MARGARETA NETTLES
EXHIBIT AT NANTUCKET NEW SCHOOL
BY MARLI GUZZETTA
Four years after respected island weaver Margareta Nettles passed away, a retrospective exhibit of her illustrious work is more than in order - it is on display in the Great Hall of the Louise F. Walker Building at the Nantucket New School through Oct. 27.

Having received commissions by patrons as illustrious as Jackie Onassis, Nettles (a native of Sweden) graduated from the State School of Art and Design in Stockholm in 1959. She worked as a head designer at a craft center in Galve, Sweden, before moving to North America with a grant from the Swedish government to study weaving and crafts in the United States and to survey Swedish crafts in comparison to other countries' crafts on the American market.

Her career spanned over four decades and took her to over a dozen countries, including Finland, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Italy, Sardinia, Spain, France, Canada, Mexico, England and Jamaica, but she found her home base when she moved to Nantucket and began teaching design at the Nantucket School of Needlery in 1968.

"Her career really took off once we were living here," said husband Jim Nettles.

Jim Nettles, top, next to a stand-up loom that still has Margaretta's, above, last work on it.

The weaver had a summer studio in the Twin Street Barn through 1979, until she and her husband moved on island permanently and set up a yearround studio space with three other artists, calling themselves The Boatyard Weavers, on Washington Street Extension.

Among Nettles' commissions were a tapestry for the North Adams State College, an altar hanging for a Swedish church in New York City and many wall hangings for official buildings and private homes across the country. She also presented workshops and lectures on design and weaving throughout her career.

On display at the New School are appliqués, rugs, cartoons (watercolor mock-ups of her designs) and woven samples that Nettles gave to her clients. There are also wools, tools and a loom on display for the children to see. "I wanted to give them a sense of how she created her beautiful pieces," Jim said.

Head of School Dave Provost said the exhibition has allowed the school's art curriculum to expand to weaving. "Margareta Nettles' work is stunning and looks wonderful on the walls of our open Great Hall," Provost said. "It will be fascinating to see what the exhibition inspires in our students."

I EXHIBITION
When: The exhibition will open today, Oct. 11
at 9:45 a.m. with a short talk to the students at
the school by the artist's husband, Jim Nettles,
and a reception for the community on Thursday,
Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. The exhibition will close on
Friday, Oct. 27.
Where: Nantucket New School,
  15 Nobadeer Farm Road
Cost: Free
For more information, call 228-8569.