Cynthia Schira

Cynthia Schira (born 1934 ) is an American textile artist and former university professor. Her work is represented in the collections of many major public museums.

Early life and education

Schira was born Cynthia Jones in June 1934 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of a manager at the Corn Exchange Bank in New York City. Her masters' thesis focused on Peruvian textiles. Schira's art combines traditional and modern influences. Though she uses non-traditional materials, she works in "the traditional technique of flat tapestry hanging". According to the American Craft Council, "he established a modern context for weaving while staying true to traditions and maintaining a provocative physicality." In 1983 Schira purchased a loom with a 32-harness system and a simple computer using funds from the National Endowment for the Arts Craftsman's Fellowship. In 1994 a software program became available with which she created complex graphic arrangements resembling graffiti and blocks of computer code. While using this technology for ease of execution, she continued to use experimental methods such as painting dye onto her warp threads and adding structural media into her weave. Her textiles have been inspired by the landscape of the Kansas plains, as well as training and experience in textiles centers around the world.

Personal life Schira was married for 52 years to Richard Schira, a professor emeritus of art at the University of Kansas, who died in 2008. Rhode Island School of Design, Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, 1989 Kansas Arts Commission, Craftsman's Fellowship, 1990 American Craft Council College of Fellows, 1992 American Craft Council Gold Medalist, 2000 New York Foundation for the Arts Artist's Fellowship, 2005 Distinguished Educator Award, James Renwick Alliance, Smithsonian, 2006

Collections Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Metropolitan Museum of Art Smithsonian American Art Museum Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS