April DeConick (b 1963, Detroit, MI) is an abstract expressionist who works in fiber art and ceramics. She is also a professor of the study of religion at Rice University (2006-). After decades of writing about mysticism and gnosticism, she has found that words often are inadequate to communicate the deepest aspects of reality. She has turned to art to communicate what cannot be said in words, what must be experienced and felt first-hand about who we are, where we are from, and where we are going.
The artist plays with the intersection of the haptic and the aesthetic so that her artworks convey the sensation of “hygge,” the feeling of comfort, care, and companionship. She intends her pieces to inspire us to cultivate a culture of care for ourselves, each other, and the planet we share.
As an abstract expressionist, she embraces improvisation and spontaneity in her fiber artworks, using color, texture, and undulating forms to visually reflect the Flow or Dao. Her improvised style is expressed in her ceramics as well which are spontaneous and playful. She is especially drawn to circular mark-making, considering it the symbol of both the divine and the woman. Her work oscillates between functional and conceptual art.
Bio
organic modern designs
Artist’s Statement
The artist first learned to stitch rugs, weave, and make ceramics in college, but since then has developed her own artistic practice. She combines hooked, tufted, woven, felted, embroidered, stitched, painted, wired, and ceramic surfaces into vibrant woven fiber tapestries, sculptures, and vessels. She also creates functional and sculptural ceramic vessels with a modern organic flare.
She has participated in exhibitions put on by the Art League of Houston, Sawyers Yards (Texas), Women in Literary and Visual Arts (Texas), Envision Arts (Texas), and Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs (Ohio). In 2018, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame for hooked art and, in 2023, she hung her first solo exhibition, Flow Meets Fiber, in Gallery 300 (Houston). She operates an art gallery – Studio 220 – in the Silos at Sawyer Yards, Houston.
Flow Meets Fiber Solo Exhibition, Sawyer Yards. 2023. Artist with Tears of Our Mother.
Blood, Sweat, and Tears exhibited in Expansion, Women In Visual and Literary Arts, POST-Houston. 2023.
A Rose Is a Rose on exhibit in Small Frames, Big Ideas 2, Gallery 200, Sawyer Yards. 2024.
Flow Meets Fiber Solo Exhibition, Sawyer Yards. 2023. Full view of artist’s works.
Blood, Sweat, and Tears being admired.
METAMORPHOSIS/change on exhibit in The Artists of the Silos Fall-Spring Exhibition, Sawyer Yards. 2023-2024.
Faculty-Student 2022 Exhibition, Art League of Houston
Resume
April DeConick Art
adeconickart@gmail.com
Gallery
April DeConick Art. Studio 220. The Silos, Sawyer Yards, Houston, Texas.
Solo Exhibitions
2023. “Flow Meets Fiber.” Gallery 300. The Silos at Sawyer Yards, Houston, Texas. July 3-29.
Exhibitions
2024. “Good Luck Barbie” and “(In)habitation.” Dimension. Ardest Gallery, The Woodlands, Texas. Juror: Jeff Forster. May 11-June 1.
2024. “There is a Rose.” Small Frames, Big Ideas. Gallery 200. January-March. The Silos at Sawyer Yards, Houston.
2023. (In)habitation. Creating Space: Weaving Stories in Fibre. Harriet Goodall. Virtual Exhibition.
2023. “METAMORPHOSIS/change” (vessel) and “Blood, Sweat, and Tears” (sculptural tapestry). Artists of the Silos Winter Exhibition. November 18-February 12.
2023. “Blood, Sweat, and Tears.” Expansion. Women in the Visual and Literary Arts. POST-Houston. September 1-November 11. Juror and Curator: Elena Poirot.
2023. “Wild Spring,” “River Bottom,” and “Beneath Spring.” Big Ideas Small Frames. Artists of the Silos. August 28-November 11. Houston, Texas.
2023. “Escape” and “Peacock Collar.” Best In Show. Envision Arts: Aquamarine. Virtual exhibition.
2023. “Bleeding Out.” I Choose, Therefore I Am. Silver Street Studio Exhibition, Houston, Texas. Juror and Curator: Rachelle LaBlanc. March 11-April 30. Permanent online exhibition at www.ichoosethereforeiam.com.
2023. “We are Connected” and “Differences are Beautiful” and “Rose Cascade.” Sawyer Yards: Artists’ Talk. March 1-April 30. Houston, Texas.
2022. “Swimming in Balmorhea Springs” and “Reflections on Lake Raven.” Envision Arts: Terra and Tide. Virtual exhibition.
2022. “River of Light” Art League of Houston, Faculty-Student Exhibition. July 30-September 2. Houston, Texas.
2022. “Grow Wild.” Sawyer Yards: Free Expression. July 1-September 30. Houston, Texas.
2022. “Transfiguration: Red to Purple.” Sawyer Yards: Love Story. February 1-April 30. Houston, Texas.
2021. “The Place Where All Stairways End.” Sawyer Yards: The Silo’s Artists. February 1-December 30. Houston, Texas.
2021. “We Are Connected” and “Differences are Beautiful.” Envision Arts: Texture II Exhibition. Virtual exhibition.
2021. “Grow Wild”. Art League of Houston, Faculty-Student Exhibition. July 30-August 28. Houston, Texas.
2021. “Beneath Spring” and “Spark of Life.” Honorable Mention. Envision Arts: Spring. Virtual exhibition.
2020. “Color Progression 1” and “Color Progression 2.” Envision Arts: Prism. Virtual exhibition.
Awards and Honors
2023. “Escape” and “Peacock Collar.” Best In Show. Envision Arts: Aquamarine. Virtual exhibition.
2021. “Beneath Spring” and “Spark of Life.” Honorable Mention. Envision Arts: Spring Virtual exhibition.
2018. induction into the Hall of Fame for hooked art.
Published Juried Pieces in Exhibition Catalogues
2023. “(In)habitation.” Creating Space: Weaving Stories in Fibre. Edited by Harriet Goodall.
2023. “Bleeding Out.” I Choose, Therefore I am 2023 Exhibition Catalog. Edited by Rachelle LeBlanc.
2020. “Original Palette.” Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs 30.Published Juried Pieces in Exhibition Catalogues
2023. “(In)habitation.” Creating Space: Weaving Stories in Fibre. Edited by Harriet Goodall.
2023. “Bleeding Out.” I Choose, Therefore I am 2023 Exhibition Catalog. Edited by Rachelle LeBlanc.
2020. “Original Palette.” Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs 30.
Special Event Appearances
2023. Artist Talk on “Renegade Women” podcast with Meryl Cook, December 9.
2023. Artist Exhibition Talk: Flow Meets Fiber. Sip and Stroll Event. Arts District Houston. Organizer: Nicole Peralta. July 15.
Publications
2023. April DeConick. Flow Meets Fiber: April DeConick Fiber Art Exhibition. Houston: Studio 220 Press.
2023. April DeConick. Soul Windows: April DeConick Fiber Art Series. Houston: Studio 220 Press.
2022. April DeConick. Going Abstract with April DeConick: A Practical Workbook. Houston: Studio 220 Press.
2022. April DeConick. Power Dyeing with April DeConick: A Practical Workbook. Houston: Studio 220 Press.
2013. April DeConick. Wool Snapshots: A Guide to Creating Miniature Wool Portraits from Photos. Houston: Studio 220 Press.
2011. April DeConick. The Wool Palette: A Guide to Dyeing Your Own Color Palette of Wool. Houston: Studio 220 Press.
Featured Appearances
2021. “Dawn Awakens” featured in “Exposure”: Surface Design Association Journal, Spontaneity and Play in Fiber Art, Summer: 37.
2014. “April DeConick.” Pages 105-6 in Deanne Fitzpatrick, Simply Modern: Contemporary Designs for Hooked Rugs. Nimbus.
Professional Service
2013. Juror for Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs 23.
Teaching
2023. “Crazy Color.” Sauder Village Rug Week. Archbold, Ohio.
2022. “Going Abstract.” 3-Day Retreat. Sauder Village Rug Week. Archbold, Ohio.
2022. “Power Dyeing.” Sauder Village Rug Week. Archbold, Ohio.
2021-present. Master Dyeing Course. Online instruction with videos. Art Rug Academy.
2019. “Color Theory and the Color Tree.” Sauder Village Rug Week. Archbold, Ohio.
2019. “Zonalism.” ATHA Biennial. Denver, Colorado.2012. “Palette Dyeing.” Sauder Village Rug Week. Archbold, Ohio.
2018. “Exploring the Color Spectrum.” Green Mountain Rug Guild. Montplier, Vermont.
2015. “Zonalism.” Sauder Village Rug Week. Archbold, Ohio.
2015. “Zonalism.” ATHA Biennial. San Antonio, Texas.
2013. “Miniature People.” Deanne Fitzpatrick Studio. Amherst, Canada.
Memberships
Art League of Houston
Surface Design Association
Fiber Art Network
Textile Society of America
Visual Arts Alliance Houston