Kate Themel is an award-winning fabric artist and
teacher living in Cheshire, Connecticut. Kate
earned a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art in 1992
and began using fabric as an artistic medium in
1996. Over the years, Kate has developed a
distinct, painterly style in her compositions but
remains linked to the quilting world by her use of
simple, traditional materials: cotton fabrics,
batting, and thread.
Kate has created custom fiber art for individuals
and corporate clients, and her unique fiber pieces
have been exhibited in art galleries and museums
from Boston to Botswana. Her work has been juried
into international fiber art exhibitions such as Quilt
National, Art Quilt Elements, and the Kagoshima Quilt
Show in Japan. She earned the Young Emerging
Artist Award and the People's Choice Award for
her work in Quilt National '11.
Kate characterizes her work as follows: “Who needs
paint? My paintings are made with layers of colored
fabric and thread. I use the sewing machine to stitch
fine details and create texture, like brushstrokes on
canvas.” See her Web site at
http://www.katethemel.com/ for more information and
to view her quilted paintings.
Lecture and Trunk Show, “A Painter’s Approach
to Fiber Art”: Saturday, May 17, 11:00 A.M.
Kate will show a 15-20 minute PowerPoint slide
presentation, give a trunk show of her available quilts,
and discuss the techniques and background stories for
each quilt.
One-Hour Demonstration, “Building a Picture”:
Saturday, May 17, starting about 1:00 p.m. Limit:
25 students. Cost: $10 for Wiltwyck members ($15 for
non-members). No sewing machine required.
This is a demonstration of Kate’s raw edge, layering
technique. Kate will show how she uses freezer paper
to trace, cut, and layer pieces of fabric into a fiber art
composition.