Carolyn Burwell is a weaver and a mixed-media fiber artist working with monofilament, flax, kibiso, wire, thread, yarn, and paper to create sculptures 5” to 5’ tall.
She learned to weave when she lived in Tokyo, Japan for two years. She continued her studies in Berkeley, CA at both the Pacific Basin School of Textile Arts and Fiberworks Center for the Textile Arts. She studied with Pauline Verbeek-Cowart at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, with Rita Parniczky at Sätergläntan in Insjön, Sweden, with Anastasia Azure, and with Janice Sullivan at San Francisco City College.
In 2016, Carolyn began studying Fiber Sculpture with Carole Beadle at the College of Marin, incorporating her weaving skills into a developing fiber art practice by adding dimensionality and structure to her weavings.
Carolyn continues to be inspired by Kay Sekimachi’s artistry in a variety of materials and especially her ground-breaking explorations in weaving with monofilament in the 1960s.
Selected Shows
Fiber Arts - O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA - 2024
International Fiber Arts XI - Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA - 2023
Uncommon Threads - San Fernando Valley Arts and Cultural Center, Tarzana, CA - Online - 2022
Fifty Years of Fiber Art - Fiber Artists of San Antonio, TX - 2022
3-D and Beyond - Council of Northern California Handweavers, San Mateo, CA - 2022
Fiber Art: The Expressive and the Innovative - O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA -2022
International Fiber Arts X - Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA - 2021
Woven Visions 20/20 - Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA - 2020
International Fiber Arts IX - Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA - 2019
Monochromatic - O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA - 2019
Interwoven - Healdsburg Center for the Arts, Healdsburg, CA - 2018
Woven Together: Experience and Expression - Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA - 2017
Renegade Fiber - Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA - 2017
Presentations
From a Monkey to Monofilament - Portland Weaving Guild, Portland OR - 2022