Toni Tully

By training and experience Tully was a painter and a seamstress. She showed paintings for many years and needle arts consumed her interest since childhood. Tully comes from a long line of women who worked in the textile arts. She studied methods of painting on textiles for many years, processes that are similar to those used by Japanese artists for centuries.

Relationships honors Tully’s life and lifelong exploration of new techniques, materials, and equipment in the making of art. Her works were inspired by her time spent with three Japanese artists: Junichi Arai, Yoshiko Wada, and Junco Sato Pollack. Under their tutelage, she learned to disperse dyes to polyester fabrics using the heat sublimation technique. In the past Tully had worked exclusively with silks, but the polyester fabrics introduced a new layer to her work.