Schedule a visit to the Fiber Art Studio in Oxford, Connecticut
Kate Themel maintains a studio space where she creates original fabric collages and art quilts. The studio has also hosted small group meetings for fiber art organizations such as Fiberworks and Studio Art Quilt Associates. Kate enjoys meeting other artists to share ideas and creative inspiration.
Are you a quilter who would like to develop your fine art skills? Are you looking for constructive feedback or guidance on your current project? Kate Themel offers one-on-one coaching, to support fiber artists in their creative journey.
Visits to the studio are by appointment only. For personalized coaching sessions, Kate will work with you to arrange a date and 2-hour timeframe. Express your interest via the “Inquire Now” button or contact Kate at thefiberartstudio@gmail.com
Individual Coaching Sessions
2-hour Session
Fee: $90
One on One Coaching is tailored to the student’s creative interests and goals. You may want to develop a specific skill, receive feedback on a particular project, or get advice on professional development such as creating a body of work, photographing quilts, or entering fiber art shows. Kate will work with you to make the most of your mentoring session.
What happens in a coaching session?
The answer may vary for each student. The purpose of coaching is always to support the student’s creative goals, not to criticize them or change their style.
For Carol, a working fiber artist, the coaching session was an opportunity to discuss a specific creative challenge. We talked about ways to achieve Carol’s vision for her quilt. We experimented with different fabrics and techniques to see what might work for her project. You can read Carol’s perspective in her review below:
My Experience at the Fiber Arts Studio
I was working on a portrait of my daughters when I got stuck. I couldn’t get the shading right and my daughter’s neck looked more like a parking lot! I had just learned that Kate Themel, the best fiber artist in Connecticut, had opened a studio and was offering classes and one-on-one consults. I had taken a class with Kate, and heard her lecture on many occasions, and always came away a better quilter. I immediately signed up for a consult.
Kate had let me know what to bring and also asked me to bring a couple of other quilts. Although I came because I was stuck on the portrait of my daughters, I also brought an almost-finished quilt of my mom and me on a beach when I was 8 years old. We were leaning on some sort of wooden break water, and I asked her advice on how to make it look more realistic. She asked me a few questions about the quilt and then spent about two minutes giving me suggestions on how I could quilt it. Then we went on to the reason I was there. How to give my daughter’s neck more dimension. She asked me what method I prefer, and then helped me make freezer-paper templates of the shading in the problematic areas. We experimented with different shades of dark and medium dark, until we got it right. I went home and finished Mom and Me, the next day. Over the following two days I all but finished the piece of my daughters. All I have to do is drape a piece of silk for her shawl and it will be done! Quilt artists are so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Kate.
~Carol J. Vinick, Studio Art Quilt Associates Member, President of Connecticut Women Artists
