A few weeks ago I went to speak with the textile artist Katie Welsh who is based just outside of Kington.
Katie grew up in North Yorkshire and then went on to study fine art at De Montford university in Leicester, from there she moved to Brighton before locating to the Welsh borders. She now lives and works from her home studio close to Hergest Ridge.
Working as a freelance florist Katie’s knowledge of flowers helped to inform her dying process. Katie grows, hand picks and dries her own flowers which are then used to dye the natural wool which she uses for her artworks. Katie uses flowers such as hopi sunflowers which produce a muted grey colour and coreopsis a soft yellow and burnt orange.
The colours in Katie’s work are playful and serene, for me they are very pleasing to look at the shapes which she creates are soft and organic but also angular and geometric, I like the juxtaposition. There’s something very natural about the forms in her work even though they are not necessarily organic shapes, perhaps it’s the colours which are derived from nature in it’s purest form.
Katie’s process involves rug hooking using a punch needle, using British wool on linen. Watching her work there’s something very meditative about the process itself but also how the shapes and forms come to her as she’s drawing them out on the frames, forms that are interesting to her personally, as you can see in her previous paintings the geometry follows through in her work.
Katie’s home is a very cheerful and calming space, situated close to the beautiful Hergest Ridge it’s an old stone cottage full of colour on the outside and inside. pink and green on the exterior and hanging on the walls inside there are lots of interesting artworks from relatives as well as her own paintings. The stairs are painted bright pink with blue geometric patterns.
There’s lots of plants that adorn their home and colourful furniture and antiques. The garden reminds me of Piet Oudolf’s garden designs with natural plants and grasses with lots of movement. You can see how this use of colour in her own home and in the garden perhaps influences her work.
So what’s next for Katie? A wall mural perhaps or something monochrome…?
You can find out more about Katies work here on her Instagram page @katiewelshtextileart and see more of her work in @flock gallery in Kington.
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