Catharine taught the Professional Fiber Program at Haywood Community College for 30 years before retiring in 2008. She is now devoted to studio work and teaching a limited number of workshops. Her original training was in traditional woven techniques, which led her to weave functional fabrics for many years, often incorporating ikat resist dyeing. More recently, her career has been defined by the discovery and exploration of the woven shibori process.
“Woven shibori has challenged all that I know about weaving and has led me to investigate new materials, resists, dyes and finishing processes. The fabrics I have produced include combinations of dyed cellulose fibers, wool felting and resist, permanent shaping with thermoplastics, and woven steel with heat treatment. Continued exploration of woven shibori and its applications will define and my guide my work for many years to come.”
Most recently Catharine has been exploring applications of Jacquard and industrial weaving in combination with hand dyeing. She has been working in partnership with The Oriole Mill in Hendersonville NC to develop fabrics for both chemical dyes and natural colorants.
Selected Exhibitions
- 2009 – Naturally – Barometer, NSW, AU – April 6-26
- 2009 – Range of Possibilities – Penland Gallery – March 17-May 10
- 2008 – Inspired Design: Jacquard and Entrepreneurial Textiles
- 2006 – International Lace Biennial, Brussels, Belgium
- 2006 – Fusion: Weaving and Shibori, Grand Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
- 2006 – Stories from the Landscape, Ginko Gallery, Oberlin, OH
- 2005 – Textures, Waynesville, NC, solo exhibition
- 2005 – Crossing Boundaries: Maintaining Traditions – Teaching Artists of the Southeast, Center for Craft Creativity and Design, Hendersonville, NC
- 2004 – The Nature of Craft and the Penland Experience, Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC
- 2003 – Southeastern Fiber Invitational, Blue Spiral Gallery, Asheville, NC
- 2001 – 2001 Daegu International Textile Design Exchange Exhibition, Korea
- 1999 – Shibori Expression in Contemporary Art, Third International Shibori Symposium, Santiago, Chile