How I became
enamored with
Dorothy Wright Liebes
I retired from my career as an educational leader – including ten years as a district superintendent – in 2020. Good timing!
Giving up my day job of 30 years provided the time I needed to indulge my lifelong interest in design and fashion. Having always loved beautiful garments, I learned how to sew properly and became knowledgeable about textiles. I often listened to podcasts while sewing, in particular one called Dressed: A History of Fashion.
Dressed introduced me to Dorothy Wright Liebes.
Liebes was an influential weaver and textile designer who dominated the interiors landscape in the first half of the 20th century in San Francisco, Chicago, Hawaii, New York, and Hollywood. She was a native northern Californian, born in Guerneville and raised in Santa Rosa.
Liebes’s Sonoma County roots and early employment as a teacher resonated with me, and I now find myself two years into researching and writing Useful and Beautiful: The Life of Dorothy Wright Liebes.
While research and writing have cut into the free time of retirement, I still sew most of my own clothes, as well as gifts for friends and family. My fabric choices these days tend to favor Liebes’s color palettes and weaves more often than not.
I live in Sebastopol, California, with my husband of 38 years and our rescued cattle dog Roxy. Our daughter lives with her husband near Sacramento and our son now calls New York home.
CV
Education
ABD, Educational Leadership M.A. Educational Administration B.S. Psychology
University of Nevada Reno St. Mary’s College Santa Clara University
Reno, NV 1999-2001 Moraga, CA 1994 Santa Clara, CA 1979
Experience
Biographer, Dorothy Wright Liebes
October 2023 - present
Educational Leader: Superintendent, Principal, Mentor 2001 -2025
Awards and Grants
Shortlisted, Elizabeth Buccleuch Prize, Biographers’ Club of London, December, 2025.
Institute for Historical Study Research Travel Grant, $750, November, 2025.
Winner, Hazel Rowley Prize for the Best Proposal from a First-Time Biographer. Biographers International Organization, June, 2025.
Author
“Intrinsic Beauty: Celebrating the Art of Textiles.” Sett & Spin, October, 2025. https://redwoodgfa.org/sett-spin/, also available at usefulandbeautiful.blog
“Taliesin West.” Sett & Spin, February, 2025. https://redwoodgfa.org/sett-spin/, also available at usefulandbeautiful.blog
“Dorothy Liebes, Textile Designer.” Berkeley Historical Society ePlaques, January, 2025.
https://berkeleyplaques.org/e-plaque/liebes-dorothy-designer/
“Panel Recap: Melding Science and Biography.” The Biographer’s Craft, May, 2024. https://biographersinternational.org/newsletter/the-biographers-craft-may-2024/
Upcoming Presentations
“Useful and Beautiful: The Decorative Arts Pavilion on Treasure Island.”
Golden Gate Weavers Guild, January 19, 2026
American Decorative Arts Forum of Northern California, April 25, 2026
“Dorothy Liebes and the Structo Loom: The Healing Power of Weaving.”
Redwood Guild of Fiber Arts, April 1, 2026
Presentations
“Useful and Beautiful: The Decorative Arts Pavilion on Treasure Island.”
Institute for Historical Study Monthly Program, via Zoom, November 15, 2025
“Dorothy Liebes, Marie Cuttoli, and the Tapestries at the Treasure Island World’s Fair of 1939.”
30th Annual Weaving History Conference, Thousand Island Arts Center,
October 20, 2025
“Useful and Beautiful: The Decorative Arts Pavilion on Treasure Island.”
Sacramento Weavers and Spinners Guild, September 23, 2025
Treasure Island Museum, San Francisco, July 26, 2025
“Meet Dorothy Wright Liebes.”
Annual Meeting of the Institute for Historical Study, February 22, 2025
“Dorothy Liebes and the Structo Loom: The Healing Power of Weaving.”
Co-presented with Peggy Osterkamp
29th Annual Weaving History Conference, Thousand Islands Arts Center,
October 22, 2024
Memberships and Affiliations
Biographers International Organization, Member and Contributor: The Biographer’s Craft Newsletter
Member: Redwood Guild of Fiber Arts, Institute for Historical Study, Textile Arts Council, Decorative Arts Trust
