When I started this blog in March 2022, I had two goals: first, I wanted to write about art (duh); and second, I wanted to write about other, mostly local artists. After graduating from college, I was amazed to discover that Iowa has such a variety of artists! I’ve had an even deeper realization of this since joining a handful of Iowa artisan groups on social media. One of the artists I’ve met that way is Kathryn Roe, a fiber artist from Oskaloosa, IA.
Roe’s artwork isn’t exclusively in the fiber medium, though. When
she was in college at Northern Illinois University, she created drawings in
charcoal and colored pencil, or with ink on monoprints. She also enjoyed
weaving and jewelry making, despite the two being considered more craft than
art. “By the time I graduated with my first degree, I had been married, had a
child, and was divorced and a single mother,” Roe said. “Doing any art that took up much space or
equipment became something to think about for the future while I tried to make
a living for the two of us.”
During this time, Roe approached several galleries. “Every single
one of them praised my work, but none of them would show my work. Why?
Remember this is almost fifty years ago, and the world was a very, very
different place. The reason I was given
over and over again was that they didn’t carry women’s work because it didn’t
sell. Some said my work looked too much
like a woman did it. Some said they’d
carry my work if I only used my initials to sign it.”
Throughout the years, she continued to sew, embroider, and draw,
although she admits that didn’t consistently practice creating art. “About six
or seven years ago, my sister introduced me to felted wool. (Not wool felt.) I
started working with it and started to combine the principles of fine art with
the skills my grandmother and mother taught me and needle-felting.” Her sister
also taught her a technique of
making hexagons that uses circles of fabric folded in a particular way. “The
smallest hexes I make start with a circle the size of a dime.”
Some of the artwork Roe creates is strictly needle-felted. Needle-felting is a technique that uses a barbed needle to sculpt 2D or 3D designs out of wool. “For example, the red tulips are completely needle-felted. That is considered a “wool painting”.” Other examples of Roe’s work combine needle-felted wool with felted wool, applique, embroidery, and “thread sketching”. Thread sketching is a technique of sewing that uses a sewing machine like a pencil, creating lines that look like drawings out of thread.
Winter: Mahaska County, 8"x21" needle-felted wool on felted wool, thread-sketching
“I made a conscious decision to use what is often considered
“women’s work” in my art several years ago,” explained Roe. “I purchase the
wool roving I use, as well as the threads, but the majority of the materials I
use are “recycled”. I find wool, cotton,
and silk fabrics I use in thrift stores… I attempt to combine the traditional
needle arts, “women’s work”, in new ways to create contemporary art.”
Roe is currently working on two pieces, one is an abstract design
and the other is a landscape. She has a few favorite subjects for her work, she
said. “I like to “paint” flowers, especially sunflowers. I also like to travel
the back roads in Iowa to find small rural scenes, bits of the rural Iowa that
seem to be disappearing. I also do abstract work that combines all of the
techniques. An example is “Embellishing
the Truth”. Sometimes I do fun
pieces like “What Cats Dream”.”
I asked Roe if she has a favorite piece of her own work. “Wow. That one is tough! I guess I would narrow it down to An
Artist’s Journey and What Cats Dream.”
She titles her artwork in a very logical way: “I title the flowers
by the type of flower and a number, like Sunflower VI. The rural scenes I title by the county in
which I took the photo from which I did the painting. The abstract pieces are
titled according to the story I am telling.” Her piece, An Artist’s Journey
is auto-biographical, and depicts her own story. It earned a Blue Ribbon in an
Iowa Artists online show a few years ago.
I always ask two extremely
important questions: What is your favorite tool for making art? “This pic shows
my wrinkly, spotty hand holding a "pen" that holds a felting
needle. I prefer this mundane plastic pen holder to some of the
other kinds. A felting needle is a bit difficult to hold on its
own. In back of that, is my sewing machine.”
And the second: What’s an issue or stumbling block you’ve
encountered? “I have already described the sexism I encountered. Another issue
has been dealing with being an abuse survivor and coping with depression and
anxiety,” Roe admitted. “I wonder sometimes if that is why I am so attracted to
bright colors emerging from a dark background.”
Embellishing the Truth: 10"x35"; needle-felted wool on felted wool, applique, thread sketching, hand embroidery
“I guess another issue is that the techniques I use are not well understood.” Roe recalls sitting next to a woman once at a regional show. “At some point, she turned to me, and very kindly said that I really didn’t belong “here” and that I needed to look for a group of people who do crafts or quilting. I know she meant well and was saying that from the bottom of her heart. However, it illustrates some of the confusion people have about my work.” Alright, I’ve already written one post about how illustration is a legit art form – keep your eyes peeled next year for an RSAS blog post defending quilting as REAL art, too.
Any advice for artists just starting out? “If you want to be an
artist, do something art every day. It
could be a little sketch or something that will take days to finish, but you
have to practice your art daily. Don’t
wait for a lightning bolt of inspiration to strike!” Excellent advice! I
wholeheartedly believe that improvement comes from putting in the time and
practice.
To see more of Roe’s artwork, follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wool.n.work/.
