Joh Ricci

BIO

My ‘fiber art’ awareness began at the age of 8 when my Great Aunt taught me how to crochet. This began my interest to create fabric with yarn, a needle and my hands and continued with that first weaving course chosen as an elective and reinforced with positive encouragement from my Professor. I pursued and earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with a concentration in Fiber from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.

I have worked in a number of techniques since then, although I continue to seize the true spirit of my fiber art by creating one-of-a-kind contemporary baskets and sculptural vessels. Self-taught, knotting is my primary technique, while crochet, netting and hand bead weaving may also be used, sometimes in combination with one another. Materials consist mostly of nylon thread, some of which I hand dye in order to achieve a broad range of colors that are unique to my work. For specific pieces that require a different approach to their form and to visually create different textures, unique novelty yarns are used. The tedious and rhythmic motion of making knots begin using some guidelines of my design specifications, although a piece may follow its own path, which I embrace as a natural response to the creative process of manipulating colored threads into thousands of knots. 

My work has been exhibited at prestigious juried shows such as The Smithsonian Craft Show, The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, the American Craft Exposition, American Craft Council, as well as invitational and juried shows across the US and Ireland. A recipient of numerous awards, my knotting is included in a variety of magazine publications and books, as well as several private collections. 

Continually challenging myself, I enjoy working in other areas of artistic expression. I am self-taught in a variety of hand bead weaving and recycled paper techniques used to create unique jewelry, I have also included Impasto painting in oils and/or acrylics to my jandra of artistic endeavors, allowing me to create textures similar to those of in my fiber art. My studio is a rainbow of organized chaos filled with a 45″ floor loom, a jewelry table, an additional work table, a painting easel, walls of yarn and shelves filled with books, as well as a futon for the guest who pulls the short straw. 

As an artist and an arts educator, I have found the importance of bringing art to individuals and to nurture the creativity within. I have taught in various art education centers & facilities in PA and MD, continuing education classes at Alverno College, Milwaukee, HACC in Gettysburg & The Milwaukee Art Museum, as well as after-school art programs, summer school, and as an Artist-in-Residence throughout Adams County and York. My teaching journey also includes graduate courses to become PA State Certified for Art K-12 at Private Academic Schools such as the Montessori Academy of Chambersburg. 

‘My inspiration is drawn from everyday life. I see endless possibilities by keeping an open mind and an observant eye, bringing an awareness of the variety of forms, colors, patterns, textures and subject matter that surround me; and from which the creative process begins. I have found this form of expression both tedious and time intensive, yet there is a hypnotic rhythm to creating my work. I feel that the combination of positive energy and spiritual thought support my goals: to bring creative life to an idea; to challenge myself with the concept of what could be; and to create fiber forms that transcend the boundaries of the concept of a traditional basket.

GALLERY