Carol Eckert

United States, b. 1945

Place of BirthChapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

BiographyCarol Eckert was born in Chapel Hill, North Caroline in 1945. Her interest in textiles stems from her childhood, when she spent time experimenting and amusing herself with scraps of fabric, needle and thread. Her interest in mythology began during this period as well, through books she brought home from the library and by listening to folktales and legends from her Swedish grandmother. Eckert majored in studio art at Arizona State University, studying painting. She began working with fiber while teaching art classes in a community arts center. She eventually began working with coiled fiber, an ancient basketry technique in which stitches are knotted around a fiber core. She invented a technique using wire as the core, allowing her to create three-dimensional figures.

Eckert has since become well known for her compositions of animal stories and myths from cultures around the world. Aside from participating in exhibitions and shows, she has taught workshops at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Her fiber sculptures have become a significant addition to private and public collections including Arkansas Arts Center, Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian American Museum and de Young Museum to name a few. She currently lives and works in Tempe, Arizona.