Beginning my art career in mosaic, I was fascinated by the idea of mixing colors by placing one color of tile next to another to allow the eye to do the mixing. Yellow tiles in a sea of blue tiles, for example, could become green to the viewer. Now, many years later, I am still mixing colors, but in thread. My repertoire of available thread colors consists of perhaps 500 hues, which does not include the various shades and tints I would like, but I can adjust those by adding warm or cool tones in bottom threads. Yes, I love playing with color!
From working with mosaic I moved on to fibers in all its forms, from dollmaking to appliqué, from knitting to macramé, from soft sculpture to weaving, from dyeing to hand-stitching. The warmth and the softness of threads spoke to me. I wanted to create original works that spoke to others as well. A mentor, Esther Dendel, convinced me that if I enjoyed the creation of a piece, viewers would enjoy it also; but if I worried a piece along, it would also appear “worried” to others. That has been my mantra: to create works with color and with humor, that I would enjoy the process and viewers would enjoy the results, no matter what the medium.
In the 1970s the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts exhibited a tunic I created, which had also won a top prize in a Woman’s Day magazine contest for garments made of by-the-yard trimmings. From that auspicious beginning I went on to exhibit at the Textile Museum in Washington DC, when they featured the diverse work of “Five Women From Texas.” Those opportunities led to many more, each more precious than before, and created in me the desire to experiment and explore new materials and techniques.
In the 1980s my husband and I lived in London, where I had a new sewing machine, no deadlines, and time to play. It was there that I discovered the joy of working with machine embroidery on disappearing fabrics, which I continue to do today.
My abbreviated resume is a sampling of where my art has taken me.
EDUCATION: B. S., App. Art, Iowa State Univ. Apprenticeship, mosaic. Denwar Ceramics, CA
GALLERY ASSOCIATIONS Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, to gallery retirement, 2013. Snyderman-Works Gallery, Philadelphia PA., to gallery retirement, 2016.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS Seeing, Sensing, Savoring, Stitching. Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe NM, June 2013. A Visual Feast: Narrative Stitching by Cindy Hickok. E Noel Art Mus., Odessa TX, 2012. With Thread in Needle and Tongue in Cheek, Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe NM. 2011. Featured artist. The Knitting & Stitching Show. London, England; Dublin, Ireland; Harrogate, England. 2009. Texas Master: Cindy Hickok. Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston TX. 2007.
SELECTED JURIED AND INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS Component Parts, Racine Art Museum, Racine WI. 2021 Moderation/Immoderation, juried mini-textiles, Jean Lurcat et de la tapisserie contemporaine, Angers France. 2021 In Stitches : Contemporary Approaches, Racine Art Museum, Racine WI. 2020 When Threads Dance…, 3-artist invitational, Keller Town Hall, TX. 2017. Wit in Stitch, international 8-artist invitational. Ruthin Craft Centre, Ruthin, Wales. 2016. Speaking with Threads, Invitational, curated by Jane Sauer, Crafts Alliance Gallery, St. Louis MO. 2015. Work selected for invitations. Body Language: New Acquisitions, Figurative Work. Racine Art Museum, Racine WI. 2015. 1st Annual Excellence in Fibers, juried exhibition in print; Fiber Arts Now. 2015. 14th International Triennial of Tapestry. Invitational. Lodz, Poland. 2013. Bronze Medal. Rijswijk Textile Biennial 2013, Rijswijk Museum, Rijswijk, Netherlands. Invitational. 2013. Sleight of Hand. Permanent Collection. Denver Art Museum Denver CO. 2011-12. Thread of Life. Invitational. Florida State Univ. Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee FL, 2012. Teapots! 6. Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery, Pittsburgh. Invitational. 2012. SOFA Chicago, 2003 – 2012. Jane Sauer Gallery and/or Friends of Fiber Arts Intl. Fiberart International 2010. Juried. Pittsburgh PA, Rochester NY, San Francisco CA. 2010 – 11. Sally Yuris Award. Also Fiberart International ’13, ’04. Let Us Travel. Pfaff Art Embroidery. Juried. London, England; Paris, France; DeChatelauderen France; Horst, Netherlands. Selected for invitations, posters, press releases. 2009-11. Previous Pfaff Art Embroidery juried exhibitions: Still Life, 2008; Portraits, 2005; Art Embroidery, 2003. Pricked: Extreme Embroidery. Museum of Art & Design, New York City. Curated by David McFadden. 2007. Triennials of Miniature Textiles, Jean Lurcat Musee, Angers, France. Juried. As Free as Art!, 2017; With or Without Water, 2009; Reduced Gardens, 2006; Order, Chaos, 2003. Art of the Stitch. Juried. Birmingham, England; Krefeld, Germany; London, UK. 2008 – 9. Also Art of the Stitch juried exhibitions, 2003, 2006. 20/20. Works by Two International Artists. Invitational. Voirrey Embroidery Centre, Birkenhead, England UK. 2006 CraftTexas ’12, ’10, ’06. Juried. Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston TX. Material Fiber: A New World View. Curated by Rick Snyderman, Snyderman-Works Gall. National Crafts Nat’l Crafts Council Gallery of Ireland, Kilkenney, Ireland. 2005. Playing Around: Toys Designed by Artists. 50 selections from collection of Arkansas Arts Center, touring United States. 2003 – 5. Numerous additional exhibitions including museum venues in Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, England, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Hungary, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and throughout the United States.
SELECTED MUSEUM COLLECTIONS Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City NY. Jean Lurcat Musee de la tapisserie contemporaine d’Angers, France. (two) Denver Art Museum, Denver CO. Kamm Collection, Encino CA. (two) Racine Museum of Art, Racine WI. (four) Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock AK. Yeargin SBISC Museum of Art, Houston TX. (four) Szombathely Keptar, Szombathely, Hungary. (two)
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Southwestern Bell, Dallas TX Methodist Hospital, Houston TX Memorial Drive United Methodist Church, Houston TX San Angelo Hospital, San Angelo, TX
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS Calendar: Teapots. 2011. Catch Publishing, London, UK. Books: A Collection of Art. Self published collection of artist’s work. 2009. Fiberarts Design Books II, III, V, VI, VII. Lark Books. 1983, 1987, 1995, 1999, 2004. Posters: Masks Phase 2, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge MA. 2021 City of Paris, 440 mega-size posters for Pfaff Let Us Travel exhibition. 2010. Periodicals: Fiber Art Now, 1st annual Excellence in Fibers, juried exhibition in print. Winter, 2015. Quilting Arts: In Stitches, Vol. 11. Photo and article, internet issue. 2013. Fiber Art Now, articles, photos, Fiberart Int’l, Pittsburgh. 14th Triennial, Poland. 2013. Surface Design Journal. Feature article, Summer 2012. Fiberarts, Aug.Sept., 2010. Cover photo, article. Quilting Arts, Summer 2005. Profiled artist. World of Embroidery. Numerous articles, photos. Embroiderers Guild, UK. Textiel Plus, articles and “Best of 50 Years” poster. Netherlands. Numerous other publications including Wall Street Journal, American Craft, Fiberarts, Threads, workshopontheweb.com, Surface Design Journal, Better Homes & Gardens,Women’s Day.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Juror, Craft Texas, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. 2008. Final juror for awards, Pfaff Art Embroidery, France. 2009. SOFAChicago professional artist presentations, 2003, 2006.
