Kate Themel is an award-winning fabric artist and teacher living in Cheshire, Connecticut. Kate earned a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art in 1992 and began using fabric as an artistic medium in 1996.

"I rely on my formal training when I'm evaluating a composition and deciding if it works or not. The elements of art are the same whether you use ink, paint or fabric as the medium. I use fabric to explore value, color and shape. With machine stitching I can add lines and texture. Fiber art also has this sculptural aspect that's really exciting. I can explore a wide range of creative territory with textiles."

Over the years, Kate has developed a distinct, painterly style in her compositions but remains linked to the quilting world by her use of simple, traditional materials: cotton fabrics, batting and thread.

Kate Themel has created custom fiber art for individuals and corporate clients and her unique fiber pieces have been exhibited in art galleries and museums from Boston to Botswana. Her work has been juried into international fiber art exhibitions such as Quilt National, Art Quilt Elements and the Kagoshima Quilt Show in Japan.

Kate recently earned the Young Emerging Artist Award and the People's Choice Award for her work in Quilt National ’11.

Selected Exhibits

2013

• Quilt National ’13 – The Dairy Barn Arts Center (Athens, OH)

2012

• Art Quilt Elements 2012 – Wayne Art Center (Wayne, PA)
• Seasons Challenge, Invitational – Machine Quilting Unlimited Magazine, May 2012 Issue
• Quilt National '11 – San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles (San Jose, CA)
• SAQA: Beyond Comfort – Martin Museum of Art at Baylor University (Waco, TX)

2011

• Quilt National '11 - The Dairy Barn Arts Center (Athens, OH). Winner of the Young Emerging Artist Award, Quilt National '11
• A Show of Heads – Limner Gallery (Hudson, NY)
• Fiber Revolution: Visual Thoughts - Morris Museum (Morristown, NJ)
• Sacred Threads - Church of the Epiphany (Herndon, VA)
• Friendship Quilt Show, Invitational – Kagoshima Quilters Association (Kagoshima, Japan)
• Curator and Participating Artist, Identity in Fiber - Windsor Art Center (Windsor, CT)
• Guest Speaker – Farmington Valley Quilt Guild (Simsbury, CT)
• Solo Exhibition - The Funky Monkey Café & Gallery (Cheshire, CT)
• Fiber Revolution - West Windsor Arts Center (Princeton Junction, NJ)
• SAQA Traveling Exhibition: Beyond Comfort - Premiering at the Festival of Quilts (Birmingham, UK)

2010

• Fiber Revolution: Kalahari Quilts III - (Gaborone, Botswana)
• From Fine Art to Fiber: Reinterpreting the Masters - Whistler House Museum of Art (Lowell, MA)
• Intertwined: Work by 3 Fiber Artists - Norwich Arts Council Co-Op Gallery (Norwich, CT)
• Solo Exhibition - The Funky Monkey Café & Gallery (Cheshire, CT)
• Fiber Revolution: Think Outside the Blocks - Naugatuck Valley College (Waterbury, CT)

2009

• Solo Exhibition - Naugatuck Valley College (Waterbury, CT)
• Fiber Revolution and Kalahari Quilts II (Gaborone, Botswana)
• Afro American Cultural Center at Yale: 40th Anniversary - Yale University (New Haven, CT)
• Presentation: Fiber Art, Cheshire Public Library (Cheshire, CT)
• Fiber Force: A Futuristic Approach (A Touring Exhibition)
• Women in the Arts: Panel Discussion, Quinnipiac University (Hamden, CT)
• Inauguration of Dr. De Filippis, Naugatuck Valley Community College (Waterbury, CT)
• Fiber Revolution: Fresh Dimensions, Latimer Quilt and Textile Center (Tillamook, OR)
• Sacred Threads Fiber Art Exhibition (Reynoldsburg, OH)

2008

• Solo Exhibition at The Funky Monkey Café & Gallery (Cheshire, CT)
• High Fiber Under Five at The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles (San Jose, CA)
• The Artist as Quiltmaker XIII at the FAVA Gallery (Oberlin, OH)
• Women of the Cloth Exhibit at Bunker Hill Community College (Boston, MA)
• Annual Visual Arts Exhibit hosted by The Cheshire Art League (Cheshire, CT)
• Petal Pushers Exhibit at Worcester Center for Crafts (Worcester, MA)
• Guest Artist, The Cheshire Art League (Cheshire, CT)
• Puzzled & Board Exhibit at The New England Quilt Museum (Lowell, MA)

Permanent Installations:

• Sports Medicine Dept., Harvard/Children's Hospital (Boston, MA) - Runner
• Centerpoint Advisors Corporate Office (Newton, MA) - Boston Skyline
• Cheshire Historical Society textile collection (Cheshire, CT) - Anticipation of Discovery
• Afro American Cultural Center at Yale (New Haven, CT) - 40th Anniversary: Timeline

Honors:

• Young Emerging Artist Award – Quilt National '11 (Athens, OH)
• People's Choice Award – "Dandelion," Quilt National '11 (Athens, OH)
• Favorite Website – Machine Quilting Unlimited Magazine, June 2011

Publications:

• Sielman, Martha: Art Quilt Portfolio: People and Portraits, Lark Craft Books, 2013
• Themel, Kate: "What is it about Faces?", Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine, May/June 2012 p.18-24
• Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine, Cover, Jan/Feb 2012
• Themel, Kate: "Painting with Fabric & Thread," Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine, Jan/Feb 2012 p.40-44
• Fiber Art Now magazine, spring 2012
• Quilt National 2011: The Best of Contemporary Quilts, Lark Craft Books 2011, p.19
• Beyond Comfort, Studio Art Quilt Associates, 2011, p.53
• Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine, Nov/Dec 2011, p.3 and p.30
• Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine, Sept/Oct 2011, p.78
• Adams, Diedre: SAQA Portfolio 19: The Art Quilt Source Book, Studio Art Quilt Associates, 2012
• Adams, Diedre: SAQA Portfolio 18: The Art Quilt Source Book, Studio Art Quilt Associates, 2011, p.212
• Dineen Ferrin, Cheryl: SAQA Portfolio 16: The Art Quilt Source Book, Studio Art Quilt Associates, 2009, p. 266
• Dineen Ferrin, Cheryl: SAQA Portfolio 15: The Art Quilt Source Book, Studio Art Quilt Associates, 2008, p. 216

Professional Associations:

• CT Regional Co-Rep, SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates)
• Artist Member, Fiber Revolution
• Member of Heritage Quilters Guild, Wallingford CT
• Creator and Moderator of SAQA Connecticut blog