Catherin Mary-Ann Acutt
While studying for a fine art diploma, Catherin complained about having to paint, and not being able utilize textiles and sewing to create her artwork. After many such complaints, her instructors allowed her to bring her sewing machine. Catherin suspected that her instructors did not believe she would bring a sewing machine to class; but she did.
Fascinated by texture and how one could change the tactile surface of fabric by manipulation, kept her experimenting by adding stitch, burning, painting, dying and so forth. Some 20 years later, studying fibre art and design at Gail Harker’s Center for Creative Studies in La Conner, Washington, Catherine became interested in mixed media. Vases and jugs became a chosen subject; the shapes were limitless and again surfaces were an absolute inspiration. The challenge was to recreate surfaces that these vessels revealed. In studying the work of Dale Chihuly, she became interested in the work of one of his students, William Morris. Morris’s work in blown glass was more reminiscent of pottery with primitive motifs on textured and crackled glass, which added to her inspiration.
In her art practice Catherin likes to use as many found materials as possible. She states, “Not only is it helping the planet but there is a certain satisfaction derived from playing with happenstance materials that can be found everywhere. It’s more challenging and the end result is never predictable.” Some of the materials that Catherin uses include mylar, plastics, aluminum foil, metallic papers, gift wrap, recycled handmade paper. These are then combined with paint techniques, burning, cutting, bonding and stitch to create her textured art works.
