Instructor Biographies

Marilyn Lee

Marilyn Lee studied at the University of Calgary and the Alberta College of Art & Design, where she received her BFA, majoring in textiles. During her time at ACAD Marilyn was awarded many scholarships & awards including the prestigious Board of Governors award; she went on to graduate with distinction in 1998.

Marilyn currently maintains a full-time studio practice and markets her production line of MML textiles at major craft fairs and wholesale shows across the country. Lee has also shown her work in numerous solo and group exhibitions.

In 2006 Marilyn was one of five people who received a British Columbia Achievement Award (BCAA) for her work in textiles. “The Creative Achievement Awards was established three years ago to recognize established and emerging applied artists and designers,”

Marilyn’s work has also been featured in Canadian Living, Vancouver Sun, the Globe & Mail, Style at Home, Nelson Daily News, Canadian House and Home, Niche Magazine, Elemente Magazine, & Blueprint Magazine.

Maggie Tchir

Maggie has been a working artist; exhibit curator, textile historian and educator for the past thirty years. Her work in fibre and mixed media have been exhibited internationally and are held in private and corporate collections in Canada, the US and nations abroad. Tchir is a recipient of various scholarships including the Banff School of Fine Arts, the Crafts Association of BC Grace Cameron Rogers Scholarship and the Sheila Hugh MacKay Foundation Award. She attended the University of British Columbia, The University of Eastern Washington and the Banff School of Fine Arts and graduated with Honours from Langara College. Her world textile research studies have included residency and travel in Asia, Europe and the American Southwest as well as various associated publications. She is currently a research associate at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Coby Vandergaast

Coby has had 27 years of textile practice in weaving, dyeing, knitting and basket making as well as 10 years of teaching experience. Beginning her textile studies at Cherryville and at Handcraft House Textile School in North Vancouver in 1974 she has continued her studies and research over the years with celebrated weavers such as Suzanna Lewis, Robert Loewe and Madelyn van der Hoogt. In 1989 VanDerGaast collaborated in the design and production of 50 official sweaters for the BC Winter Games and in 1990 received a Knitting Guild of America Design award. Traveling extensively, VanDerGaast has been influenced and enriched by cultural textiles and has taught fibre techniques in Teotitlan, Mexico.

Angelika Werth

Angelika received a degree as master dressmaker/designer in Germany. She worked with Yves Saint Laurent in Paris and has received awards in both France and Canada. With over 20 years experience, Werth has exhibited in a number of group and solo shows in England, France, Japan, the U.S and Canada and is represented in private and corporate collections in these countries.