To the editor

Thanks to Paula Stebbins Becker for her recent presentation at the Tiverton Public Library. Paula works as both a fine artist and as a commercial textile designer, creating fabrics that are used by designers and in home furnishings. 

She showed samples of textile artists, including her own weavings that were created for a recent solo exhibition in Taiwan, where she was a visiting artist.  She also discussed her experience as a textile designer, sharing examples of her commercial fabrics and how design teams create color and fashion trends.

We were shown how textile designers make printed and woven textiles, by making original concept art, then using ingenious technology to work with the images, which are then produced on commercial looms. We saw samples of fine art, as well as all stages of commercial textiles in progress.  Not only was Paula generous with her time and expertise, she gave some beautiful fabrics to some fortunate participants.

One beneficial aspect of the Tiverton Library programs is to introduce us to neighbors who are doing interesting things in their work and life. While it was a very informative and extremely well-prepared program, it would have been great if more people – particularly young people who might be interested in a career in art or design – had attended. Many who were there said that they wished others had known about this opportunity.

Therefore, I would encourage people to join the Friends of the Library newsletter list (there’s a link on the library website), so that they can learn about the many upcoming free programs for all ages, and areas of interest.

Jacquelyne Cox

Tiverton