Beverly Sky
Website
Biography
Born in Salzburg, Austria, my parents were Holocaust survivors. We immigrated to the USA in 1956 and lived in Rego Park Queens. I attended City College of New York and the Art Students League. I studied Fiber Arts and Weaving with Gretchen Muller and Ted Hallman with a weaving Scholarship to Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina. I Taught off-loom techniques at the Vershire School, Vershire, Vermont and moved to Japan (1969 – 1976) to study weaving and textile arts in Kyoto. I also attended Urasenke School for Tea Ceremony (1969-1971) and Co-Founded Autumn Press, Inc., a publishing company specializing in books about Asia for the West. As Art- and production director, I designed and produced 28 books, including: The Book of Tofu, The Book of Miso, The Lima Ohsawa Cookbook, The Book of Whole Meals, Cry of the People by Kim Chi Ha, Of Separateness and Merging by Ellen Bass, The Temple in Man by R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz, and Nuclear Madness by Dr. Helen Caldicott. Upon returning to the USA I worked as a designer and Art-Director at Illuminations, Inc., a graphic arts publishing company (1980-1983). I was a member of EES/ARTS, a printmaking collaborative (1981-1983) and a member of the Art – Directors Club of Boston (1980-1984). l was the founder of River Street Artists, Waltham, MA, 1984-86 and a founding Member of Brickbottom Artists Building. I have served on several Boards including: Temple Beth Zion, Brookline,MA, 1999- 2005; Union Park Neighborhood Association, 2007 – 2019 and United South End Artists 2012 -2020. I was a volunteer Reiki Master at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Brookline, MA 2009 -2011.
Artist Statement
Trained as a weaver and papermaker / pulp painter, my work has now evolved into the art of fabric collage. I create ‘fabricated’ paintings by deconstructing the original patterns and pictures in fabrics and reintegrating them into a new image. I use commercially produced cotton fabrics, inkjet print fabrics, and custom printed fabrics for my work. I do not paint or draw directly on the canvas. It is all fabric, cut and glued to canvas using matte medium as an adhesive.
I am a narrative artist. Art making for me, once I have an idea or a story, is a process of research and discovery through the materials and stylistic visual language of fabric collage.
Awards
City of Boston Arts and Culture Travel Award, 2019
Artscope Magazine, Jury selected centerfold artist for July / August 2009 issue
Honorable Mention, Danforth Museum, Juried Members Show, 2007
Worcester Art Museum, Francis J. Kinnicutt Grant 2005 – Artist Travel Grant to study Papermaking Techniques in Mexico
Massachusetts Arts Lottery Grant, 1992 for teaching handmade papermaking techniques to high school art majors
Massachusetts Arts Lottery Grant , 1986 for Handmade Paper set design for Dance/Performance Group “Jo Ha Kyu”
Artworks in Museums and Collections
Permanent Collections of the following institutions: (Partial Listing)
Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, MA, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Bank of Boston, Fidelity Investments, Choate, Hall and Stewart, BayBank, Beth Israel Hospital, Peabody and Arnold, Boston College, Forrester Research, Burns & Levinson, Providence Hilton Hotel, Repose, Right Associates, Tucker Anthony, Goodwin-Proctor, Molecular, Harvard Vanguard, Kenmore Sq. Valley Hospital, Ridgewood, NJ., UMASS Boston, Joiner Institute Collection, Mass Bay Community College, Newbridge on the Charles, Hebrew Senior Life,
Instituto Nacional de Belles Artes (INBA) in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Teachers
Too many to list
Education
Life