Quilting for change
- Kathy features artist-created and recycled fabrics in her politically-orientated pieces
- She prefers drawing by hand on paper rather than relying on technology to create ideas
- Her layered wall hangings address human rights, women’s rights and climate change
Kathy Nida’s bold, statement-led quilted artworks take the tradition in a new direction. As a child, her mother taught her how to sew, a skill she continued to use when she took quilting classes after graduating from college in California. Kathy read extensively as she progressed, in an effort to learn different techniques and develop new directions for the craft. Her impactful pieces have been regularly exhibited in galleries and shows across the USA and internationally. Kathy prefers to work in a very solitary way, allowing her pieces to speak for her in a wider world. “When I am not making pieces about politics, I focus on personal stories and earth goddesses, which always seem to lead back to what it is like to be a woman in the world,” she says.
Discover her work
INTERVIEW
I drew as a very young child and I began participating in art exhibitions as a teenager. My first art quilt was made in 1990. It was a small collage using fabrics I had stashed away, along with one piece I printed using my computer. I also added beads and embroidery.
I use traditional quilting practices as the foundation of my work, but I believe all traditions need to change and adapt in order to remain relevant and interesting in the future. Learning traditional methods is important because it allows me to branch out into something new and different.
Much of my art carries a political or personal message, and in recent years it has largely focused on human and women’s rights. I have also made pieces addressing climate change, climate migration, gun control, LGBTQIA rights, war, reproductive rights and many other political issues.
Do not give up, be persistent. My artwork has kept me sane on many levels. Making art is one of the things I look forward to every day. I believe it is important to make time for the things I love, even if this sometimes comes at the expense of a tidy house.
