Sophia Tata

The sixth exchange took place in October of 2003 when dyer / weaver Sophia Tata came to Maine to give lectures and workshops on the art of dying wool with natural plants, and on her techniques used weaving colorful and original tapestries. She brought colorful examples of her weaving which shown in a small exhibition in the Kidder Gallery on the USM Gorham campus. She also participated in the official establishment of a Sister City relationship between the cities of Portland, Maine, and Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece.

Sophia Tate was born in Mytilene, Lesbos, where she completed her secondary studies. In her early youth, she enjoyed working with leather, metal, and cloth. She then moved to Athens and worked in the public sector until 1983.

In 1983, she joined weaving classes at the EOMMEX (Greek Organization of Arts and Crafts) and the YMCA. She specialized in the techniques of weaving tapestry. She also took design and painting classes at the Municipality of Athens Vocational Training Courses.

In 1985, the Ministry of Culture awarded her a scholarship in order to take classes on the ancient art of natural dyeing. She moved to the island of Crete where she joined the workshop of Sophia Kana, master of this art, for three months.

During the next three years she tramped through her native island, and the rest of her homeland, collecting flowers, fruits, leaves, seeds, and roots which would lend their magnificent colors to her fibers. Color became, somehow, the channel through which Sophia expressed her inner self. The strength of the natural dyes drove her back to the loom -- the ìkrevateeî in her native dialect. Thus she started weaving her now-famous tapestries. The Aegean Islandsí landscape is her favorite theme ñ and present throughout her entire work is the joy of color.

In 1990, she took courses of new weaving techniques at the ìAngeliki Chatzimichali Foundation,î with a scholarship of the Municipality of Athens this time.

In August 1991, she presented her first solo exhibition at the ìGheni Tzamiî in Mytilene. In May of that year, she presented her work at the ìPleiadesî Gallery in Athens, along with ten other prominent Greek tapestry artists. In August 1993, she had her next solo exhibition at the Municipal Gallery of Molyvos, Lesbos.

In September 1996, she presented her new work at the ìMelina Merkouriî Cultural Centre in the island of Hydra, under the auspices of the Mayor. Her theme was ìThe Aegean and its Vivid Color Variety.î It was, indeed, a journey in the magical world of the Aegean. In November of that year she gave a series of lectures on weaving at the National Archive of Greek Traditional Costume in Athens.

In the summer of 1997, she participated at a collective art exhibition in Petra, Lesbos, held at the Cultural Centre. In December 1998, she presented her new work at the Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Athens under the auspices of the Mayor.

She is currently writing a book on the use of natural color resources of Lesbos in wool, silk, and cotton dyeing. The publication is to sponsored by ETVA.