| |
|
Katherine Colwell’s work synthesizes her love of
landscape drawing, silk embroidery and reading. She explores a
variety of fiber media, ranging from silk paper fusion, hand-made felt,
embroidered etchings and monoprints, pieced quilting, two-sided, three-dimensional, and framed wall pieces.
Throughout her nearly thirty-year career as an artist, Katherine has
created plein-air drawings in graphite, pen and ink, and watercolor, on
which the majority of her work is based. For the past twelve years,
another continuous thread is exploration of hand embroidered folding
books containing images and hand stitched text on silk, linen and
cotton. |
|
As a fiber artist and art educator,
Katherine has been developing her unique blend of embroidery, drawing,
printmaking and teaching for almost three decades, exhibiting and
marketing work nationwide and working with individuals and organizations
in workshops and secondary art classes.
|
|
 |
|
An Anne Shirley Poem
©K. L.
Colwell 2006 |
|
Embroidered monotype on silk.
Silk,
pigment,
silk hand embroidery and quilting, beads.
12 1/4"h x 12"w.
Imagery based on original graphite
drawing. |
|
|
|
 |
|
Acceptance
©K. L.
Colwell 1999 |
|
Embroidered book.
Linen, silk, cotton. Hand embroidery and cyanotype.
Split stitch, machine sewn archival construction.
Imagery based on original
graphite drawings.
8 1/2" h. Each page 5"w.
Verse: Philippians 4:11 |
|
Originally an etcher, Katherine began
embroidering her etchings in 1984. Her silk embroidery is
included in Steve Aimone’s 2004 book, DESIGN! A LIVELY GUIDE TO DESIGN
BASICS FOR ARTISTS & CRAFTSPEOPLE. Her work was also included
in the Ohio Craft Museum’s 1997 invitational exhibit STITCHERS AND
BEADERS: AMERICA’S BEST, as well as Barbara Smith’s 1991
international exhibit and book, CELEBRATING THE STITCH:
CONTEMPORARY EMBROIDERY OF NORTH AMERICA. |
|
Hover your mouse over the art images on this page to find the
sweet-spot, and click for detail enlargements. If you are interested in learning about
and purchasing Katherine’s work please
contact us.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Sleeping Cedar Luminous Dreams #4
©K.
L. Colwell 2006 |
|
Silk paper fusion, ink and metallic drawing, hand-dyed silk,
size 15 beads, silk and metallic
hand embroidery.
Imagery based on original achromatic watercolor drawings created along
Rivendell's Sleeping Cedar Trail.
Frame: 10 1/4" h x 11 1/4" w x 1 1/8" deep
Silk Fusion: 5 1/2" h x 7 1/8" w. |
|
|
|
|
|
Katherine's BA in Fine Art from the
University of Northern Colorado (1978), and her K-12 art specialist teacher
certification from Black Hills State University (1994), are complimented
by teacher certification in surface stitchery from the Council of
American Embroiderers. She builds and strengthens her teaching and
artistic media repertoire with continuing education in divergent areas
of interest. |
|
|
|
 |
|
Jupiter and Junipers
©K.
L. Colwell 2002 |
|
Hand embroidery on silk and hand-made felt. Silk, wool, metallic and
silk threads, beads. Archival framing.
Frame: 16 7/8" h x 16 7/8" w x 1 1/2" thick.
Image: 9 1/2" h x 10 1/8" w. Felt: 4 3/4" h x 5 1/8"w. |
|
|
|
In Studio
Mentoring Fees & Information
|
•
$20 per hour;
or, $50 for three hours paid in advance, with options for scheduling
(i.e., one 3-hour session; two 1 1/2-hour sessions; or three 1-hour
sessions)
•
As with her Mail Mentoring and the Correspondence Course, if you
have not previously worked with Katherine, upon receipt of the mentoring
fee, she sends a list of questions for your responses, in order for her to
learn about your goals, and your current skills and knowledge. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Katherine with a few |
|
of
her embroidered books. |
| |
|
Katherine teaches design and drawing for
embroiderers and artists across the country. She works with individuals
and small groups in her studio, as well as larger workshops and classes
in the Rivendell classroom.
Her mentor-style
teaching extends to her Individual Correspondence Course Personal
Needlework Connections Through Drawing and Design which she has been
teaching for ten years to students across North America. (This
course is sponsored by the Embroiderers' Guild of America, Inc. For
details and registration:
www.egausa.org/icc/personal.) |
|
|
Art Mentoring and Personalized Study
Former students have
asked Katherine to consider offering single project or
concept mail correspondence teaching, in order to continue
benefiting from her in-depth assessment guidance and mentoring.
As a result, she has added one-at-a-time
by-mail study, focusing on your specific, original design, drawing, and/or
fiber and embroidery interests.
This option is now available for a limited number of students, whether
you've worked with her directly in workshops and classes at Rivendell,
around the region or country, through the multi-lesson correspondence course, or whether you are
a new student. Katherine assesses your strengths and adapts her
mentoring to your natural abilities, prior knowledge, skills and
experiences. Based on your goals she will recommend further specific
areas of study or practice, designing tasks or projects in a plan to fit
your schedule. |
|
top  |
|
Katherine
guides your learning in all her areas of expertise in relation to your fiber
and embroidery goals:
•
Drawing
•
Design
Fundamentals
•
A universal Design Process to create
textile, fiber, fabric or embroidery works from
your own drawings
•
Color theory
• Silk
paper fusion
•
Assessment of your own work and
works-in-progress
•
Monoprinting
Katherine’s extensive educator training in student learning styles
equips her in understanding whether and how much each student is a
logical-left-brain learner or an intuitive-right-brain learner. Through
her mentoring, intuitive learners discover the power of learning logical
skills to enhance creativity and success of their artworks; and logical
learners discover the power of learning intuitive skills to enhance
creativity and success. Katherine's focus as an
educator is on creativity, design, and drawing in fear-free
environments, to share the joy of life-long learning and discovery.
|
| |
|
She never "critiques"
student work in the traditional sense. Through thoughtful,
objective-based assessment of design element and principle
relationships, it is possible to develop understanding of the artist's
intentions in a work—whether realistic, abstract, or
non-representational. Assessing and discovering the harmonies or
disharmonies, and balance or imbalance, of complete work or
work-in-progress, leads to your own mindful assessment as you create
future works. Katherine’s Assessment Process of student work begins
with her perusal and reading of all work submitted (including but not
limited to stitching, drawing, and writing), followed by her in-depth
commentary to describe your strengths, finishing up with personalized
recommendations for changes in the submitted work or for further
explorations. |
| |
|
The only criteria
necessary for beginning work with Katherine through correspondence are basic knowledge and
skills with any art or fiber media you wish to explore. If you
haven't previously worked with her, she will send you a list of
questions to respond to, in order for her to learn about your
background. This helps her design optimum guidance strategies; for
example, your family and work, past fiber, embroidery, and drawing or
painting experiences or history (a negative drawing experience twenty
years ago affects how you learn now), your goals in working with her,
and what resources and references you have available (libraries:
personal, public, academic, etc.). |
|
top |
|
Mail Mentoring Fees & Information
•
$50
per Assessment;
or, $125 for three Assessments paid in advance, with three to four month
time limits per Assessment.
Student work is submitted according to your personalized schedule.
•
A
review of student work done as a result of a previous Assessment is
considered another Assessment.
•
No refunds are possible after the introductory materials are received.
•
As a prospective student
you need to carefully consider the depth of study and your commitment,
when working with Katherine.
•
Postage or shipping costs to and from Rivendell Retreat are paid by the
student.
•
Payment for return costs and a return label are to be included by
student with each mailing. |
|
|
