Background
Ziek was born on June 6, 1946 in New York City, to Irving and Nona Ziek.
Ziek was born on June 6, 1946 in New York City, to Irving and Nona Ziek.
She studied backstrap weaving with Mayan women and later co-authored the book Weaving on a Backstrap Loom with Nona Ziek. She obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Kansas in 1980.
She has been active in the contemporary fiber field for over four decades as an artist, author, teacher and lecturer. Ziek currently resides in Randolph, Vermont. She received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from State University of New York at Stony Brook, then moved to Manhattan where she learned to weave at the Crafts Students League.
In 1971 Ziek went to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico to study crafts, and in 1972 moved to Guatemala where she resided until 1976.
As an artist, she became known for wall pieces made with painted warps and hand-manipulated weft brocading. Her work was included in the prestigious traveling exhibition Frontiers in Fiber, curated by Mildred Constantine and Jack Lenor Larsen.
Ziek received her Master of Fine Arts from the Fibers Department of Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1989, studying under Gerhardt Knodel. In 1990 she was hired as an Assistant Professor at Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science to run the woven design program
She left in 2000 and went to the University of Kansas (2000-2002).
She was a visiting professor at Arizona State University (2007-2008), and has taught summer classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Ziek first became known for intricate weavings using painted warps and supplemental weft brocade and articles she wrote about these processes. Later she became part of the narrative/storytelling movement and her work was placed in collections at the Philadelphia Convention Center and The Museum of Arts and Design
Ziek received a Creation Grant from the Vermont Arts Council in 2012.
Works by Bhakti Ziek.