Janice Lessman-Moss, professor of Textiles, recently was awarded a United States Artists Fellowship in Craft, which includes $50,000 in unrestricted funds.
United States Artists, a Chicago-based organization, awards “up to fifty $50,000 unrestricted fellowships to the most compelling artists working and living in the United States, in all disciplines, at every stage of their career,” based upon the belief that artists play an essential role in our society and need to be supported.
“A significant award like this, bestowed on me for doing the work that I am passionate about is an incredible gift! The recognition reveals a validation of my endeavors in digital weaving that is truly gratifying,” said Ms. Lessman-Moss. “I hope to use the generous financial reward to further my artistic goals and honor the United States Artists for their confidence in my work.”
Ms. Lessman-Moss is a weaver whose art practice revolves around an interest in the interconnection of abstract systems rooted in the common binary language of the computer and the loom. Networks of patterns, composed digitally on the computer screen are informed by the architecture of the weaving process in combination with an element of random selection and intuitive sense of order. She is strongly committed to education in textile art and design and maintains a vibrant studio in the School of Art. Her deep engagement with digital weaving led her to Digital Weaving Norway in Honefoss, Norway where, in 2013, she was their first Artist-in-Residence, and more recently, she completed a residency at the Icelandic Textile Center in Blonduous, Iceland.
Ms. Lessman-Moss was also featured in the Fall 2017 Kent State Magazine article Continuing Threads.