Local artist to have pieces on sale at Pomerene Center
Tony Bible has been weaving since 1993 when he was employed at Longaberger as a weaver and then a concept studio designer. He will be selling some of his handmade basketry and jewelry at the Pomerene Center this December. Pre-order is available now by contacting the Pomerene Center.
COSHOCTON – Tony Bible has been weaving since 1993 and worked for Longaberger for 17 years, first as a weaver and then as a concept studio designer for the remaining 10 years. It was during his time working at Longaberger that he was first able to attend the Stowe Basketry Festival in Vermont.
“That was an eye-opening experience for me and it changed my trajectory,” said Bible. “We got to see that everything is hand-made and hand-cut, and the work was all continued by the artists’ hands. It changed my whole perspective and affected the way I worked at Longaberger.”
When Bible was laid off from Longaberger, he started school at the Columbus College of Art and Design to focus on weaving and transition from being a craftsman to an artist.
“Going to CCAD and working with artists, I discovered that an important part of making pieces depends on the material,” said Bible. “One of the most profound things I learned was when you do work, there’s a relationship between the artist and the material you’re working with.”
Bible was able to return to the Stowe Basketry Festival in June due to a scholarship he received when he entered his work into the Ohio Craft Museum where it was chosen to be in the Best of 2015 exhibit. He received the Ohio Designer Craftsmanship Scholarship award and an award of excellence in traditional craft.
Bible was also one of four people who received the Judith Drury Memorial Scholarship that helped finance his return to Stowe.
“I kind of looked at my return to Stowe as coming full circle,” said Bible. “My purpose was to learn a couple of specific techniques, and there were a couple of artists I wanted to work with. It was good to remake connections and see familiar faces.”
Bible said he draws most of his inspiration from nature and sometimes uses elements of nature in his work.
“Being an artist is a lot like being a scientist,” said Bible. “We do research and look around at the world and what other people are doing; only we express the results of that research in a different way than a scientist.”
When he was at the Stowe Basketry Festival, Bible worked between 12 to 16 hours daily on his pieces. On smaller pieces, he said it can sometimes take him from days to months to complete one small project, depending on the complexity of the piece. He has created approximately 20 to 30 major pieces.
Bible said he enjoys seeing people’s reaction to his work and wants to communicate through his work.
“I want people to bring their life experiences when they come to look at my work,” he said. “I want them to look at the pieces and have it evoke feelings of their own life. I don’t want to tell them, this is what I was thinking when I was making this piece. Art is not simply about making things that are beautiful. It’s about evoking feelings in people. Weaving is like a language. The more techniques I can learn, the more effectively I can communicate.”
Bible will be teaching a class on digital media design at COTC this fall. This winter, some of his baskets and jewelry will be for sale at the Pomerene Center for the Arts. Pre-order is available now through the Pomerene Center and samples of his work can be seen on his website, www.tonybible.com.
“These are beautiful things,” said Anne Cornell, director of the Pomerene Center. “They make great gifts. Like any artwork, it’s one of a kind and it’s local. You have a relationship with knowing and meeting the artist. Tony is a pleasure to talk with.”
To pre-order or for more information on Bible’s work, call the Pomerene Center at 740-622-0326.
beth@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: People & Places
