CONTACT
katenorthmakes[at]gmail[dot]comARTIST STATEMENT
As a multidisciplinary artist, my work evolves from a daily practice of meditative making, such as hand-stitching and drawing, as a means of self-care and refuge from an increasingly digital time. Recurring themes include place, home, nature, and impermanence. In reference to quilts as “women’s work”, this new series questions the value we place on objects both in fine art and domestic spaces.
The quilted works were created using naturally dyed cotton. Many of my dye materials come from a mix of locally foraged plants and kitchen scraps. Subtle aberrations appear on the fabric, creating a visual texture that is evidence of the plant matter and place from which the color came. Each hue is coaxed from various plants that have evolved over centuries, adapting to their surroundings or the preferences of humans. They tell a story of growth, decay, and resilience. Some colors are more lightfast than others, a result of ongoing experiments. The fleeting color echoes the impermanence of all things and the reverence for each day because of it.
EXHIBITIONS
2025 Art of Play, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA
Field Guide, Kling Gallery West, St. Louis Lambert International Airport, St. Louis, MO
Earth Rain Sunshine, East Portland Community Center Gallery, Portland, OR
2024 Field Guide, Intersect Arts Center, St. Louis, MO
2023 Wild Hues, Experiment Gallery, Portland, OR
2019 Ritual Ceremony Seclusion, Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ
2018 Parallax, Art Gallery at Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, OR
2017 Idios Kosmos, The Tiny Llama, Portland, OR
Paracosm, Firehouse Gallery, Grants Pass, OR
10x10x10 Tieton, Mighty Tieton, Tieton, WA
Fare Thee Well, Ugly Art Room, Corvallias, OR
2016 Asunder: A Reconstruction of Space and Place, Betty Feves Memorial Gallery, Pendleton, OR
In the ribs of the unanswered Why, Temple Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA
Don’t Take This the Wrong Way, Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia, PA
Spacelapse, Diamond Screen Film Festival, Philadelphia, PA
2015 Reflections, Meridian Street Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
Push Block, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
2013 Feardom, Gallery Homeland, Portland, OR
2011 Collaborations, Multnomah Arts Center Gallery, Portland, OR
Material Language, Littman Gallery, Portland, OR
A Fragile Affair, ZGF Gallery, Portland, OR
A Fragile Affair, PNCA Window Gallery, Portland, OR
2010 Kitengela Glass: an African Odyssey, Food for Thought Gallery, Portland, OR
Untitled, The Brody Theater, Portland, OR
Untitled Group Show, Joe’s Cellar, Portland, OR
2009 Bones, Pride of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
Education
2019 M.Ed, Portland State University, Portland, OR
2016 MFA, Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
2015 Vision and Rationality Interdisciplinary Seminar, Temple Rome, Rome, Italy
2011 BA, Portland State University, Portland, OR
Awards
2017 Juror’s Award, 10x10xTieton, Mighty Tieton, Tieton, WA
2014 University Fellowship, Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
2011 International Sculpture Center, Outstanding Student Achievement Nominee
