Trudy Thomson

Trudy Thomson is a well-known artist working with a variety of mediums in diverse areas of craft.

Biography of Trudy Thomson

Trudy Thomson was born in Long Branch near Asbury Park, New Jersey. Her father, Tommy Tucker, was a well-known orchestra band leader who started a music school in Asbury Park and later established a music department at Monmouth College. Her mother was a Broadway actress before they married, traveled for ten years across the country, and finally settled down in West Allenhurst.

When Trudy was three years old she made her own projector using a flashlight and magnifying glass. This setup allowed her to slide her hand-drawn images, which she projected onto the wall in her closet. Throughout her childhood, she continued her entrepreneurial endeavors, including setting up a tap dance studio in the basement, creating a golf course in her backyard, and even fashioning a covered wagon that rolled down the driveway. She charged her neighbors just ten cents to participate in these activities.

Trudy received a Master's Degree in Media/Visual Design from the University of North Carolina in 1975. She continued to pursue her interest in this field, working as the Media Manager for North Carolina. Later, she served as a Project Manager for SAS Institute in Cary, where she was responsible for creating their first international website, complete with video content.

Trudy Thomson has created over 80 websites for artists. 

Trudy Thomson’s Fiber Arts

“With intensive self-study and experimentation for many years, I work with a variety of mediums in diverse areas of craft. Originally, I was a fiber artist and weaver. I attended classes at Rochester Institute of Technology in the early seventies and have been to the Penland School of Crafts three times to study fiber structures, hand dyeing, painting, and marbling fabric, as well as mixing metals with glass. Themes I explored in fiber arts are now reflected in other mediums. The possibilities for patterns and figures sustain my interest.

One usually asks an artist, Where does your inspiration come from? My response: I am inspired by the rhythms and patterns found in nature…such as waves of water, the ebb, and flow of surf on sand, the flutter of leaves on trees, swirls of clouds, multifaceted shapes of buds and flowers, the feathered wings of birds. There is repetition as well as variation in both my process and form...in a variety of mediums I work with.

I begin my tapestry work by drawing a detailed design on a grid of graph paper where I draw various shapes. To these I add color that represent the skeins of yarn I plan to use in different portions of the design.

When I settle down to weave the tapestry planned, I swipe across the loom and position yarn that varies in color, texture, and tone. As a result, what one views is carefully planned but also contains random features that un-expectantly materialize in the design.

I vary the types of fiber I use; sometimes my fibers are twisted and spun in unusual ways. I even incorporate various scrap materials from shredded rug selvages and saris. When a work is complete it appears to float around a frame on the wall or hang on a hand-crafted rod.

When I work with marbled silk or paper, the various patterns appear more organic and result from manipulating colors of paint dropped on a viscous surface; the resistance of water allows patterns to emerge; repeatedly dying one-panel results in cross-currents of color and form.

I also create collage works using a variety of finely created papers, yarns, paints, and techniques…just another way to express myself in fiber art creations.”

Affiliations

Trudy Thomson is a member of regional art associations, including the Durham Arts Guild. She is also associated with the Pittsboro Gallery of Arts, where she held the position of Marketing Manager, and the Orange County Artist Guild, where she served as the Manager of their annual tour. Her work has been selected for jurying in a wide range of galleries throughout the Research Triangle Area in North Carolina and beyond.

Thomson's work has been featured in various galleries and art centers, including The Art Center in Carrboro, Raleigh Fine Arts, Litmus Gallery in Raleigh, ArtSpace in Raleigh, FRANK Community Gallery in Chapel Hill, Higgins and Myers in Chapel Hill, Hillsborough Gallery of Art, Eno Mills Gallery in Hillsborough, Margaret Lane Gallery in Hillsborough, Eno River Unitarian Universalist Gallery in Durham, National Humanities Center Gallery in Research Triangle, Page-Walker Arts in Cary, Impulse Creativity in Mebane, Kirby Galery in Roxboro, Incubator in Siler City, Art Fields in Lake City, SC, ADC Fine Art in Cincinnati, Ohio.