Textile artist Kathy makes her mark

Lifestyle – Artist Kathy Ross fuses age-old crafting techniques and textiles to depict wildlife in a vivid, hyper-realistic way. She worked as a painter for many years before returning to her first love. Now, her work is making an impact internationally as she continues to push herself creatively, inspired by her local surroundings and her love of nature. She talks to JUDY MURPHY about her latest projects.

Runner’s knee, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow – all problems caused by repeated physical activity. And don’t forget quilter’s shoulders!

Kathy Ross didn’t even know such a condition existed – at least until lockdown, when the Tuam-based artist embarked on a project to quilt a stag, measuring one square metre.

And not just any old stag. This magnificent creature is set against a forest background with different trees and leaves. Kathy used a range of techniques including drawing, needle-felting, applique and free-form embroidery to create this quilt, a true labour of love.

When it was nearly done, Kathy called to her local craftshop in Tuam, ‘Quilt, Yarn, Stitch’ for supplies. During her visit, she mentioned to owner Róisín McManus that her shoulders were killing her.

“Róisín just laughed and said ‘you have quilter’s shoulders’,” recalls Kathy. But it was worth it, she adds happily.

Kathy has now entered the finished work into an international quilt festival in Brighton. This is an annual event and on a normal year, she’d be bringing her stag over there, but because of Covid-19, she’s sending photos of the piece instead.

Kathy, who studied Fine Art and Art History in the National College of Art and Design, initially embarked on a career as a watercolour artist, taking part in group and solo shows and earning a reputation for her landscape and portrait pieces.

Originally from Lackagh and now living near Tuam, she made the transition to textiles about three years ago.

“I was doing a show called Timeless on old buildings around Tuam and I got frustrated by how two-dimensional they were,” she recalls of the process.

Around that time, she found a forgotten textile piece which she had made while in she was still in college. It reignited her interest in this form, which she’d also loved at school.

She started learning more about the process by drawing sketches on paper and sewing through them. Known as “free-motion embroidery”, this is basically painting with thread, she explains. She learned more about embroidery as well as about applique – stitching pieces of fabric onto a larger piece – so she could create extra layers and dimensions in her work.

Her resulting textured artworks of animals from cattle to sheep to hares were all inspired by local residents in Togher, where she lives with her husband Alan and their children Millie (11) and Luke (7).

Kathy’s love of nature means animals have always featured in her work and while her medium has changed as she aims to push herself creatively, her subject matter hasn’t.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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