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Manchester College presents tapestry
by Francine Delk Gratz
Simple tools and centuries-old methods are essential elements for rich
and complex color and design in the woven tapestry of Francine Delk
Gratz on display at Manchester College through April 16.
 The exhibit is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and during weekend public
events in the Link Gallery and Wine Recital Hall lobby. Admission is
free.
“Tapestry depends upon the three related crafts of spinning, dyeing
and weaving,” says Gratz, who studied art at the Instituto Allende, San
Miguel de Allende, Mexico and also as an art student of Professor James
Adams and the late Professor Max I. Allen at Manchester College. The
1968 MC grad has taught art in North Manchester and Person County, N.C.,
schools and served as an administrative assistant for the University of
Chicago History Department. A North Manchester resident, she is married
to MC Library Director Robin J. Gratz.
Her study in fiber arts at the Instituto in 1976 convinced her that
tapestry is both a legitimate and, for her, an ideal artistic medium.
While natural dyes, made by the artist from indigo, cochineal,
goldenrod, madder and marigold have always been important to her work,
interest in flowering plants and garden design increasingly has drawn
her toward naturalistic themes, reminding the viewer of the
interrelationship between materials and images.
The works of Francine Gratz have hung in the Contemporary Craftsmen, The
Clay People galleries and the Artisan Shop & Gallery in the Chicago
area; in juried shows at Earlham College, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Artlink
Gallery in Fort Wayne and The Cinergy Collection traveling show. Her
work also has appeared in solo shows in the Honeywell Center in
Wabash, the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory in Fort Wayne and
Manchester College.
She has created commissioned works for private homes and offices of the
Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. in Fort Wayne and ACA Corp. in
Streamwood, Ill. Some of her current work is for sale at the
Hospitality House in North Manchester.
Manchester, a Church of the Brethren liberal arts college, offers 45
areas of study to 1,075 students. For more about the college, visit
www.manchester.edu
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