Nancy Schultz Textile Artist
I am a self-taught artist specializing in textiles and dyes. Born and raised in small towns in Minnesota, my childhood was full of craft-making and sewing. My grandmother was a talented dressmaker in Ottertail County and I started my own sewing business when I was 14 to support my unique and colorful clothing style.
Influences
I came to the Twin Cities to study chemistry at the University of Minnesota on a scholarship. A dark winter quarter and an ad touting spring break in Mexico led me to quit school and go there to learn Spanish. This was the beginning of my almost yearly trips to Oaxaca, a mecca for the fiber arts and many other crafts. Recently I have been studying and working with indigenous plant and insect dyes. In my work, I always use natural fibers; I mostly use a painting technique with Procion MX dyes (special non-fading dyes uniquely formulated for natural fabrics), but I am continually experimenting in my home studio in Minneapolis. I hand-sew most of the scarves; each is hand-dyed separately for a one-of-a-kind piece of art.