Fiber artist Jo Stealey presents public lecture

Jo Stealey, fiber artist and chair of University of Missouri’s Art Department, will hold a lecture Dec. 1 at UofL to discuss the materials she uses in bookmaking, paper and basketry.

Stealey was trained as a potter and weaver, but has made sculptural vessels with handmade paper for more than 25 years. She has recently begun to incorporate other natural materials into her work such as river willow and processed leaves. Her work encompasses both two and three dimensional formats and her imagery draws upon experiences in travel and everyday life.

            “I’m inspired by the places from which my materials are from, they influence my art tremendously,” she said.

           In her lecture, Stealey will discuss why she uses the materials she does and how she incorporates a highly interdisciplinary approach to her art. The lecture is free, open to the public and will provide a hands-on opportunity to interact with samples of kozo paper produced in a student workshop preceding the lecture.

           Stealey is the head of the fiber program at Missouri and was awarded the endowed Middlebush Chair for Arts & Humanities (2010-15) for creative research. She has taught numerous workshops and her work has been widely exhibited nationally and internationally. She’s been published in “Surface Magazine,” “FiberArts” and “Sculpture Magazine,” among others.

            The lecture is 6-7 p.m., Dec. 1, in Schneider Hall, room 23.

For more information, contact Maggie Leininger, UofL assistant professor and director of the International Honor Quilt Project, at 502-852-0906 or at margaret.leininger@louisville.edu.