tornado

in the fall of 1978 I went to the faculty show at Kent State University's school of art. I don't recall a single piece in the gallery. but I do remember going down the hall to a space the size of a large closet for the first show of Lilian Tyrrell. there were no more than 4 or 5 weavings on display. having grown up in tornado territory I was immediately attractd to a piece depicting one. I bought it for $300. it was Lil's first sale.


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some thot it was peculiar to do a weaving of a tornado. did they have a surprise waiting. Lil's work got larger & bolder & eventually her disaster blanket series brought her fame.

midafternoon yesterday I got a call from Lil on her farm in northern Ohio. she's having a retrospective at Spaces in Cleveland early next year & wantd to know if I'd loan the tornado piece. I sd yes at once. & her call gave me the chance to tell her how much it's meant to me to live with the weaving for more than a quarter century.