KU textile design student wins award, looms

July 26, 2004.

LAWRENCE - Linh Trang Cao, a graduate of the textile design program at the University of Kansas, brought recognition to the program recently when she won a special Juror''s Award in the 2004 Schacht Spindle Company Student Showcase.

Cao, an undergraduate who completed her studies at KU in May 2004, was one of more than 60 participants who entered 124 pieces in the juried show, which was sponsored by Schacht Spindle Company, a handweaving loom and spinning wheel manufacturer.

"Linh consistently produces high-quality work," said Mary Anne Jordan, associate professor of textiles. "The piece for which she won the award was just one of many ambitious and successful artworks she created while a student here in the textiles program. She is a very deserving award recipient."

Cao entered a woven sculpture made of wire and fiber titled "Year of the Monkey" into the competition. She spent her last year at KU weaving and sculpting life-size animals of the Chinese zodiac; the monkey sculpture was one of the animals she completed for the project. While at KU, Cao worked with Jordan and David Brackett, an assistant professor in the design department.

Cao''s piece, along with 28 other works, will be on view at the Schacht Spindle Company in Boulder, Colo., through August 31. In addition to her Juror''s Award, she also received two Four-harness Baby Wolf Weaving Looms - one for the KU textile design program, and one for herself.

"The loom that KU will receive as a result of Linh''s award will be very beneficial to our program in a variety of ways," Jordan said. "It will be used as a teaching tool for students in our classes, and it will allow current students the opportunity to complete finished woven samples and artwork."

The Department of Design is one of three academic units of the KU School of Fine Arts, which also is the parent organization for the Department of Art, the Department of Music and Dance, and the Lied Center of Kansas.

For more information about Cao''s achievement or the KU textile design program, the public may contact the Department of Design at (785) 864-4401. For more information on Schacht Spindle Company, please see www.schachtspindlecom.