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Deborah First Bull

Fibers professor emerita

Education

  • M.F.A., fibers, Cranbrook Academy of Art
  • B.F.A., fine arts, East Carolina University

Credentials

Teaching experience

  • Professor emerita, fibers department, 2025–present, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
  • Professor, fibers department, Fall 1986–2025, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
  • Chair, fibers department, 1986–2002, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
  • Instructor of art, 1983–1984, Ravenscroft School, Raleigh, NC

Professional development

  • Fondazione Arte della Seta Lisio, Designing Today’s Textiles with Historical Jacquard Techniques, Florence, Italy, summer 2012
  • Montreal Center for Contemporary Textiles, advanced Jacquard workshop, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, summer 2000 and Jacquard workshop, summer 1997

Awards, recognitions, and honors

  • Weaving participant in local industry, a part of the exhibition Wind/Rewind/Weave by Anne Wilson at the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, Tenn., 2010.
  • Project director, Savannah College of Art and Design student collaboration with Nene Humphrey for Humphrey’s exhibit Weaving Geographies, 2004.
  • Juror, Anderson County Arts Center Annual Juried Show, Anderson, S.C., 2003.
  • Juror, Foundation Studies Honor Show, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga., 2003.

Organizations

  • Textile Society of America, member

Publications and presentations

Presentations

  • From Upholstery to Installation: Educating Designers and Artists Using an Electronic Jacquard Loom, 2000 Proceedings: Approaching Textiles, Varying Viewpoints, Textile Society of America Seventh Biennial Symposium, 2001.
  • Led field session “High Tech Tools Meet Historic Textiles” for the National Trust for Historic Preservation annual conference, 1998.
  • Participant on panel focusing on technology in textile education, Computer Integrated Textile Design Association annual conference, 1997.

Essay

  • Catalog essay for exhibition Parade, Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, 2004.

Exhibitions

  • Cranbrook in Atlanta, Krause Gallery, Atlanta, 2005.
  • On the Bias, Starland Center for Contemporary Art, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga., 2005.
  • School of Design Faculty Show, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga., 2002.
  • New Works, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Ga., 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.
  • Selected Works, Zenobia Institute, Venice, Italy, 1995.
  • Selected Works, American Community Schools, Cobham Surrey, England, 1995.
  • Selected Works, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, England, 1995.
  • Fiber Group Exhibit, West Palm Beach Community College, West Palm Beach, Fla.
  • TouLoose toGroup, outdoor installation, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Charleston, S.C., 1989.
  • Gesture and Motion, Green Hill Center for Contemporary Art, Greensboro, N.C., 1987.
  • Review Selection Committee, Detroit Focus Gallery, Detroit, 1986.
  • Group Show, Gilliam and Peden Gallery, Raleigh, N.C., 1986.
  • Image 16, Virginia McCue Arts Center, Petoskey, Mich., 1986.
  • North Carolina Sculpture, Northern Telecom, Inc., Durham, N.C., 1985.
  • Solo Exhibit, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, N.C., 1985.
  • North Carolina Artists’ Triennial Exhibition, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, N.C., 1985.
  • Solo Exhibition, Gilliam and Peden Gallery, Raleigh, N.C., 1985.
  • North Carolina Fiber Arts Biennial Show, Sawtooth Center, Winston-Salem, N.C., 1985.
  • North Carolina/South Carolina Fiber Competition, Queens College Gallery, Charlotte, N.C. and Columbia College Gallery, Columbia, S.C., 1983.

Virtual exhibits and CD-ROMS

  • Hot House, Expanding the Field of Fiber at Cranbrook, 1970–2007.
  • e-textiles: CD-ROM produced by the Montreal Center for Contemporary Textiles, 2000.