Timeless Weft: Ancient Tapestries and the Art of Louise B. Wheatley

This intimate exhibition celebrates the 40-year career of Maryland artist Louise B. Wheatley. Internalizing the lessons of ancient masters, Wheatley creates art that is unmistakably a reflection of her own unique vision and her self-imposed sense of technical perfection.

Some of Wheatley's works recall the composition and specific methods of Coptic textiles, including intricate and technically difficult border designs, the use of slanted wefts, and flying needle techniques. Less directly, Wheatley emulates their brilliant colors, connection to nature, celebration of earth's fertility, and exploration of philosophical and religious thought.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.

Whether or not you go, Looms and Textiles of the Copts: First Millennium Egyptian Textiles in the Carl Austin Reitz Collection of the California Academy of Science offers insight into the intricate designs and fabrics that inspire Wheatley's work.

Looms and Textiles of the Copts: First Millennium Egyptian Textiles in the Carl Austin Reitz Collection of the California Academy of Science