Katherine Ross
Grey Eyes, mixed media, 25″ x 16″
Grey Eyes, detail
Cut From the Same Cloth, mixed media, 22″ x 17″
Cut From the Same Cloth, detail
Mighty Oak, mixed media, 18″ x 23″
Mighty Oak, detail
Woven 2, mixed media, 35″ x 13 “
Woven Woods, Mixed Media, 26″ x 13″
ARTIST STATEMENT
I explore the threads created by patterns and energy, with the traditions and history that bind us together. The collective “we” are all connected and will thrive if we honor this codependency with respect and care.
Along with other mediums in my portfolio, I have been exploring paper-making and natural weavings for years, incorporating my printmaking as well as hand-drawn images in my weaving art.
While contemplating work for a one-woman show, “Common Ground” in 2015, I wanted to express the common ground we as women share, no matter where we come from. For centuries in most cultures, weaving is a craft women have had in common. I love this process and how the act of weaving fibers together creates a stronger bond. My woven paintings tell their stories-–how we are all connected in our traditions, our work, and our play.
The work starts with an idea, a statement. Then, I go through my archive of handmade papers, my images and found objects such as leaves, wood, beads, and charms. Much like creating a painting palette, I begin to choose colors and patterns that work together and will help me visually tell my story. Each final piece evolves slowly. When in the creating process, I am also mindful of showing the weave on the back. Some of the papers are so transparent that light can shine through.
Reconnecting with nature during the Covid isolation, I began weaving together my impressions and collections from my daily hikes, as a way of celebrating the natural world. In 2020, my daughter was curating an outdoor art show and I was inspired to create the nature weaving piece, “Mighty Oak”, for the exhibition.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Katherine Ross’s creative career has been rich as both artist and art teacher. Along with pursuing her professional artwork, Katherine has been teaching art for 25+ years, privately, and has been an artist in residence at numerous schools, museums, and centers in the Northeast. Her teaching includes classes for adults and children, specializing in portfolio development for college-bound high school students.
Her extensive exhibition portfolio includes over 30 exhibits of her printmaking, charcoal, watercolors, and mixed media images. Highlights include a one-woman show at the Westport Library Gallery, Westport Arts Center, Ely Center for Contemporary Art, New Haven, The Artists Collective of Westport, Gordon Fine Art Gallery of Westport, Hammond Museum, NY., Westchester Center for The Arts, NY, and Rye Art Center, NY. Her exhibition awards include Best in Show, Hallbrook Gallery, The Amity Art Foundation Award at Silvermine Guild Art of the Northeast, and Honorable Mention at The Center for Contemporary Printmaking with her piece, “Earth Mothers”. Her woven pieces have been exhibited at the Hammond Museum, NY, the Playhouse Barn Gallery, CT, and the Artist’s Collective of Westport.
Ross has been involved with many hands-on projects at public schools. Many of these projects have become permanent works hanging in the halls of several schools in Westport, Connecticut. At the Smithsonian Institute, Ross co-designed and facilitated a mural for the United Nations featuring artwork by Westport Staples High School students in response to 9/11. This mural has traveled internationally and is permanently housed at the Smithsonian Institute. She also assembled artwork of 1400 middle school students to create the largest piece of public art in Westport’s history. Ross created a life-size woven birdhouse for Project Return’s “The Art Of The Birdhouse” in which artists donate handmade birdhouses that are auctioned off to raise money for a group home for young teenage girls in crisis.
Ross has been a member of many art institutions in Fairfield County, including of the Arts Advisory Committee of Westport, the Westport Cultural Arts Committee, The Westport Art Center, The Rowayton Art Center, and the Center for Contemporary Printmaking. She has co-chaired the Art Smarts Program, which introduces painters and art knowledge to the children in public school, and has served as the town representative for that program. Katherine has also run workshops at The Katona Museum of Art, The Bridge Academy, Side By Side School, the Westport Art Center, and in the Westport Public Schools.
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