Blackstone Wins Art Awards

July 7, 2011

Julie Blackstone, OBU assistant professor of art, recently won two awards in the Fiberworks 2011 show in Tulsa, Okla. Her piece titled "Knotty Girl No. 3: Garbo as Mata Hari" won the Rachael Valliere Award for Best Handwoven Art. She also won a Juror's Award of Merit.

Fiberworks is a regional exhibit and juried competition sponsored by the Fiber Artists of Oklahoma. The organization works to support and educate the public about various fiber art techniques and to display pieces from around the state.

Blackstone won Best of Show in the Fiberworks 2010 show for her piece "Knotty Girl No. 2: Mme. Gautreau meets Messrs. Seurat and Klimt."

An accomplished artist, Blackstone has taught full-time at OBU since August 1997. Her career has included international study and experience at art studios and colleges and schools across Oklahoma. Before becoming an educator, she worked as an intern with an advertising agency in England, and she was an artist and designer with Glasshaus Studio.

Blackstone's work has been accepted at numerous juried shows, and she is a two-time winner of the Handweavers' Guild of America Award for Excellence.