Clara Graves Silk Artist

ABOUT CLARA GRAVES

Clara Graves is a painter and mixed media artist whose widely exhibited work is in public and private collections throughout North America.

Clara began her career as a graphic designer in the days when cold type and manual mechanicals were the standard for for making publications, advertisements and books. Her career as a graphic designer included work in Washington, D.C.'s leading graphic arts studios and advertising agencies. A long-time designer of books, she eagerly made the transition to using computerized design tools, but found she missed the hands-on feel of working directly with the media.

Clara began painting on silk in the late 1990s and was fortunate enough to study with leading artists who inspired her to render both representational and abstract images. Her work includes vibrant floral painting and evocative abstract images that resonate freedom, surprise and serenity. Clara balances her silk painting with explorations in collage, where she also uses her hand painted silk. She has recently expanded her creative work into the area of wearable art.

Some publications where her work has been featured include Fiber Art Now, Fabric Printing at Home by Julie B. Booth, and the catalogue cover for the Creative Craft Council 28th Biennial Show . Clara teaches at The Art League and in her own studio.

Clara Graves silk artists and fashion designer.

AWARDS AND HONORS

2009
2006
2005
2004
2004

Fiber Award, Creative Craft Council, 27th Biennial Exhibition, Bethesda, MD

Solo Exhibition, Arts Club of Washington, Washington, DC

First Place Award, Maryland Orchid Society, Baltimore, MD

Third Place Award, Silk Painters International Conference, Santa Fe, NM

Second Place & Honorable Mention Award, National Capital Orchid Society, Washington, DC

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Margaret Yoder Collection, Coral Gables, FL
Judy Kerl Collection, Chicago, IL
Mary W. Jaensch Collection, Orange, CT
Dr. Arthur Weiss Collection, Rockville, MD
Montgomery College, Silver Spring MD
Terry E. Miller Collection, Silver Spring, MD
James Goldman Collection, Media, PA

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2016 Threads: A Sampling of the Fiber Arts, Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center, Dowell, MD

2016 Handmade Explorations in Fiber Art, BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD

2015 SEEC Annual Holiday Show, Silver Spring, MD

2015 Wearable Art Show and Sale, Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery, Rockville, MD

2015 Ladysmith Craft Show, Arena Stage, Washington, DC

2014 SEEC Annual Holiday Show, Silver Spring, MD

2013 The Arts Barn, “Collages by Silk Artist Clara Graves,” Gaithersburg, MD

2013 Creative Crafts Council 29th Biennial Exhibition, Bethesda, MD

2012 Fifth Annual JRA Day, James Renwick Alliance, Chevy Chase, MD

2012 It’s A Wonderful World, Capitol Hill Art League, Washington, DC

2012 Fifth Annual Tribute to Fiber, BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD

2011 The Art of Fiber, the Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA

2011 Creative Crafts Council, 28th Biennia Exhibition, Bethesda, MD

2011 Artists of the Grid, Ice House Special Exhibit Gallery, Berkeley Springs, WV

2011 Waverly Street Gallery’s Third Annual Invitational Show, Bethesda, MD

2011 Fourth Annual Tribute to Fiber, BlackRock Center For The Arts, Germantown, MD

2010 Fiber Three Ways, Rockville, MD

2010 Third Annual JRA Day, James Renwick Alliance, Chevy Chase, MD

2009 Second Annual Tribute to Fiber, BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD

2009 Three At Studio 9336, Silver Spring, MD

2009 Second Annual JRA Day, James Renwick Alliance, Chevy Chase, MD

2008 First Annual Tribute to Fiber, BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD

2008 First Annual JRA Day, James Renwick Alliance, Chevy Chase, MD

2007 Silk in Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM

2007 Fiber’s Finest, C. William Gilchrist Museum of the Arts, Cumberland, MD

2006 Gallery West, Alexandria, VA

2005 Maryland Orchid Society, 57th Annual Show, Baltimore, MD

2005 International Visions, The Gallery, Washington, DC

2004 Silk Painters International, Silk in Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM

PUBLICATIONS

2014    Fabric Printing at Home, gallery section, Julie B. Booth Author
2012   Fiber Art Now Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 3
2011    Galleries Magazine
2003    Silk Painters International Newsletter, Volume 10, Number 2

Clara's work appears in monthly juried exhibitions:

Potomac Craftsmen Fiber Gallery, Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA

Craft on Elm, Rockland, ME