Evelyn Marie Gulick

Evelyn Gulick, an internationally known, award winning weaver, was born on August 7, 1907 and graduated from Pomona College in 1930. Her mother died within a month after Evelyn Gulick was born due to complications of the birth. As a result, Evelyn had a tough and lonely childhood. When Evelyn Gulick married Sidney L. Gulick, Jr., in 1931, he was on the faculty at the University of Rochester. With their daughter, Marian, was born in 1934 in Rochester, the trio moved to Oakland, California in 1935, as Sidney Gulick became a faculty member at Mills College. Here she attended her first course in weaving.

Mrs. Gulick moved to San Diego in 1945, when Sidney joined the San Diego State College faculty (and later served as the first dean of Arts and Sciences), and began decades of connections with Contemporary Handweavers of California, Allied Craftsmen and the San Diego Art Guild.

Evelyn Gulick displayed her early weaving handiwork by creating place mats, napkins and neckties (the latter of which she initially designed for her husband), as well as skirts and suits before moving on to exhibiting larger woven room dividers.

Beyond her studio work, Mrs. Gulick described her approach and process in publications, taught weaving at San Diego State University for three semesters (1966 - 1968) as well as hosting classes at her home studio (designed by Ted Paulson).

For her approach, Evelyn Gulick drew from the work of Danish weavers, Trude Guermonprez, and Dorothy Liebes among others as well as an appreciation for weaving techniques across a variety of cultures the world over.

According to The San Diego Union, Mrs. Gulick was a “A contemporary weaver… who was a leader in her field of inventive structure of design and use of organic materials interlocked with fiber. She played a major role in the recent history of weaving…” The 'culture of modernism' hosted by friendly and "supportive members of San Diego's Allied Craftsmen (e.g. John Dirks) brought out Evelyn Gulick's artistic abilities and gave her such energy in creating various kinds
of woven items."

Beyond local showings via the Allied Craftsmen, exhibitions including Evelyn Gulick’s work were held at Museum of Contemporary Crafts, Kentucky Guild Train, Tucson Art Center, Ball State University as well as traveling shows through the National Federation of Arts and American Craftsmen’s Council.

Mrs. Gulick earned awards from the California State Fair, San Diego Art Guild, Seattle International Handwoven Textile Competition, San Francisco Designer Craftsmen of the West, and the Fiber, Clay and Metal Competition(s) in St. Paul, Minnesota among others.

Her work was published in Handweaver & Craftsman, Craft Horizons, Open Weaves, Threads in Action among other periodicals. Among the books that include her work include Creative Design in Wall Hangings, Art from Found Materials, Wall Hangings and Weaving Off-Loom among other titles.

Mingei International Museum exhibited a retrospective and published the accompanying catalog of Eve Gulick: Three Decades of Weaves and Innovations in 1982.

Listen to an interview with Mrs. Gulick HERE.