About

I have always been energized by color and texture.  I see pattern everywhere I look.

The simple task of collecting colorful fall leaves excited me as a child. Speared onto a stick, they created a delightful object of shaggy texture and subtle color changes, opening a moment spent in bliss as I wandered the backyard.

Yarns, threads, fabrics drew me, making me the only kid eagerly knitting away on the playground at recess.

My first glimpse of a weaving studio took my breath away. What was this magical place?

In college I studied Fiber Arts and Theatrical Costume Design. From there I skipped thru decades of a diverse retail career that has spanned from dressing folks in costumes, to dressing brides and their parties for a most special day, and currently to managing the behind the scenes of merchandising and operations for a national department store.  Continuing studies in surface design and printmaking gave me an opportunity to balance the demands working world by allowing me to routinely color outside the lines.

I shifted from textiles to work on paper, and started Ragged Edge Printmaking Studio. Yet I found myself tearing apart hand pulled prints on rag paper, then stitching them together, merging printing and the love of fiber deep in my soul.  Skills learned from printmaking on paper lead me to  return to working with dyes on  silk fabric employing these same monotype techniques. Inspired by the large dynamic patterns, intense colors, and physical movement used to create large fabric pieces, I began to work with these same dyes , printing on to paper with the use of an etching press.

I continue to experiment with fresh approaches.  Combining elements with collage has brought me back to my early love of gathering, collecting and assembling works of art.

 

Kathryn Klompas

Printmaker, Photographer, Textile Artist
Owner, Ragged Edge Print Studio, 137 Remsen St, Cohoes, NY 12047
(518) 289-4046

Artist Statement:  My art explores the expressive use of color, mark-making and surface design on paper and textiles, employing printmaking on paper and fabric, stitching and mixed media collage.  Observing patterns, textures and structures through the lens of a camera often influences and informs my art.

Recent Exhibitions:

2015:
Pocket Art – Islip Museum of Art, Islip,NY
Group Show- Butzel Gallery, John Sayles School of Fine Arts, Schenectady, NY
Singular Impressions: Ragged Edge Artists – The National Bottle Museum Artist Space, Ballston Spa, NY

2014:
define: Color- Lapham Gallery, Glens Falls, NY
Mash Up – Islip Museum Of Art, Islip, NY
Window Shop Gallery – Cohoes, NY
Cohoes Artist Showcase, featured artist – Cohoes,NY

2013:
Holiday Show – Vermont Center for Contemporary Art, Colchester, Vt.
Pattern and Texture, awarded Honorable Mention – Lapham Gallery, Glens Falls, NY
Cohoes Artist Showcase – The Venue at St Joseph’s, Cohoes, NY
Exposing Rhythms, 2 person show – The National Bottle Museum Artist Space, Ballston Spa, NY
Fragments, solo show, Harmony House Marketplace , Cohoes, NY

Education:
BS Design,  NY State University College At Buffalo
concentration: Textiles, Theatrical Costuming

Teaching: 
Introduction to Monotype
Silk Scarf Monoprint

 

I’d love to hear from you.  Drop me a message below!

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