Art Expert Lectures at Florida Tech Dec. 3, Explains Russian Hand-Woven Tapestry

MELBOURNE, FLA.—On Dec. 3, Florida Institute of Technology will feature Tanya Williams Wetenhall, art expert, writer and historian, in the presentation, “Woven Blooms of Nationalism: Russian Hand-Woven Tapestry Technique Shawls, 1825-1855.” Wetenhall will discuss the imagery and historic significance of 19th-century Russian tapestry-woven shawls.  Part of the Friends of Textiles Lecture Series, the presentation will be on campus in the Denius Student Center’s Hartley Room. A reception at 6:15 p.m. precedes the lecture at 7 p.m.            

Wetenhall operates the Tanya Williams Art Services in Sarasota, Fla., where she researches and appraises textiles, dress and couture, as well as Russian fine and decorative art. She is currently an independent curator for the San Angelo Museum of Art’s Undressed (2010-2011), an exhibition that will explore various dress silhouettes of the centuries and the undergarments that have shaped them. She is also researching and writing the fashion biography of designer Fernando Sanchez.           

Wetenhall received an associate in applied science degree in advertising and marketing communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City where she also received a master’s degree in fashion and textile studies.  Fluent in both Russian and Italian, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Russian language and literature, with a minor in fine art, and a certificate in appraisal studies at New York University.           

Tickets for the presentation are $10 for the general public and free to “Friends of Textiles” members and Florida Tech students. For more information about the lecture or gallery exhibit, contact Carla Funk at (321) 674-6129.