Joan Rusitzky is an accomplished jewelry designer, weaver, and fabric artist. She graduated from Syracuse University with a major in Textiles. Her diverse work, whether weaving, painting on silk or cotton, or turning a collection of beads into a vibrant flowing necklace, is united by her command of color and design.

I have always had a passion for color and design, drawing my inspiration from nature and the world around me. My journey as an artist began with textiles and has evolved to include jewelry design and small art quilts.

Joan Rusitzky received a grant from the Rochester Arts Council for a project at the Rochester Friendly Home, a residential facility for seniors. Joan designed a segmented wall piece, using ripped strips from cotton material, which residents at the home wove on small table looms. This wall piece (approximately 6 feet by 8 feet) was subsequently displayed in the lobby of the Friendly Home.

Following this project, Joan designed and hand-dyed two additional wall pieces, both from ribbed strips, one for a conference room at the Friendly Home and one for the Ronald McDonald House. In recognition of these projects, Joan received an outstanding alumni award from Syracuse University.

Joan has sold her work at the Louisa Gould Gallery on Martha's Vineyard and at Dream Weaver in Longboat Key, Florida. Her jewelry and scarves can currently be seen at the Memorial Art Gallery gift shop and Craft Company No. 6 in Rochester, NY and at Yildiz Aylin in New York City.

Joan Rusitzky has taken many workshops to perfect her craft. She lives in Rochester, NY. She enjoys traveling for pleasure and inspiration.

ARASHI SHIBORI
Shibori is a Japanese textile technique in which fabrics are folded, bound, twisted, coiled and/or compressed, and then dyed. It is loosely akin to tie dying. The method I prefer is called arashi shibori or pole wrap shibori. Arashi is the Japanese word for "storm." The patterns created by arashi shibori resemble the driving rain of a heavy storm. My shibori scarves are made of silk.

For more information on shibori, I recommend Memory on Cloth.

SMALL QUILTS TO HANG ON THE WALL
I paint on the fabric. And often I enjoy using surface embellishments such as embroidery threads and beads.

JEWELRY DESIGN
I am fascinated with the beauty of gemstones, much like the color of beautiful fabric. Designing jewelry was one more progression; it seemed a natural for me.

Whether weaving, painting on silk, or turning a collection of gemstones into a vibrant flowing necklace, my work is diverse, yet united. For me it's really all just about color and design, no matter what the end product is.