Murray Gibson, in his role as a visual artist, believes he can also play a complementary role as an educator.

This role can be pursued in a somewhat passive manner - exemplified by the educational value inherent in viewing any art exhibition, be it in a museum or gallery or in a more unorthodox venue including the World Wide Web.

Murray, however, also takes on the role of educator in a much more active fashion. He has presented many lectures over the years, both at home and abroad, that focus not only on his own tapestry production but also that of others throughout history and around the world.

Murray has taught numerous adult education workshops with the City of Calgary, AB, the City of Kingston, ON, and with the Summer Series programme offered by Red Deer College in Alberta. Murray has also taught many workshops with weaving guilds across Canada.

In 2002/03 Murray spent an eventful year in Arctic Canada teaching a Textiles Arts Programme for Nunavut Arctic College in the remote hamlet of Pangnirtung, located on Baffin Island near to the Arctic Circle. Murray worked with a group of Inuit women to teach them a variety of textile skills including tapestry weaving.

Murray currently teaches part-time, closer to the 49th parallel, at Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, NS. He teaches an introductory tapestry weaving course to students from a wide range of disciplines offered by the unversity.

Recently Murray has been involved in two writing projects. His essay How Long is a Piece of String? has been published in Craft Perception and Practice: A Canadian Discourse, Volume III; the essay focuses on the motivation behind the creation of his tapestry The Three Fates, now in the collection of the Canada Council Art Bank.

Murray's essay From Text to Tapestry has been published recently by the American Tapestry Alliance on their website. His writing, a part of a series that explores "Inspiration and Creativity", looks at his tapestry Penelope, and discusses the initial concept behind the work and its manifestation as a tapestry. Penelope is a part of the collection of the Nova Scotia Art Bank.

Please refer to "the web" page in Murray's site for appropriate links to these essays.

LEARN ABOUT:
How a tapestry is designed and woven. This series of pages illustrates the creation of Bitter Harvest; a tapestry woven while Murray was Artist-in-Residence at the Center for Tapestry Arts in New York City during 1990-91.

Noah's Ark - a community tapestry project. This series of pages illustrates a community artwork created in partnership between weaving students in Murray's studio class at StFX and core members of L'Arche Antigonish during the 2008-09 academic year.

The Peaceable Kingdom - a community tapestry project. This series of pages illustrates a community artwork created in partnership between weaving students in Murray's studio class at StFX and core members of L'Arche Antigonish during the 2009-10 academic year.

In Danger! In Tapestry! - an on-line book project. This book project focuses on a selection of endangered animals selected by students in Autumn 2010 and others. Tapestry images of the animals illustrate the book project and written text provides information about threats and solutions to the animal's survival.

This page will be updated semi-regularly, so please check back at some later time for a more complete experience.