My story

The beginning...

I was born near the end of a short Yukon summer. My parents took me camping in Alaska when I was two weeks old; and I think we can blame them for my love of adventure, my love of silence and walking, and my interest in making things. The competing clatter of my mother's sewing machine and my father's printing press on Saturday mornings undoubtedly influenced my interest in creating.

My parents moved our family to Gallup, New Mexico, when I was in the 2nd grade, and they still live there. My sister and I grew up digging in the sand and climbing the red rocks surrounding our house. The Land of Enchantment has a special place in my heart and in my artwork (as well as in my sandy shoes).

The growing...​

My grandparents were weavers. I remember standing next to my grandfather's 60-inch Macomber loom while he wove yards of doubleweave fabric to cover hundreds of square feet of greenhouse window. My grandmother went to college when she was 60 years old and majored in art. Her love of caricature, drawing, children's books, and fiber influenced me throughout my growing up. And I loved that she had gnomes in her garden way before they were cool. I am blessed to be able to weave on their looms today.

After I completed graduate school in occupational therapy in 1997, I moved to Reno, Nevada, and started weaving on an old barn loom. I was fascinated with doubleweave but eventually realized when I tried to make complicated pictures in the technique that what I really wanted to do was weave tapestry.​ In 2004 I moved home to New Mexico and took traditional Hispanic weaving classes at Northern New Mexico College in the tiny village of El Rito. I wove on this standing loom in a 400 year old adobe house. Shortly thereafter I met James Koehler and started studying with him, eventually becoming his apprentice.

The present...​

Today I am a contemporary tapestry weaver with a studio in Mancos, Colorado. My work is drawn from the colors, open skies, and symbols of the southwestern United States. I hand-dye all my own yarn to get the color gradations I love, and I weave most of my tapestries on my grandfather's Harrisville rug loom. My work is in various public and private collections and you can see some of the tapestries in the gallery on this website. I teach classes in my studio, online, and at venues throughout the United States.

...and of course the learning continues.

If you are interested in following along with me in my tapestry journey, consider signing up for my weekly newsletter or reading my blog.

Books I have written

Mezoff, R. (2019). Untangled: A Crafty Sheep’s Guide to Tapestry Weaving. Fort Collins, CO: Crafty Sheep Press.

Mezoff, R. (2020). The Art of Tapestry Weaving: A Complete Guide to Mastering the Techniques for Making Images with Yarn. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing.

Books containing my work

Jarchow, D. & Steege, G. (2019). The Weaving Explorer; Ingenious Techniques, Accessible Tools & Creative Projects with Yarn, Paper, Wire & More. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing.

Sidore, M. (2020). The Art is the Cloth: How to Look at and Understand Tapestries. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing.

Other publications about and by me

Mezoff, Rebecca. “Balancing Digital and Analog.” Tapestry Topics, Fall 2019, Vol 45. No. 3: 25-27.

Donde, Karen. “Tiny tapestries can be big art: Rebecca Mezoff.” Easy weaving with Little Looms. Summer 2019.

Elkind, Molly. “Time Warp… and Weft Exhibit.” Tapestry Topics, Spring 2018, Vol 44. No. 1: 40-46.

Mezoff, Rebecca. “Weaving as Occupational Therapy During World War I.” Handwoven, Nov/Dec 2017.

Mezoff, Rebecca. “Sand in my Shoes: The Influences of a New Mexico Childhood.” CODA: Contemporary Tapestry. American Tapestry Alliance. 2017.

Mezoff, Rebecca. The Petrified Forest Tapestries. Blurb Publications, 2017.

Scanlin, Tommye McClure. “Time Warp and Weft: A Celebration of the Passage of Time through Weaving.” Shuttle, Spindle, and Dyepot, Summer 2017: 36-40.

Young, Marcia. “Creative Collaboration: Fiber Art Now + Highfield Hall.” Fiber Art Now, Summer 2017: 10-12.

Mezoff, Rebecca. “Woven Art: Weaving Tapestry with Handspun Yarn.” Spin Off, Spring 2017.

Mezoff, Rebecca. “Finding our place in the whole tapestry thing.” Tapestry Topics, Summer 2016.

Mezoff, Rebecca. “The Spiral: A series and a Journey.” Tapestry Weaver, Issue 19, Spring 2016.

Mezoff, Rebecca. “Sand in my Shoes: The Influences of a New Mexico Childhood.” Tapestry Topics, Summer 2015.

Mezoff, Rebecca. “Susan Martin Maffei and Archie Brennan: Tapestry Partners and Innovators.” Fiber Art Now, Spring 2015: 38-41. Reprinted special edition, Winter 2015.

Mezoff, Rebecca. “American Tapestry Biennial 10: The Humble Value of Concentration.” Fiber Art Now, Summer 2014: 14-16.         

Mezoff, Rebecca. “A question of validation.” Tapestry Topics, Fall 2011: 11-12.

Mezoff, Rebecca.  “The Tapestry of James Koehler.” Tapestry Topics, Summer 2011: 4-10.

Mezoff, Rebecca. “Interwoven Traditions: New Mexico and Bauhaus.” Tapestry Topics, Spring 2011: 15-17.

Heckman, Andrea. “Woven Stories: Weaving Traditions of Northern New Mexico.” Film: Stone Corral Media. 2011.