Greenwich Academy Alumnae

Carol Dixon has been a part of so many individuals' lives at Greenwich Academy — her colleagues, her students, alumnae and parents, and in this her retirement year, we pay tribute to her in this profile. Art history and the visual arts are Carol's passions. She has taught studio art, architecture, art history, world cultures and US history and chaired the art and history departments during her 29 years at GA. She also served as art faculty at the Stamford Museum, been a guest lecturer, lead workshops, curated shows and served as a juror for numerous arts festivals, clubs and societies in Fairfield and Westchester counties. Her one-woman exhibitions, invitational shows and awards fill the pages of her resume, and her works are included in many corporate and private collections here and abroad.

Carol is best known for her color photography and small-scaled embroidered collages, which combine traditional and contemporary techniques, materials and concepts influenced by a variety of the world's cultures. In her own words Carol says, "I have been drawing, painting, sculpting, taking photographs and experimenting with mixed media since I was a child — always trying to express an individual point of view. I find using embroidery threads in my art creates the texture and color necessary to express my most personal feelings and concepts. With both conventional and free-form stitches in a wide range of colors, I can transform the cotton threads into smooth, silken surfaces evoking a sense of serenity or into rough, bas-relief patterns symbolizing agitation. Often my embroidered art incorporates found objects and papers, juxtaposing the traditional with the contemporary. Thus, as I work, I may integrate shiny or rusted metal, satin or woolen fabric fragments, flat or crumpled papers into the embroidered composition — creating a unified whole. In each of my small-scaled pieces, I attempt to capture the the essence of the world around me."

Q: What inspires your career in the arts?
A: "My inspiration comes from my own experiences, nature, varied cultures, historical eras and art over the ages — ranging from Ming Dynasty squares and Cambodian ruins to paintings by Klimt, Kandinsky and Krasner. My art also seems to echo the influences of my grandmother who taught me to embroider and my grandfather who gave me snippets of cloth from his tailor shop, along with my years of teaching world cultures and art history. I am inspired by my love of the visual world and of the way in which the outer and inner worlds can be expressed. I have interest in and appreciation of what artists have created over the years, from the dawn of time to the present and why and how they created their art."

Q: How did you prepare for your career in the arts?
A: "I always have painted, inside and outside of school. I learned embroidery from my grandmother and was given a camera from an uncle at an early age. I studied illustration at Pratt Institute when I was going to elementary school and oil painting at the Brooklyn Museum when I was going to graduate school. I studied art history in college and have continued to visit museums and exhibitions and read about art. I also took a course in creative criticism at the Greenwich Art Society. I've taken some excellent workshops for teachers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art — such courses as northern Renaissance painting and textile art."

Q: Did you have any mentors that inspired you?
A: "Two of my teachers were extremely inspiring — Reuben Tam at the Brooklyn Museum and Leo Manso at the Greenwich Art Society. My grandmother and grandfather, who was a tailor, were also inspirations. As to artists whose work I especially have admired, I'd have to say Kandinsky, Rothko, Turner, Schwitters and Ann Ryan."

Q: What is your advice for students and alumnae interested in pursuing art as a career?
A: "Follow your own drummer — begin to develop a distinctive mode of expression that is unique to you. Study with good teachers, both studio art and art history. It is diffcult to earn a living solely from one's own personal art, but keep at it, even if you have to earn money in another field or a related field. Teaching art and/or art history is exciting because it also can serve as an inspiration."

College: Vassar College, BA, Phi Beta Kappa
Post College: Columbia University, MA with education courses leading to a teaching license at Hunter College, City College and Columbia Teacher's College

Typhoon Over China, embroidery thread, paper and found objects on felt,
6" diameter circle in 13" square mat, 1994

Tribal Circles, embroidery thread and metal on felt on felt,
6" diameter circle in 13" square mat, 1998