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faculty
Paula Becker
Part Time Lecturer / MFA Advisor Fibers
Art & Design
Contact
508-999-8904
pbecker@umassd.edu
Art & Design Studio
Education
| 1993 | Cranbrook Academy of Art | MFA Fibers |
| 1984 | UMass Dartmouth (SMU) | BFA Textile Design |
Teaching
Programs
Programs
Teaching
Courses
Offered as needed to present material in the Graduate MFA program. The specific topic is stated when the course is scheduled. May be repeated with change of content.
The preparation of a body of conceptually focused, original, and innovative visual work for exhibition or presentation. Graded A-F.
The completion of the written thesis, a verbal explanation of the visual thesis which includes research of sources and a discussion of pertinent aesthetic issues, materials, and processes. Graded A-F.
The major studios involve intensive work and research in the student's area of concentration. Students investigate the aesthetic, conceptual, technical, and structural properties of chosen media through an individualized study program developed under the guidance of their major advisors. Through questioning and experimentation, students are expected to consolidate technique with the development of strong, expressive ideas. Informal critiques and individualized discussions are scheduled.
Continuation of major and elective studios.
Final major studio/continuation elective studio.
Cloth construction on the multi-harness floor loom. Studio exploration includes hand-spinning, woven and hand-manipulated pattern, tapestry, and painted warp, referencing historic and cultural influences on contemporary artists and designers. Open to all University students.
Teaching
Online and Continuing Education Courses
Offered as needed to present material in the Graduate MFA program. The specific topic is stated when the course is scheduled. May be repeated with change of content.
Offered as needed to present material in the Graduate MFA program. The specific topic is stated when the course is scheduled. May be repeated with change of content.
Paula Stebbins Becker is a fiber artist, weaver and textile designer residing in Rhode Island. Paula’s work has been exhibited at; Cranbrook Art Museum, RISD Museum, Reading (PA) Public Museum, Attleboro Art Museum, Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Marion Art Center, Bristol Art Museum, Narrows Center for the Arts and Fuller Craft. Her work is in the collection of the American craft collector Robert Pfannebecker, the collection of Gerhardt Knodel, the Cranbrook Art Museum and the Saarinen House. Paula was a visiting artist at the Tainan National University of the Arts in Taiwan, where she taught a workshop “Memory and Memorabilia” and had a solo exhibition “Unraveling” of her work. Paula has researched, and hand-woven a series of Loja Saarinen reproduction curtain textiles for the Cranbrook Center of Collections and Research (1992 - 2022). She has taught as an adjunct professor in the fiber/textile departments at PCT&S (Jefferson University), RISD, UMass Dartmouth and continues to design for the textile industry. Publications include, “Mendings”, Megan Sweeney (2023), “Hot House, Expanding the Field in Fiber, at Cranbrook” (2007) and “Saarinen, House and Garden, A Total Work of Art”, Gregory Wittkopp (1995).
Artist Statement
Paula is an artist and weaver who connects with memory through the process of unraveling cloth. The unraveled threads are re-woven, resulting in an organic transformation of structure, texture, color and form.
“Memory is like a thread that is woven, unraveled, knotted, entangled…forming endless patterns and layers of experience".
