Cate Thomding
Textile + Paper Collage
Deliberate joy and innate activism through textiles and paper. Welcome to my world.
© Cate Thomding. All rights reserved.
Textiles
When you look at my textiles, I want you to experience two things through one lens. Wonder in the world that breathes and grows around us. Color as an emotional, visceral force.And I want you to see it through the deep skill, artistry, and technical innovation that exists in textile work, especially in traditionally female--and marginalized--handworks.I work with repurposed fabric, cotton threads and wool yarns, some handspun or hand-dyed, watercolor, and other materials. I create to hold up a history that exists in my own family and in those I've inherited--often literally via the tools and materials I use.Prints are available here.
Paper
Where my textile art has grown with me since I was a kid, paper collage came as a surprise, the result of some very unserious creative play during a hard time. The same themes run through it–the admiration that comes by closely examining something that we’ve seen a million times, the power that color has to refresh our perspective.Paper’s ubiquity, its immediacy to our lives, lends it a power of its own. We all know the sound of paper tearing, the rough edges, the path scissors creates through it. Utilizing those things to build small worlds we can lose ourselves in–even for a moment–brings us back to the power we have to shape our lives and the world around us. To notice and honor the everyday with the everyday.I handprint my collage material on repurposed papers–kid homework and abandoned drawings, medical infosheets, flyers—and use watercolor, pencil, and ink backgrounds.
About Cate
Deliberate joy and innate activism.My art has evolved from my own mental wellness practice, the repetition of the stitches, the precision of the paper, and the deep noticing inherent to my art-making allowing my brain to refocus itself, giving my hands and eyes a rooted sense of presence and purpose.Textile and paper collage capture our attention due to the textures and colors they utilize to tell their stories. My pieces lean into that play between touch and sight, enticing viewers to step away from the thrum of what could be or what was.
As I explore the everyday beauty and visceral color surrounding us, connecting with what is immediately in our present, I seek not only to re-instill value particularly in our textiles, but to reclaim the power we have to shape our world by what we notice, value, and ultimately, act upon.As we notice and then value the wonder that exists in the everyday, we can begin to access the potential we have to shape our world. We can reach for the values and thus, choices–however small–that support our own well being and that of the larger world around us, giving us back our sense of purpose, focus, and our power to create a stronger future for everyone and everything.
Contact Me
Check out my print shop, now available!For commissions, workshop information, or custom print sizes, please email me or use the form below.
Values Alignment
I unequivocally hold that Black Lives matter, women's rights are human rights, trans men are men and trans women are women, love is love, immigrants make every country great, climate change is real, we in the U.S. are living on stolen land, church and state should always be separate, and that corporations are not people.If you do not agree, I invite you to deeply sit with why, and reconsider. If you do not find these things to be true after doing so, then my work is not for you.I strongly believe that personal activism and building a strong community are our keys to a better future, and I hope you're here with me to work toward that, in art and in the world overall.
Thank you!
No, really. Thank you for taking the time to get in touch. I look forward to reading your message, and will be in touch soon.
Workshops + Events
I teach a variety of workshops on textile arts and mending. Upcoming workshops will appear below, or contact me to talk about hosting one at your next event.