Nelson Lewis, Jr. of Charlotte, North Carolina attended his first ANG seminar in Denver and walked away with the coveted Best In Show and first place ribbon in the Original category of the Annual Exhibit. His hauntingly beautiful stitchery, "The Journey" shows a mother leaving her past behind her and taking with her only her child and her pain. Of this project, the judges said: "The stitcher successfully bridged the gap between the brush and the needle with his artistic use of the simplest thread and the tent stitch."

Nelson prefers to be billed as a "needlepoint artist" when he presents one-man shows in art galleries and is the subject of newspaper articles. He refuses to be billed as a "fiber artist" or as a "textile artist." "I am neither... I am a needlepoint artist and proud of that title" avers Nelson. This is a giant step in our art, and we can be justly proud of this talented young man who is a pioneer in this field.

One wonders how such a delicate stitchery as "The Journey" can be mastered by this big, burly man who looks more like a wrestler than an artist. First comes the inspiration for the design, but this is never a problem as Nelson's head is full of ideas. Next, he paints the design on the canvas. He works mainly in tent stitch with wool yarns, but even the yarns have his artistic touch as he pains them and then puts them together for stitching with strip shading.