My Life Has Been a Tapestry was a tribute to the women that tell their stories in fabric; spun, stitched, and woven. Taking its name from Carole King’s beloved song Tapestry, founder Lisa Perry says, “Growing up listening to the song Tapestry on repeat, I could never have imagined that it would become an anthem for our celebration of women artists at Onna House. The art is always beautiful and special, but it’s the women’s stories woven through that make each piece complete.” This show gathered the work of twelve contemporary women artists: Avis Collins Robinson, Cory Emma Siegler, Erica Lynn Huberty, Gaia Pilens, Kayla Powers, Kelly Tapia Chunning, Laurie Lambrecht, Nancy Winarick, Patricia Udell, Sheri Schumacher, Suchi Reddy and Suzanne Tick.

Historically, fabric making was considered craft not art, at Onna House we believe “there is no difference between art and craft.” It may be called arts and crafts, but at Onna House we trade the “and” for “is.” Women weave not only to clothe and shelter their families but to narrate love, loss, and memory into the language of fabric. Life becomes a tapestry; a layering of invisible labor, history, struggle, domestic ritual, and unspoken dreams.

This curation of textiles features stories about slavery, religious persecution, and sustainability. Avis Collins Robinson (July 26th 1953- October 28th, 2023) built an extraordinary life as a pioneering environmental advocate, a champion for underrepresented students through the Washington Metropolitan Scholars program, and a dedicated collector whose contributions now live in the Smithsonian. At her core she was always an artist, she ultimately turned her full focus to painting and fabric art, exploring untold stories of tensions over race, gender and oppression. Her work is a reference to the struggles of her ancestors even with the sole use of cloth her textiles are extraordinarily painterly, pieced together with bold colors and free form lines and shapes. Robinson, during her stay at Johns Hopkins Hospital became the first patient to insist a sewing machine be brought into her room during her final moments. Her legacy lives on through tapestry: testaments to the resilience and beauty of untold Black histories.

The house also featured works by textile designer Suzanne Tick, who repurposes damaged Torahs that would otherwise have been buried, bringing them back to life through woven pieces, salons, and teachings that explore new ways to understand tradition and spirituality.

The show also featured Kayla Powers’s work with foraged plant dyes and Cory Emma Siegler’s playful, improvisational quilting, underscoring connections between sustainability, place, and personal narrative. Onna House continues to champion women’s voices in art and design, creating space for dialogue, community, and the redefinition of craft. Together, these artists invite us to witness life’s “wondrous woven magic.”

Cory Emma Siegler