Janice Arnold (born 1953, Vancouver WA) found a passion for textiles at an early age. She studied a wide variety of textile traditions in college, traveling extensively to learn traditional techniques with cultural contexts.
Arnold approaches her art and projects with an intense curiosity — artistically, intellectually and technically. She has researched and worked with nomadic tribes of Central Asia and Mongolia, as well as the technical makers and machinery of industrial felt. Through innovative approaches — that are informed by both — she has created a rare niche and is recognized internationally as a textile artist who continues to change the way people think about felt, both as fabric and art.
The daughter of a cartographer, Arnold grew up with an unusual sense of scale, which perhaps explains her audacious approach to her colossal textile centered visions. These projects engage the public through immersive installations, exhibitions, volunteer opportunities, community building and educational presentations.