Patina Gallery
- 2007 Hothouse, Cranbrook Museum & Reading Public Museum, 2007
- 2006 Material Difference, Chicago Cultural Center (Curator: Polly Ulrich, art critic)
- 2004-06 SOFA Chicago, Gingrass Gallery
- 2003 Potting, Planting & Pruning: Artists & The Cultivated Landscape, Racine Art Museum
- 2000-2003 eTextiles, organized by Centre for Contemporary Textiles of Montreal, traveling exhibition venues in Canada, USA, and Australia
- SOFA Chicago, Katie Gingrass Gallery
- 2002 The Art of the Hand, Wood Street Gallery, Chicago
- Threads of Memory, Center for the Visual Arts, Metropolitan State College of Denver
- SOFA Chicago, Katie Gingrass Gallery
- 2001 Field Phenomena, Contemporary Arts Council at TBA Gallery, Chicago
- Sunflowers, The Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe Illinois
- In Production, Cranbrook Academy of Art/Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI
- SOFA, New York & Chicago, Katie Gingrass Gallery
- New Forms in Fiber, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA
- 2000 Measure For Measure, H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City
- 1999 Fiberart International ’99, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
- SOFA, New York & Chicago, Gingrass Gallery
- 1998 SOFA, New York & Chicago, Gingrass Gallery
- 1997 “Fiber Focus ’97”, Art St. Louis, St Louis, MO. Award of Excellence in Weaving.
- “Threads: Fiber Art in the 90’s”, New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, Summit NJ
- 10th Anniversary Show, Brown/Grotta Gallery, Wilton, CT
- SOFA, Chicago & Miami, Gingrass Gallery & Brown/Grotta Gallery
- 1996 “Bridging Worlds”, Artists’ Jacquard Project, Paley Design Center, Philadelphia and Textile Arts Centre, Chicago
- “Synergy”, Littman Gallery, Portland State University, Portland, OR
- SOFA, Chicago and Miami, Katie Gingrass Gallery
- 1995 “Divergent Paths, Woven Connections” Goldstein Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
- “Sampler Art”, travelling exhibition, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA; American Museum of Quilts & Textiles, San Jose
- “The Possibilities of Weaving”, Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage
- “A Textured Language: Honoring 20 Years of Fiberarts Magazine”, Blue Spiral Gallery, Asheville, NC
- “Friends of Fiber”, Banaker Gallery, San Francisco
- SOFA Chicago & Miami, Katie Gingrass Gallery
- 1994 Group Fiber Show, Joanne Rapp Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
- SOFA, Chicago; Katie Gingrass Gallery
- 1993 “Cranbrook Convergence”, three alumni, Cranbrook Academy of Art/Museum
- New Art Forms, Navy Pier, Chicago; Katy Gingrass Gallery
- 1992 “Kindred Visions: Weaver/Storytellers”, Ellipse Art Center, Arlington, Virginia
- “Textile Traditions/Textile Currents”, Federal Reserve Bank, Chicago.
- New Art Forms, Navy Pier, Chicago; Katy Gingrass Gallery
- 1990 Tenth Anniversary Exhibition, Textile Arts International, Minneapolis
- 1989 “The Non-Essential Thread: Brocade”, Minneapolis Institute of Arts
- “Inspired by Architecture”, Textile Arts Centre, Chicago
- “Brocade: New Beginnings at Cranbrook”, Textile Arts International, Minneapolis
- “Contemporary Fiber Art”, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, New York
- 1988 “Figure and Place”, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago
- “Contemporary Textiles”, The Hand & The Spirit Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
- “Contemporary Textiles”, Linda Hodges Gallery, Seattle
- “Pictorial and Narrative Fibers”, exhibition originating at Dallas City Hall and traveling throughout the Southwest (catalogue).
- “The Art of Craft”, Textile Arts Center and Chicago, Merchandise Mart, Chicago
- “Contemporary Woven Work: America and Abroad”, Kent State University, Ohio
- 1987 “Contemporary Fibers Exhibition”, Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Portland, Oregon
- “Textile as Language: The Woven Image”, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia
- “Art & Architecture”, Accurate Gallery, Sacramento, California
- 1986 “Fiber R/Evolution”, travelling show originating at the University of
- Wisconsin/Milwaukee (catalogue).
- “Woven Structures”, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas
- 1985 Venice Biennale of Architecture, Venice Italy. Awarded the Leone di Pietra prize
- “Artists Choose Artists”, Modern Masters Tapestries, New York
- “A Centennial Celebration: Highlights from Kansas City Art Institute Alumni”, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
- 1984 “Update: Cranbrook”, Herman Miller Showroom, New York
- “The Garden: New Form, New Function”, Arrowmont School of Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
- “Impulse: New Images in Fabric”, Detroit Artists Market, Detroit
- “Cranbrook Connection: New Images in Fabric”, The Elements Gallery, New York
- 1983 “Small Scale Fiber”, The Hand & The Spirit Gallery, Scottsdale
- “Update: Cranbrook”, Robert L. Kidd Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan
- 1982 “Marietta College Crafts National”, Marietta, Ohio
- “The Dyer’s Art”, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles
- 1978 “Thirty Miles of Art”, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
- “Ceramics & Fiber”, Avila College Art Center, Kansas City
- 1977 “Inaugural Art Exhibition: Critics’ Choice”, Gateway Convention Center, St. Louis
- “Thirty Miles of Art”, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
Teaching
- 2003-05: Adjunct professor, Applications for Textiles, Harrington College of Design, Chicago
- 1999 Weaving workshop, Southwest School of Art & Craft, San Antonio TX
- 1996 Color Workshop, Cloth-ing Forum of Interweave Press, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
- 1995 Weaving workshop, Split Rock Arts Program, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
- 1990-94: adjunct faculty, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Fiber Department
- 1990 Lecture & Workshop, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
- 1987 Visiting Faculty, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine
- Visiting faculty, summer weaving workshop, University of Washington, Seattle
- 1980 Artist-in-Residence, St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School, Cape Girardeau, Missouri (grant funded by the Missouri Arts Council)
- 1978-80 Creative Arts Teacher, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
Professional Activity
- At Present: Full time studio artist producing hand woven fine art tapestries. Owner & designer, LFN Textiles, textile design company, since 2000; household textiles for a variety of companies.
- 2016: Artist-in-Residence, Bloedel Reserve, Bainbridge Island, WA
- 2006-present: Licensed Product & Textile designs for: Crate & Barrel, Land of Nod, Monticello visitors’ center, (home of Thomas Jefferson), Renaissance Ribbons, Jack Lenor Larsen Textiles, Troy Corporation/Riverwoods Fabrics, and others
- 2013 juror, Handweavers Guild of America Small Expressions, Fine Line Arts Center
- Lecture, North Shore Weavers’ Guild, greater Chicago area
- 2013-14 contributing author, PantoneView.com, articles on color (ongoing)
- 2013-14 Author, series of articles on color in textiles for Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot, the magazine of the Handweavers’ Guild of America
- 2008-14 Founding chair, Arts in Harmony, annual art fair, New Harmony IN
- 2007 Allied LFN Textiles Artist’s Ribbons with Renaissance Ribbons for exclusive distribution
- 2006-present Designs licensed to Crate & Barrel Inc for domestic textiles
- 2011-present Designs licensed to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson
- 2009- present Designs licenced to Land of Nod, Children’s Furnishings
- 2006-08:Industry Advisory Board, Savannah College of Art & Design
- 2004: Seminar Leader, Convergence, Handweaver’s Guild of America national conference
- Visiting Artist, Kansas City Art Institute
- 2000-2014: Scholarship review committee, Handweaver’s Guild of America
- 2002 LFN Textiles switches empha-sis to jacquard ribbon trims.
- 2002 Visiting Artist, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
- 2000, 2001: Benefit Committee, Renaissance Society, Chicago
- 2000, 2001, 2002: Benefit Host Committee, American Craft Council Chicago Show
- 2000 Founded LFN Textiles, jacquard upholstery fabrics
- 1999 “Mythology” fabric designed for Larsen/Cowtan & Tout
- 1996-1999 Board of Directors, Textile Arts Centre, Chicago
- 1998 Panelist, Textile Society of American Biannual conference, New York
- 1997 Lecture, San Diego Weavers’ Guild, San Diego, CA
- Lecture, Wisconsin Weavers’ Guild, Milwaukee
- Lecture, St. Andrew’s Society, Hinsdale, IL
- Lecture, DuPage County Weavers’ Guild, Hinsdale, IL
- 1996 Juror, St. Louis Art Fair, St. Louis, MO
- Visiting Artist, Savannah College of Art & Design
- 1995 Chair, Program Committee, Textile Arts Centre
- Juror, Members’ Exhibition, Textile Arts Centre
- Visiting Artists Jacquard Project, Philadelphia College of Textiles & Design
- Lecture, Cranbrook Academy of Art
- 1994 Visiting Artist, Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, Weave Department
- 1993 Lecture, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
- Lecture, University of Virginia, School of Architecture, Charlottesville
- 1991 Lecture, North Shore Weavers’ Guild, Chicago
- Lecture, Madison Weavers’ Guild, Madison, Wisconsin
- Lecture, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
- 1989 Jacquard Knitting Workshop, Centre des Arts Visuels, Montreal
- Lecture, University of the Arts, Philadelphia
- 1988 Seminar Leader, Convergence ’88, Conference of the Handweavers’ Guild of America
- Lecture, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, New York
- Lecture, Cranbrook Academy of Art
- Lecture, Center for Creative Studies, Detroit
- Lecture, North Shore Weavers’ Guild, Chicago
- 1986 Lecture, Kansas City Art Institute
- Lecture, University of Kansas at Lawrence
- 1985 Lecture, Boston University, Program in Artisanry
- Lecture, University of Houston, College of Architecture
- 1983 Oriental Rug Restoration, The Nomad’s Loom, Chicago
- 1982 Weaving workshop, Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, New York
- 1980-82 work study with textile collection, Cranbrook Academy of Art/Museum
Writing
- 2014 Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot, Spring 2014, Pantone® and the World of Designed Color, feature article.
- Pantoneview.com, February 2014: Houston International Quilt Market, feature article.
- Pantoneview.com, May 2014: Natural Dyes in Artists’ Hands, feature article.
- 2013 Shuttle, Spindle, and Dyepot, Winter 2013/14: Exploring Color and Weave, feature article.
- Shuttle, Spindle, and Dyepot, Fall 2013: Interlacing Color, feature article.
- Pantoneview.com, July 2013: Interlacing Color, feature article
- Pantoneview.com, May 2013: Jacco Olivier: a Tempest of Contrasts, feature article.
- 1990 Fiberarts Magazine, November/December 1990, “Donna Durbin: Rites of Passage”, feature article.
- 1986 American Craft Magazine, February/March 1986, “Villa Farsetti: A Weaver’s Rendering”, feature article.
Bibliography (selected):
- 2011 Pasatiempo, Santa Fe, October 2011; Paul Weideman, “Covered in Bees! Laura Foster Nicholson”
- 2006 Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot, Fall 2006,Gussie Fauntleroy, “Life in the Creative Stream”
- 2005 Design & Architecture Magazine, April 2005; Tony Adler, “Dream Weaver”, artist portrait
- Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot, Spring 2005, Gussie Fauntleroy: “Laura Foster Nicholson”, feature article.
- 2004 Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion Magazine, February 2004 “Artist’s Workshop”, feature article on LFN Studio
- 2001 Chicago Tribune Magazine, December 16, Karen Klages, “Women of the cloth: Four Female Designers Leading the Wave of Innovation in Textiles for Interiors”.
- 2001 Fiberarts Magazine, Summer 2001, Polly Ullrich, “Of Kitchen Gardens and Melon Ballers”, feature article.
- 2000 American Craft Magazine, December 1999-January 2000, “Collectors at Home: A Conversation with Marc & Diane Grainer”, illustrations.
- 1999 Fiberarts Magazine, Summer 1999, Polly Ullrich, “Beyond Touch: The Body as Perceptual Tool”; illustrations, discussion.
- 1999 Architectural Digest Magazine, May 1999, “AD at Large: Weaving Art in Chicago”.
- 1996 Shuttle,Spindle, and Dyepot, Summer 1996, cover; Margo Mensing, “Enter: Repeat”, illustrations.
- Nouvel Objet, Design House, Seoul, Korea; subject of article & illustrations.
- The Crafts Report, November 1996, Noelle Backer, “Laura Foster Nicholson:
- Fiber Artist with Visions of the Garden”, interview.
- 1995 American Craft Magazine, February 1995, Jody Clowes, “Laura Foster Nicholson: Weaving Meditations and Maps”.
- 1994 Fiberarts Magazine, Nov/Dec 1994, David D.J. Rau, “The Woven Gardens of Laura Foster Nicholson”.
- 1992 Fiberarts Magazine, Jan/Feb 1992, Kathleen McCann, “The Art of Collecting”, illustration.
- 1991 American Craft Magazine, December ’91/January ’92, “Exhibitions”, illustration.
- 1987 Fiberarts Design Book Three, Kate Matthews, Editor; illustration.
- 1986 Who’s Who in American Art, 17th Edition.
- Fiber R/Evolution, catalogue, University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee and Milwaukee Art Museum. Illustrations and essay.
- 1985 Terza Mostra Internazionale de Architettura, catalogue of The Venice Biennale of Architecture. Illustrations and mentions in jurors’ essays
- The Architecture Review, London, October 1985, “Progetto Venezia”, review & illustrations.
- de Architect, Netherlands, September 1985, “Architectuur-biennale Venetie 1985”, review & illustrations.
- Wonen Archis Tabk, Netherlands, September 1985, “Progetto Venezia”, review & illustrations
- Cite, Architecture & Design Review of Houston, Winter ’85/86 “Houston at the Venice Biennale: Villa Farsetti: A Garden in Silk & Wool”. Author, article & illustrations.
- Casa Vogue, Italy, September 1985, “Biennale Architettura — Venezia: Capitale del Progetto”, review & illustration.
- 1984 American Craft Magazine, “Commissions”, illustration.