I was in Knoxville, TN this month for Convergence, the Handweavers Guild of America’s biennial weaving convention. Classes, lectures, panel discussions, and exhibits- all focused around textiles and weaving. It was impossible to take in all of them; I did my best.

My first stop may well have been the highlight for me. Three Voices, featuring the work of Jennifer Sargent, Tommye Scanlin, and Pat Williams. I haven’t stopped thinking of it since. Three Voices was just one of the exhibits initiated by Geri Forkner, a member of HGA., in conjunction with Convergence. 

Unfortunately, I’m afraid the majority of people weren’t able to get to the Clayton Arts Center in Maryville, where this show was hanging. It was a half hour drive from the convention center where most of the Convergence events took place. Sheer luck - and a little perseverance - landed me there. I just happened to have an early flight with a few hours to kill before checking into my airbnb. I went straight from the airport to the show and was so glad I did.

All the work in this exhibit was inspiring to me. Too much for one post. Starting with an overview I’ll follow with three more posts in the weeks to come focusing on each artist.

Jennifer Sargent

Jennifer was one of the leaders this year for ATA’s workshops following Convergence and I had been torn between taking her class or Fiona’s (more on that later). Even more so after seeing the show. I have to admit I was not as familiar with Jennifer Sargent’s work as I was with the others. Her tapestries are very textural and she incorporates a number of techniques to achieve that texture.

Tommye Scanlin

Tommye Scanlin is a name very familiar in our little tapestry world. I’ve shown her work in blog posts before. Tommye has also sent me high resolution images for my Elements class. Although I felt familiar with it already, it was stunning to discover the nuances when viewing her work in person. The colors and textures took me by surprise!

Pat Williams

And Pat Williams. I’ve been captivated by Pat’s work since I first saw it (online) a number of years ago. The whimsical quality coupled with the strong emotion she is able to capture in her images just takes my breath away.

Stay tuned. Next post I’ll take a deeper dive into Jennifer’s work, followed by Tommye and Pat in the following weeks. I have a lot more to share from my 10 days in Knoxville!  This is just the first of many. If you’re not already on my mailing list, you can subscribe here and get updates when a new post is up. 

Part 2 of Three Voices