BETTY USDAN-ZWICKLER

I am a mixed media artist who creates works with textiles, paper and paint. Generally, my abstract artwork has an organic feel expressed by areas of intense color and varied textures and forms. I incorporate art-papers, found objects, semi-precious stones and crystals to further embellish the weavings, felted pieces and collages. Hardware stores offer a treasure trove of materials for my tapestries created with neon-colored polypropylene cords, electrical caps, cable ties, wire and the like.

Born to a family of textile manufacturers, my fiberart is informed by the various colored yarns and fabrics to which I have been exposed throughout my life. Additionally, my art has been significantly impacted by travels to Europe, Israel, Jordan, Australia and New Zealand. Of special interest have been the extensive array of rugs and tapestries, both ancient and contemporary, I’ve seen in museums and galleries both here and abroad.

For the last 35+ years I have been a professional artist and have experienced working in many creative mediums from painting, sculpting and photography to textile arts and mixed media collage. Though painting has always been at the core of my artwork, the past 10 years of exploration with mixed media collage and textile techniques have captured my interest the most and are the mediums which I presently choose for my artistic expression. I consider my tapestries and feltings “painting and sculpting with fiber.” My collage works are primarily made of paper, fiber, print and paint; a conglomeration of all materials with which I love to create.

I don’t necessarily begin an artwork with any preconceived idea as to imagery; somehow the materials themselves guide me through the process. That’s the joy of creating each new piece.