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| CV of Vicki Fraser • born: 1 November, 1944, Merced, CA, USA • spent first and formative years moving from construction site to construction site as the daughter of a civil engineer. All over California, then Washington State and Montana, • overseas to Okinawa, • back to extensive San Francisco bay area locations, • 1961-2 Saigon, Vietnam • Basic Art at the University of Houston, Texas, • 1966, The Academy of Fine Arts, Florence, Italy -experiencing the great flood in November. • married in 1967 in Edinburgh, Scotland; homemaker with one son in Cheshire, Lancashire, and Mid-Lothian. • moved to Sausalito, California, 1969, where I learned Greek cross stitch from my neighbour and gave birth to my second son. • 1973 - moved to La Roche en Brabant, Belgium. I studied hooked rug making and completed several cross stitch commissions. I began my lace collection. • as I loved and used DMC embroidery floss, I made a pilgrimage to Mulhouse, France, to visit the DMC factory and see the workshop there. • 1977 - moved to London, England. I studied at the Camden Institute, Bolt Court Institute, Stanhope Institute, and the Royal School of Needlework; subjects including drawn threadwork, pulled threadwork, gold work, black work, several design courses, machine embroidery and bobbin lacemaking. • 1981, I became an oriental rug restorer trainee with the Kennedy Carpets Restoration Studio. I learned the restoration techniques for all types of knotted pile rugs (turkish, persian, chinese, kasak, anatolian, etc.), kilims, vernehs, sumacs, etc. • 1982-3 - completed multiple restoration piece-works and one embroidery commission. • 1983 - completed my first knotted pile rug based on the Golden Hills of California. • 1984 - completed my second knotted pile rug based on a manned space flight. The rug was made of cashmere and I visited the cashmere mill in the Highlands of Scotland. • following failed marriage, moved with my two sons to my home town in central California, where I became computer literate and worked for my local newspaper, the Merced Sun-Star for seven years to raise my sons through to higher education. • joined the San Francisco bay area rug society. • became acquainted with Nest Rubio and her natural dye palette of madder indigo and weld, along with her recipe of the 28-day cold alum mordant. • 1991-92 - Fiber-artist-in-residence at the Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino, California. I completed the "First Earth Rug". • 2nd year residence learning spinning and continuing research of natural dyes. • 1994-2008 - completed “The California Rug” Back |
