About Kathie:
From the beginning art was something that fed my soul. I grew up in the fifties in Detroit when it was a wonderful place to be a kid. The parochial school I attended didn’t offer art classes but I was always drawing or making things from cardboard, cloth, yarn or whatever I could find. My high school offered a wonderful art program. Art I was required so I got to take it but my ever so practical parents insisted I take typing rather than continue with Art. I punished them by earning the only “D” I ever received. They relented and I was able to take Art III my senior year. In college I secretly wanted to major in art but lacked the portfolio and courage to follow the dream.
I spent years working in left-brain jobs that didn’t offer the personal satisfaction I got from drawing, crafting and sewing. The first turning point came when I admired art dolls at a show decided to create my own. Soon my cloth art dolls were featured in books and magazines. I published my patterns and began teaching which put me in contact with art quilters and a new way to use fabrics to make art. The second turning point came during a visioning exercise where I was supposed to envision my career path with the Federal Reserve System. Instead I clearly saw myself in a north woods studio creating art with fabric. So I wrote a 5 year plan to make it happen and *surprise* it did!
The flora and fauna of northern Michigan inspired my work for many years. From the majestic herons and cranes to the nearly overlooked roadside weeds and common insects I found subjects that excited me. Each changing seasons suggested new themes and new palettes.
In 2016 I moved to North Carolina. Breathtaking vistas are punctuated by dilapidated tobacco barns, vine covered trees and magnificent waterfalls. Asheville offers an urban counterpoint with Art Deco downtown buildings, weathered warehouses and a wealth of textures on sidewalks and fences. The possibilities in my new environment are both thrilling and challenging.
I offer a variety of fiber art workshops including Creating Strong Compositions, Driven to Abstraction, and Capturing the Muse. Please contact me at kathie@kathiebriggs.com for more information.
Artist Statement:
Texture, both tactile and visual, is what draws me to textiles as a medium. I learned to use a sewing machine at 11 and was always fascinated with the what happens when you sew two different pieces of fabric together. My art dolls were fantasy creatures created from a wide variety of exotic fabrics in vivid colors. But as my focus changed my palette evolved to subtle natural colors and my materials to primarily batiks and fabrics I dye or print myself, though I occasionally break into saturated color.
My art is built from small pieces that fit together to become the story and continues to evolve from a somewhat realistic portrayal of flora and fauna to more abstracted exploration of of both natural elements and how we coexist for better or worse with our environment.
Charlevoix Circle of Arts
2010
Jordan Valley District Library
2009
Charlevoix Public Library
2007
Juried Exhibits:
Nocturne
Crooked Tree Art Center, Petoskey MI
2013
Let It Snow! Juried Fine Arts
Charlevoix Circle of Arts, Charlevoix MI
2012
Crooked Tree Fine Arts
Crooked Tree Art Center, Petoskey MI
2012, 2011, 2010
Rare Threads
Jordan River Arts Center, East Jordan MI
2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2003
In Blooming Color
Charlevoix Circle of Arts, Charlevoix MI
2011
Volusia Wrapped in Fiber
Peabody Auditorium, Daytona Beach Florida
2011
Out of the Box
Charlevoix Circle of Arts, Charlevoix MI
2010
All Area/All Media Statewide Exhibit
arTCenter, Traverse City MI
2008
Celebrate Spring
International Quilt Festival, Chicago IL & Houston TX
2007
14th Annual Art Quilt Exhibit
Allwood Audubon Center, Allwood OH
2006
SAQA at Park Church
Convergence Convention, Grand Rapids MI
2006
Small Wonders
International Quilt Festival, Chicago IL & Houston TX
2006, 2005
Featured Artist:
Doorway to the Future
Compuware World Headquarters, Detroit MI
2010
Rare Threads
Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan MI
2003
Fiber Artist Coalition Group Exhibits:
13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
American Craft Council, Minneapolis MN
2012
Waukesha Civic Theatre, Waukesha WI
2012
Prairie Art Center, Schaumburg, IL
2011
Northville Art House, Northville MI
2011
Iowa Artisans Gallery, Iowa City IA
2011
Simply Chicago Art, Chicago, IL
2011
Charlevoix Circle of Arts, Charlevoix MI
2010
Governor French Gallery, Belleview IL
2009
Blue World/Green World
Riverfront Arts Center, Stevens Point WI
2012
Prairie Art Center, Schaumburg IL
2012
Conversations In Stitch
Bloomingdale Park District Museum, IL
2012
Mosquito Hill, New London WI
2012
South Shore Art Center, Cohaseseet MA
2011
Anderson Art Center, Kenosha WI
2011
Midwest Mediation
Prairie Art Center, Schaumburg IL
2011
Simply Chicago Art, Chicago IL
2011
Bloomingdale Park District Museum IL
2010
Winds of Change
Gallery 50, Traverse City MI
2009
Terra Suava
Quilt Expo, Madison WI
2008
St. Petersburg College, Clearwater FL
2008
Other Touring Exhibits:
Machine Quilting Unlimited: Seasons
National Tour
2012-2013
SAQA: It’s a Quilt
International Venues
2012
Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational
Statewide Venues
2006-2012
Fiber Force
Mancuso Quilts Shows Inc.
National Tour
2008-2009
Fabrications: A Collaborative Spirit
Mancuso Quilt Shows, Inc
National tour
2006-2007
Fiberarts Connection of S.California
California and Washington Venues
2004-2005
Hoffman Challenge Traveling Exhibit
National Tour
2005, 2004, 2000
Selected Small Group and Invitational Exhibits:
2012 Invitational Quilt Exhibition
Brigham City Museum, Brigham City UT
2012
Material Obsessions
Charlevoix Public Library, Charlevoix MI
2012, 2011
Metamorphosis
Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan MI
2010
Healing H’Arts
Charlevoix Circle of Arts, Charlevoix MI
2009
Fabrications Collaboration
Crooked Tree Art Center, Petoskey MI
2008
University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor MI
2008
It’s Good to be Green
Latimer Museum, Tillamook OR
2007
Mirror Images: Self Portraits
Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan MI
2007
Stretching & Tradition
Quilter’s Heritage Celebration Show, Lancaster PA
2007
The Hole Thing
Quilt University
2007
American Sewing Expo, Novi MI
2006
To Miss New Orleans
Houston International Quilt Show, Houston TX
2005
Fashion Showcase
Patchwork & Quilt Expo, The Hague, Netherlands
2004
The Journal Quilt Project
Houston International Quilt Show, Houston TX
2007, 2006, 2005, 2004
Awards:
Third Place
Let It Snow! Juried Fine Arts
Charlevoix Circle of Arts, Charlevoix MI
2012
Honorable Mention
Crooked Tree Juried Fine Arts, Petoskey MI
2011, 2010
Finalist
Small Wonders, International Quilt Festival, Chicago IL & Houston TX
2006, 2005
Best of Show, Wearable Art
International Quilt Festival, Chicago IL
2004
Best of Show
Jekyll Island Doll Symposium, Jekyll Island
2000
Publication of Artworks:
Art Quilting Studio
Winter, 2013
Cutting Edge Art Quilts
Mary Kerr, Schiffer Publications
2013
Art Quilt Porfolio: The Natural World
Martha Sielman, Lark Books
2012
Adventures in Design
Joen Wolfrom, C & T Publishing, 2011
Machine Quilting Unlimited
2012, 2011
Calendar of the Charlevoix Circle of Arts
2010, 2009
Mixed-Media Self-Portraits
Cate Coulacos Prato, Interweave Press
2008
Creative Quilting: The Journal Quilt Project
Karey Patterson Bresenhan, Quilting Arts
2006
Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Postcards
Franki Kohler, C & T Publishing
2006
Quilting Arts Magazine
2006, 2005
Quilt Magazine
2006
Dolls United Magazine
2005
Art Doll Quarterly
2004, 2003
Dollmaking as a Transformational Process
Pamela Hastings
2003
Soft Dolls and Animals Magazine
2001, 2000
Professional Affiliations:
Charlevoix Circle of Arts
Crooked Tree Arts Council
Jordan River Arts Council
Studio Art Quilt Associates