DATE: October 11, 2021 —FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: Allison Gergley, Marketing and Public Relations Director
Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center
1000 Rush Drive, Salida, CO 81201 Email: allison.gergley@hrrmc.net
Tel.: 719-530-2217 Fax: 719-530-2232
HRRMC showcases textile work of artist Carolyn Nelson
SALIDA, Colo.— A collection of textile collages from Poncha Springs artist Carolyn Nelson are currently on display at Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center (HRRMC) through December 31.
A native of North Carolina, Nelson grew up surrounded by a rural landscape in a family of seamstresses, where needle, thread and fabric were staples of life. Though she displayed artistic leanings from an early age, it wasn’t until her mid-fifties when she “fell in love with a wheat field in France,” that Nelson found her voice in textile art.
“I felt myself launch,” said Nelson. “I soared. I heard myself. On that day in July, 2004, I became an artist.” Blending layers of fabrics and thread with shibori — a Japanese manual tie-dyeing technique — her intricate work continues to involve aspects of that field, through pattern, repetition, detail, openness and expanse.
A resident of the Arkansas Valley for four years, Nelson moved here to be with her family and grandchildren. She draws inspiration not from the area’s iconic mountains as she had expected, but from the grassy wetlands found in places like Saguache that remind her of that wheat field in France.
HRRMC displays the work of regional artists each quarter, with an emphasis on the Arkansas Valley. Call 719-530-2217 for more information on exhibiting art at HRRMC.
###
