Bio

To listen to Art Waves' radio interview with Mita, click here. 

Mita Giacomini is a fiber artist in Dundas, Ontario, Canada. She takes inspiration from nature, particularly fleeting images that work like apertures to a wider reality -- ground shadows tell of the unseen sky above, a bird’s eye hints at an unknown mind. Portraits of birds and other creatures celebrate the meanings and mysteries of our encounters, and invite recognition -- whether anthropomorphic or alien.  Other semi-abstract series interpret shadows, waves, silhouettes or reflections – the graceful, organic forms created by the interplay of light and environment. 
 
Fiber is an nuanced, expressive art medium that resonates well with the fabric of nature. Mita practices an original technique she calls “surface weaving,” which combines hand needle-weaving with free-motion machine stitching and quilting. The process is incremental and contemplative, generating rich textures and myriad color interactions.  The final effect is similar to neo-impressionist brushwork, with an added dimension of intricacy that’s unique to fibre. Surface-woven textiles exhibit complexity at every visible scale -- from across the room, to up close, to under a microscope. In this way, the artworks echo nature’s own geometries of scale.  This quality enlivens the image and offers something new to see with every look.
 
Mita’s work has been exhibited at art galleries and museums across Canada, as well as in the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. She is a juried artist member of the Carnegie Gallery in Dundas, Ontario, the Canadian fiber artist group Connections, and the international Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA).

For more on surface weaving, see Technique.

C.V.

SOLO EXHIBITS

2019    
Other Words for Birds, Carnegie Gallery
Surface Weavings, Carnegie Gallery

SELECTED  GROUP EXHIBITS (juried or invited)

2022
Art in the Forest, Haliburton Forest & Wildlife Refuge
Art in Bloom, Carnegie Gallery
Re: Collections, Bruce County Museum
Colour with a U, Buhler Gallery, Winnepeg; Orillia Museum of Art & History

2021
Recharge, Carnegie Gallery
Off the Page, Grimsby Public Art Gallery
Re: Collections, Wellington County Museum; Bruce County Museum
Colour with a U, Museum of Industry, Nova Scotia

2020    
Intersect Chicago 2020, SAQA room
Carnegie Craft Biennial, Carnegie Gallery
Colour with a U, Homer Watson Gallery; St. Francis Xavier University Art Gallery
Expressions, Carnegie Gallery
Fibre Content 2018, Orillia Museum of Art & History

2019     
Re: Fashion, Bruce County Museum, Wellington County Museum
Birds: Adapted for Flight or Fancy, Teresa Seaton Gallery
Fibre Content 2018, Thunder Bay Museum; Timmins Museum; Simcoe County Museum; Lake of the Woods Museum; Dryden and District Museum; Fort Frances Museum
                
2018    
Excellence in Fibers, San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, USA
Signs of Life, Art Gallery of Hamilton
Selections from Connections, Stratford Perth Museum
Fibre Content 2018, Art Gallery of Burlington
My Corner of the World – International, Mississippi Valley Textile Museum
My Corner of the World – Canada, Craft & Quilt Fair, Australia; Rosehill Gardens Event Ctr., Australia
Concrete and Grasslands, Festival of Quilts, U.K.; Alexandra Palace, U.K.; RDS Simmonscourt, Ireland; Harrogate International Centre, U.K.
Threadworks, Scugog Shores Museum

2017    
Running With Fibre, Gallery Stratford
Fabrications, Quest Art School Gallery
Concrete and Grasslands, 9th Asia Quilt Festival, China
Fibre Content 2016, Orillia Museum of Art and History; Gibson Gallery; Simcoe County Museum
My Corner of the World – Canada, Ailsa Craig Recreation Centre; European Patchwork Meeting, France; Abilmente Mostra-Atelier Internazionale della Manualita Creativa, Italy;  In Australia:  Perth Convention & Exhibition Ctr.; Exhibition Park; Newcastle Entertainment Centre;        Goyder Pavilion; Royal Exhibition Building
My Corner of the World – Internattional, Thunder Bay Museum
Threadworks, Dryden and District Museum; Lake of the Woods Museum; Thunder Bay Museum; Temiskaming Art Gallery; Arthur Child Heritage Museum

2016    
Catch the Weave II, Earls Court Gallery
Fibre Content 2016, Art Gallery of Burlington
My Corner of the World - International, Stratford-Perth Museum
My Corner of the World – Canada, Stratford-Perth Museum; Thunder Bay Museum
Concrete and Grasslands, Grant’s Pass Museum of Art, U.S.A
Threadworks, Wellington County Museum; Museum of Northern History; Bruce County Museum; Fort Frances Museum    
Edge of the Forest, in British Columbia: Fish Creek Community Library; Coast Collective Arts Centre; Fibreworks Gallery

2015
Edge of the Forest, Richmond Hill Ctr. Performing Arts; Art Square Gallery; John M. Parrott Gallery; Fibre Arts 2015 Conference, NL

2014
Fibre Content 2014, Art Gallery of Burlington

2012    
Art Quilts XVII: Integrating a Paradox, Chandler Centre for the Arts, U.S.A

PRESENTATIONS & ARTIST TALKS

2020   Mita Giacomini, Artist Talk, Intersect Chicago: The Future of SOFA 2020
2019    Adventures in Technique and Colour, Carnegie Gallery Lecture Series
2018    How I Do What I Do When I Don't Know What I'm Doing, Art Gallery of Burlington
2016    Surface Weaving, Art Gallery of Burlington
2016    Welcome to the World of Fibre Art, Art Gallery of Burlington (Junior Guilds)
2015    Surface Weaving,  SAQA Central Canada (AGB)
2016    Fibre Content 2016 Interactive Exhibit  (creator, curator), Art Gallery of Burlington & travelling

AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS

2019  Jurors’ First Place Award, Birds: Adapted for Flight or Fancy exhibit, Teresa Seaton Gallery
2017 Excellence in Fibres 2018, selected for international exhibit, Fiber Art Network

IN THE MEDIA

Hamilton Spectator, 15 Jan 2022, "Artful Arrangements:  Art in Bloom" (image: "Dance Lessons")
Hamilton Spectator, 19 Dec 2020, "An Artful Christmas:  Artists aim to make this miserable year's holidays happy" (image: "Cheers")
Art Quilt Quarterly, 2020, issue 21, cover image & feature article: “Artist to Watch: Mita Giacomini”
Art Quilt Quarterly, 2020, issue 20, image:  “Colour Theories”
Art Quilt Quarterly, 2020, issue 18, image: “Three Sixty”
Hamilton Spectator, article: “Fine feathered friends: Mita Giacomini embraces her encounters with birds in her art,” 19 July 2019; https://www.thespec.com
Art Waves FM101.5 Hamilton, 21 July 2019, “Interview with Mita Giacomini,”  https://archive.org
Art Quilt Quarterly, 2019, issue 13, image: “Trio”
Hamilton Spectator, Aug 4, 2018, "Looking for life in all the right places"; https://www.thespec.com (image: “Still Spring”)
Fiber Art Now, January 2018, vol 7, issue 2, Excellence in Fibers group exhibit in print (image: “Alight”)
Art Quilt Quarterly, 2018, issue 10, image: “Ebb Tide”

JURIED ARTIST MEMBERSHIPS

Carnegie Gallery, Dundas, www.carnegiegallery.org
Studio Art Quilt Associates, www.saqa.com
Connections Fibre Artists, www.connectionsfibreartists.com

EDUCATION

Graphic Design, UC Davis Extension, (6 courses), 1984
Ad hoc fine art classes in California, Washington D.C., Ontario, 1980 – present
Graduate degrees in non-art fields:  PhD, MPH, MA; academic training and career details on request