Financial Industry: Surface Encounters on the focus of granite and company

Participating artists:

Beth Barron explores memory and the present in her altered and then further embellished pieces.

Charlene Burningham, one of the mainstays of quilting in the area, not only shows how piecing and quilting can be used to obtain surface pattern, but that weaving – often in unusual materials – can provide the same visual interest.

Nancy Eha, with her complex and time-consuming beadwork, focuses gently on social issues that the viewer will immediately recognize.

Bernadette Mahfood is an expressive artist in several mediums, and is able to be decorative at the same time she is making serious social points.

Barbara Otto combines ancient sewing stitches with the latest in digital imagery to produce intriguing collages in textile.

Christine Pradel-Lien creates tapestries that tell stories, both familiar and enigmatic, and is a master in her craft.

Karen Searle works in three-dimensional textile creation, and is unafraid to tackle difficult materials, and also questions about society and gender roles.

“Skimming the Surface: Pattern and Narrative” is offered in conjunction with the Surface Design Association Conference, Confluence, held in the Twin Cities June 4-17. St. Thomas will be one of the stops on SDA Gallery Day, Thursday, June 9, from noon to 5 p.m. For a schedule of conference workshops, participants and gallery tour stops visit the SDA website.

All events are free, open to the public and handicap accessible. For more information contact Sue Focke, (651) 962-5560, or visit the Art History website.

NEW YORK - Dominique Strauss-Kahn (picture) resigned from his post as manager of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) late on Wednesday - saying he felt compelled to focus his energy on the sexual assault charges he faces - as reports emerged that the Frenchman was once a client of a notorious New York brothel operator, whose call girls had complained about him being too aggressive. According to a letter released by the IMF's executive board, Strauss-Kahn denied the allegations but said he felt compelled to resign with "infinite sadness" because he was thinking of his family and he also wanted to protect the IMF. Behind bars on New York's Rikers Island since Monday, the beleaguered French politician was scheduled to return to a Manhattan court early today to again ask for bail on charges he sexually assaulted a hotel maid - a move certain to be vigorously opposed by prosecutors. In court papers filed by his defence team on Wednesday, Strauss-Kahn said he had surrendered his passport and would not flee the country. His attorneys proposed posting US$1 million (S$1.24 million) bail in cash and confining him to the home of his daughter, Camille, a Columbia University graduate student, 24 hours a day with electronic monitoring. They had proposed similar conditions at an earlier bail hearing but added the promise of house arrest on Wednesday. A judge denied him bail on Monday. Investigators revisited to the penthouse hotel room and cut out a piece of carpet in a painstaking search for DNA evidence, law enforcement officials said. New York detectives and prosecutors believe the carpet in the hotel room may contain Strauss-Kahn's semen, spat out after an episode of forced oral sex, the officials said. One of the officials said that the DNA testing was being "fast-tracked" but added that the results could still be a few days away. 'He paid for sex too' Meanwhile, infamous New York madame Kristin Davis claimed that Strauss-Kahn had twice used the services of her call girls in 2006, before he took charge of the IMF, according to reports. "He paid in cash," Ms Davis was quoted as saying, adding that he paid about US$2,400 for each two-hour session. "The first girl I sent to him said he was aggressive and didn't want to be back with him again." She added: "Strauss-Kahn was rough and aggressive, however he maintained a certain level of decorum because he was dealing with an agency." Strauss-Kahn was reportedly referred to Ms Davis by Bosnian prostitute Irma Nici, who had been living in Paris and figured in the sex scandal which saw Mr Eliot Spitzer resign as New York Governor in 2008. Ms Nici also claims to have slept with David Beckham, who denies the allegation. Agencies

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