monca is proud to present the work of The Ridge Tapestries - A Community’s Story, on view from Thursday, June 25th, 2026 through Sunday, August 8th, 2026.
Join us for the opening reception celebrating the exhibitions at monca on Friday, June 26th, 2026 from 6-8PM. This will be a joint reception with Herlinde Spahr's After the Storms exhibit. Admission to opening receptions is free for all and the museum bar will be open for beverage purchases. Learn more about the exhibition below.
The Ridge Tapestry Project
The Ridge Tapestries depict a creative and rejuvenating tale of the resettling of a sparsely populated rural area, the cohesion of a new community, and the effort to protect the watershed they called home.
In 2005, Marsha Stone, a fabric artist, inspired by the 900-year-old Bayeux Tapestry, envisioned the Ridge Tapestries. “We could all embroider, and we would stitch stories, not of an invading army conquering England in 1066, but of back-to-the-landers resettling the San Juan Ridge in the 1970s.”
Like the Bayeux Tapestry, the Ridge Tapestries are hand embroidered using wool thread on linen backing and composed of a larger upper narrative panel and a lower elaborative panel with a thematic border.
Marsha Stone then invited Mary Moore, an expert quilter to lead the embroidery effort and Jennifer Rain Crosby, a spirited visual artist to create illustrated templates for the embroiderers to follow.
About the Makers
The Ridge Tapestry Project is a community-driven endeavor that uses the art of embroidery to celebrate the history, culture, landscapes, and future aspirations of the San Juan Ridge near Nevada City, California. Rather than the work of a single artist, the tapestries represent the contributions of an entire community united by a shared desire to preserve and tell its story.
More than one hundred volunteers have contributed over 3,682 hours of stitching to the first four tapestries. Using traditional materials—wool yarns embroidered on linen fabric—they have depicted the plants, animals, celebrations, performances, and events that define life on the Ridge. Each stitch reflects a personal contribution to a collective narrative, creating a work that belongs to the community as a whole.
The project draws inspiration from the renowned Bayeux Tapestry, the 220-foot medieval embroidery that chronicles the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Displayed in northern France and visited by people from around the world, the Bayeux Tapestry demonstrates the enduring power of textile art to preserve history and identity. The Ridge Tapestry Project carries that tradition forward, using the language of thread and cloth to document the stories, values, and experiences of a contemporary community for future generations.
- Jason Danielson, Editor: “The Ridge Tapestries” book
- Jeanne C Finley, Director: “A Radical Thread” film
- Judy Nielsen, embroiderer: Ridge Tapestries
- Jennifer Rain Crosby, designer and illustrator: the Ridge Tapestries
- Barbara Getz, Ridge Tapestries committee member
