For the past eleven years, Julia Ford had brought a lifelong passion for the textile arts to her work as a contributing artist-weaver at Laurie Gross Studios. She received a B.A. Honors in textiles from Loughborough College of Art and Design, England, and an MFA in Fiber Art from the University of Kansas. She has extensive experience in hand-dyeing and hand-weaving including multi-harness weave structures, hand embellishment, color, and design. She oversees the weaving component of the studio. Working closely with Laurie, Julia’s technical and artistic skills are employed in all phases of the project at hand, from early design to final installation, whether an institutional ark curtain commission, an Aubusson tapestry ark treatment, or a hand woven production of heirloom tallitot.
Julia’s own body of work includes fiber sculpture and unique wearable art. She has taught weaving at Kent State University and the Kansas City Art Institute and currently mentors young weavers. She is the recipient of an Individual Artist Award from the Santa Barbara Arts Fund.
“Contributing to the creation of handcrafted ritual objects of the highest quality and design that speak to the heart and spirit of a congregation or individual worshipper is one of the joys of this work”
