I’m a textile and fiber artist, a leatherworker and cordwainer, a quilter and sculptor and woodworker and above all, an educator and researcher.
Before calling Richmond, VA home, I spent seven years living and working at Penland School of Craft in the mountains of North Carolina. There, I became a fierce devotee to the field of craft and to the power of learning by doing. Guided by Anni Albers’ notion that any material is worth making art with, I am interested in using unpretentious materials in new ways to subvert what is known or expected.
I earned a Bachelor of Art and Design from the College of Design at North Carolina State University in 2008, followed by a Master of Fine Arts in Craft and Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2019.
marie.fornaro[at]gmail.com