About Kate Themel

 

Kate Themel is an award-winning artist living in Cheshire, Connecticut. She owns and works out of the Fiber Art Studio in Oxford, Connecticut,.

Kate earned a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art in 1992 and began using fabric as an artistic medium in 1996.

Kate has developed a distinct, painterly style in her compositions, which are constructed using basic quilting techniques and materials. As an artist, Kate works with physical media such as paint, ink, pencil, and fabrics. She takes her inspiration from the natural world, the people and objects in her life. Kate does NOT use generative Ai to create compositions, nor does she use photo-printed fabrics as a basis of her designs. 

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

 

Where to See Kate's Artwork in Person

 

June 26 - Oct 11, 2026
Luxe CT: Velvet Mills to Modern Runways, Mystic Museum of Art (Mystic, CT)

Sept 1 - 26, 2026
Kate Themel (solo exhibition), Burnham Library (Bridgewater, CT)

Sept 8, 2026
Hamden Art League Monthly Meeting, (Hamden, CT)

Sept 15, 2026
Panel Discussion on fiber art, Mystic Museum of Art (Mystic, CT)

Aug 31 - Sept 30, 2026
*LOCAL COLOR: Circular Thinking, Wilton Library (Wilton, CT)

Oct 1 - Nov 1, 2026
Fiberworks: Elements, C.H. Booth Library (Newtown, CT)

 

My Creative Process

"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."

I'll share a bit of technical information on how I construct my designs. Typically, I draw from photos as reference material, which makes it easier to study details over a long period of time. I sketch a pattern on white paper, making it the actual size of my finished quilt. I label the drawing with numbers and letters, as a guide for colors and shades, similar to a paint-by-number project. I use this as the pattern for cutting fabrics.

Once I have the pattern ready, I start to build the quilt. I usually start with a single layer of fabric as the foundation of the artwork. Then I use that to create a basic 3-layer quilt with batting and backing fabric, to add structure and stability.

Then I cut pieces of colored fabric (usually cotton, hand-dyed and batiks) and arrange them on the surface of that basic background quilt. The first few pieces can be quite large - almost covering the entire surface. But as I refine the composition with more details, I cut pieces that are smaller and smaller - until they may be no bigger than a fingerprint.

I arrange the cut pieces in layers, overlapping edges or cutting out areas to reveal the color behind it, temporarily tacking them in place with a bit of water soluble glue. I use the fabric like dabs of paint, to create a sense of light and depth. When the fabric collage is complete, I move everything to the sewing machine for more detailed stitching.

Machine stitching allows me to sew through many layers, securing all the little pieces of fabric and adding texture to the finished piece. I use free motion stitches to draw tiny details, blend colors, define edges, and sometimes add new elements to the design. I use these stitched lines the same way I would use pencil, charcoal, or pen/ink.

 

Resume

Selected Exhibitions

* Indicates a juried show

2026

• • Eli Whitney Barn Spring Show
    • Eli Whitney Barn (Hamden, CT)
  • Luxe CT: Velvet Mills to Modern Runways
    • Mystic Museum of Art (Mystic, CT)
  • Fiberworks: Elements
    • C.H. Booth Library (Newtown, CT)
  • Kate Themel (solo exhibition)
    • Burnham Library (Bridgewater, CT)
  • *LOCAL COLOR: Circular Thinking
    • Guilford Art Center (Guilford, CT)
    • Brookfield Craft Center (Brookfield, CT)
    • Wilton Library (Wilton, CT)

2025

• • Fiberworks: Cityscapes
    • C.H. Booth Library (Newtown, CT)

2024

• • *LOCAL COLOR: Flora and Fauna
    • Guilford Art Center (Guilford, CT)
    • Brookfield Craft Center (Brookfield, CT)
    • Milford Arts Council (Milford, CT)
    • Windsor Art Center (Windsor, CT)
  • Viewpoints: Ithaka
    • Horizons, Taiwan Art Quilt Society (Tainan, Taiwan)
    • Carrefour European Patchwork Exhibition (Sainte-Croix-Aux-Mines, France)
  • Fiberworks: Inspired by an Artist
    • C.H. Booth Library (Newtown, CT)

2023

• • *Quilting Arts Magazine Cover Contest Finalists, Special Exhibit
  • Viewpoints: A New World
    • International Art Quilt Exhibition, Kaohsiung Cultural Center (Taiwan)
  • Fiberworks: Inspired by an Artist
    • C.H. Booth Library (Newtown, CT)

2022

• • Viewpoints: Personal Viewpoints
    • Horizons, Taiwan Art Quilt Society (Tainan, Taiwan)
    • Carrefour European Patchwork Exhibition (Sainte-Croix-Aux-Mines, France)
    • Pacific International Quilt Festival (Santa Clara, CA)
  • Viewpoints: A New World
    • IQF Houston (Houston, TX)
  • Viewpoints: Emerging
    • Quilt Show Reno (Reno, NV)
  • *LOCAL COLOR: A Connecticut Welcome
    • Guilford Art Center (Guilford, CT)
    • Greenwich Art Society (Greenwich, CT)
    • Milford Art Center (Milford, CT)
    • Windham Textile & History Museum (Willimantic, CT)

2021

• • Viewpoints 9: Word Challenges
    • Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum (Colorado)

2020

• • Thread Count: A Fiber Arts Show
    • Hartford Fine Art & Frames (Hartford, CT)
  • *LOCAL COLOR: Rails, Roads & Rivers
    • Windsor Art Center (Windsor, CT)
    • Slater Memorial Museum (Norwich, CT)
  • Viewpoints 9: Living Planet
    • Horizons, Taiwan Art Quilt Society (Tainan, Taiwan)

2019

• • Viewpoints 9: Living Planet
    • Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork (Ste Marie aux Mines, France)

2018

• • *SAQA: Wild Fabrications - Original Sewing and Quilt Expo
    • Lakeland, FL
    • Cleveland and Cincinnati, OH
    • Arlington, TX
    • Raleigh, NC
    • Fredericksburg, VA
    • Novi, MI
  • Viewpoints 9: Word Challenges
    • Horizons, Taiwan Art Quilt Society (Tainan, Taiwan)
    • International Quilt Festival (Chicago, IL)
  • * LOCAL COLOR: Inspired by Science
    • Valentine H. Zahn Gallery (Ivoryton, CT)
    • Windham Textile History Museum (Willimantic, CT)
    • Windsor Art Center (Windsor, CT)
  • *LOCAL COLOR: Connecticut Stories
    • Gallery at 48 Natoma (Folsom, CA)
  • *Fly Me to the Moon
    • Stagecoach Theater (Ashburn, VA)
    • Machine Quilt Expo  (Manchester, NH)
    • National Quilt Museum (Paducah, KY)

2017

• • Take a Closer Look, solo exhibition
    • Helen Bumpus Gallery (Duxbury, MA)
  • Locally Inspired
    • Windham Textile and History Museum (Willimantic, CT)
  • Viewpoints 9: Constants and Variables 
    • International Quilt Festival (Houston, TX)
    • Australian Quilt Conference (Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne Australia)
  • *LOCAL COLOR: Connecticut Stories
    • Slater Memorial Museum (Norwich, CT)
  • *Fly Me to the Moon
    • Quilting and Sewing Marketplace (Salt Lake City, UT)
    • Road to California (Ontario, CA)
    • Utah Quilting and Sewing Marketplace (Sandy, UT)
    • Quilters Unlimited Quilt Show (Chantilly, VA)
  • *SAQA Wild Fabrications
    • Grace Hudson Museum (Ukiah, CA)

2016

• • *Fly Me to the Moon
    • International Quilt Festival (Houston, TX)
  • *Local Color: Connecticut Stories
    • Guilford Art Center (Guilford, CT)
  • *SAQA: Wild Fabrications
    • Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum (Wausau, WI)
    • International Quilt Festival (Chicago, IL)
    • Texas Quilt Museum (LaGrange, TX)
    • George A. Spiva Center for the Arts (Joplin, MO)
    • Museum of York County (Rock Hill, SC)

2015

• • *Celebration of Fiber Art
    • Art Center East (Vernon, CT)
  • *SAQA: Wild Fabrications
    • International Quilt Festival (Houston, TX)
  • Viewpoints 9: Challenges
    • International House (Davis, CA)
    • Carrefour European Patchwork Meeting (Val d’Argent, France)
  • Contemporary Fiber Art, Invitational
    • Lore Degenstein Gallery (Selinsgrove, PA)
  • *Annual Juried Members Exhibition
    • New Britain Museum of American Art (New Britain, CT)
  • Fibrations! Invitational
    • The Great Hall Gallery (Springfield, VT)
  • Solo Exhibition “Fabric and Thread”
    • Funky Monkey Café Gallery (Cheshire, CT)

•  

Permanent Installations:

• Yale Pediatric Specialty Center (New Haven, CT) – Sea of Imagination
• Centerpoint Advisors Corporate Office (Newton, MA) - Boston Harbor
• Eli and Edythe Broad (formerly Kresge) Art Museum at Michigan State Univ. (East Lansing, MI) – Luka’s Eyes
• 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:

• Best in Show - "As You Set Out", Eli Whitney Barn Spring Show (Hamden, CT)
• First Place – “CT Science Center”, Celebration of Fiber Art, Art Center East (Vernon, CT)
• Juror, SAQA: Northern California Inspirations – San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles (San Jose, CA) 2014
• Juror, Out of the Loop 2013 – West Hartford Art League Clubhouse Gallery (W. Hartford, CT)
• Honorable Mention – “Leaving a Mark”, 2014 CT Artists Exhibition, Slater Memorial Museum (Norwich, CT)
• Selected Artists Panel, SAQA-Sponsored Symposium at Quilt National ’13 (Athens, OH)
• Young Emerging Artist Award – Quilt National ’11 (Athens, OH)
• People’s Choice Award – “Dandelion”, Quilt National ’11 (Athens, OH)

Select Publications:

• Quilting Arts Magazine, Cover, Summer 2023
• "Viewpoints: A New World", Quilting Arts Magazine, Winter 2023, p.39
• Quiltfolk Magazine, Special Edition Quiltfolk Dogs, February 2023, p.24, 25
• "Fabric Art by Viewpoints 9", Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine, Jan/Feb 2018, p.24, 26
• “Fly Me to the Moon”, Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine, March 2017, p.28
• “Let’s Talk Art Quilts with Kate Themel”, Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine, Vol. 24 No. 10, p. 120-122
• Wolfrom, Joen: Color Play: Second Edition, C&T Publishing, 2014, p.10
• Art & Beyond magazine, May/June 2014, Back Cover and p.28
• Quilt National 2013: The Best of Contemporary Quilts, Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center 2013, p.55
• Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine, July/August 2013, p.28
• “Figurative Quilt Art: A Conversation with Kate Themel”, Quilting Arts magazine, Apr/May 2013
• Sielman, Martha: Art Quilt Portfolio: People and Portraits, Lark Craft Books, 2013 p.55
• 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

Professional Associations:

• Juried Artist Member, CWA (Connecticut Women Artists)
• Juried Artist Member, SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates)
• Member, Fiberworks