Artist's Statement

Living on the Salish Sea (Orcas Island and now Port Townsend, WA) I find myself fascinated by what I see along the shoreline: piles of kelp glistening in the sun, rocks and pebbles washed by the waves, waves crashing on the shore, and sunsets on the water. In Port Townsend, I discovered beaches at low tide with seaweed of all colors and textures laid out on the sand in beautiful compositions. I started photographing these images and gradually found myself translating them to my weaving. 

In addition to wandering the shoreline, I spend time hiking in the mountains which provides me with more rich textures and colors to explore in my weaving: snow covered peaks, mossy rocks, wildflowers, roaring rivers, and forests green and fire-scorched. 

Just as seaweed changes color and shape as it dries, I experiment with weaving with yarns and structures that change shape when I take them off the loom, wash, and dry them: some yarns shrink, some bubble, and some twist. Although many weavings have strict horizontal and vertical lines, I love to break away from those structures and find ways to create angled or undulating lines.

An empty loom demands a new design and eventually a concrete project emerges, each with unique puzzles to solve. A piece may be driven by an image, a new technique, or colors and textures of yarn from my closet. I inherited not only my mom’s looms, but also an amazing array of yarns that provide a breadth of colors and textures that demand experimentation and always whisper encouragement. 

When I am away from my loom, I enjoy twisting 4-ply cords for ply-split braiding and stitching and tying shibori knots for dyeing. I have begun growing flowers to enhance my experimentation into natural dyes. Now I am starting to apply dyeing back to my weaving with shibori and ikat effects.

 

EXHIBITS

2024
”Burst of Color”, Group Show (Peninsula Fiber Artists), Northwind Art, Port Townsend, WA

2023
”2023 Juried Exhibition”, Schack Art Center, Everette, WA June 15-August 26
”Spring 2023 Juried Exhibit”, Jansen Art Center, Lynden, WA

2022
”Miniature”, Juried Show, Vashon Island Center for the Arts, Vashon Island, WA
”Small Expressions”, Juried Show, Northwind Art, Port Townsend, WA
”Anything Goes”, Group Show (Peninsula Fiber Artists), Mead Werks, Port Townsend, WA
”Tangled Fibers”, 4-person show, Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum, LaConner, WA
”Fiber & Beyond”, Group Show (Peninsula Fiber Artists), Latimer Quilt & Textile Center , Tillamook, OR

2021
”Small Expressions”, Juried Show, Northwind Art, Port Townsend, WA
”Rhythm of Light”, Group Show (SDA-North Peninsula), Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum
LaConner, WA
”Chasing Shadows”, Juried Regional Show, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center
“Farm. Fresh. Art”, Group Show, Mead Werks, Port Townsend, WA
”Undersea”, Invited Show, Northwind Art Grover Gallery, Port Townsend, WA

2020
”Opulent Art Show”, Online Studio Tour
”One of a Kind”, Grover Gallery Holiday Gift Show, Port Townsend, WA
”Undersea Garden: A Voyage of Wonder and Imagination”, 4-person show, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center
”Well+Being”, Juror, National Juried Show, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center
”Let’s Play”, Juried Show, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA

2019
”Rhythms of Water and Land, Love and Loss”, Invited Show, Peace Lutheran Church, Danville, CA
Port Townsend Studio Tour
”Shades of Summer”, Group Show, Mead Werks, Port Townsend, WA
“The Power of Small Things”, National Juried Show, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center
”Green Blue Magic”, Invited Show, Port Townsend School of the Arts, Port Townsend, WA
"Under the Influence of Fiber”, Group Show, Old Alcohol Plant Gallery, Port Hadlock, WA

2018
”Flora Fauna Fiber”, Invited Show, Port Townsend School of the Arts Gallery, Port Townsend, WA
"Quilt and Fiber Festival", Juried Show, Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum, LaConner, WA
"Expressions Northwest", Regional Juried Show, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA
"Earth, Wind, Fire, & Water", Juried Show, Sequim Civic Center, Sequim, WA
"Metamorphosis", Group Show, Sequim Civic Center, Sequim, WA
"Pairings: Beaded and Woven", Collaboration, Uptown Dental, Port Townsend, WA
Invited Show, Taps at the Guardhouse, Port Townsend, WA

2017
"Smile: Whimsy and Humor", Juried Show, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA
"Fiber Revolution", Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, SDA Member Show, Port Angeles, WA  ** Awarded People's Choice
"Surface Design at the Carnegie", Group Show, Port Townsend Library, Port Townsend, WA
"Alchemy of the Abstract", Juried Show, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA
"Wind and Water", Juried Show, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA
"Fiber Fusion", Juried Show, Schack Art Center, Everett, WA

2016
"One Foot Cubed", Juried Show, Confluence Gallery, Twisp, WA
"Open Show", Juried Show, Sequim City Hall, Sequim, WA
"National Parks", Member Show, Port Angeles Public Library, Port Angeles, WA
"Poem Inspired", Juried Show, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA
"Radical Change", Juried Show, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA
"Alchemy of the Abstract VII", Juried Show, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA

2015
“Liquid Planet”, SDA Members Show, Pippa’s Tea House, Port Townsend WA
"Book Inspired", Juried Show, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA
"Surface Design Association", Member Show,  Port Angeles Public Library, Port Angeles, WA

2014
"Small Expressions", Juried Show, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA

2013
Pacific Northwest Art School Member Exhibit, Coupeville, WA ** Awarded “Best of Fiber Art”

2009
"Art is Gift", Invited show, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, Port Angeles, WA

Retail Sales:

  • 2008-Present Studio Sales, Port Townsend, WA

  • 2008-2010 Monsoon, Port Townsend, WA

Follow me on Instagram!
instagram.com/cathiewier

“Spirits Rising”. Happy Earth Day! #inspiredbynature #fungi #forestlover
Forest sculpture in silk pleats. #inspiredbynature #lichenart
Icy cold swirls…
Pleats and shadows.
Rain-Happy Moss. Now hanging in Small Expressions show @northwindart_pt.
Here is a quick view of our show in LaConner at the Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum.
Weekend work on silks. Bringing the sparkling river home. #inspiredbynature #texturedart #textileartists #fiberartnow
Playing with rust, layers, and a little bit of texture.
Nautilus Swirls. #inspiredbynature #nautiulus #shiboridye
Back to some play with flower dyes. I learned about dyeing with St John’s Wort just after the season last year. I’m eager to try for those promised maroons and greens! Apparently it needs to sit for a few days? Just the flowers this time. But another batch going with leaves too. And then play with mordants… Advice welcome! #naturaldye #stjohnswortdye #flowerdye
Shibori-shaped sculpture. Lena Lake hike inspiration… reflections on the lake and swirling, turbulent streams.
More play with warp and weft ikat. Dyeing yarn before weaving, with some intention… then letting the piece go it’s own way. #ikatweaving #inspiredbynature #handweaving
Latest ply-split vessel.
More ikat waves. The weft is wound into small bundles, tied to resist the dye, dyed, dried, wound on bobbins and woven. #ikat #handwoventextiles #inspiredbynature_ #inspiredbywaves #inspiredbywater
Waves on a windy morning. #ikat #handwoventextiles #natureinspiredart #inspiredbynature_ #waterinspired
Ply-split braiding. This piece started at the center line, then headed off in different directions with each of the colors. Any suggestions for a title? #plysplitbraiding #textilesculpture @nationalbasketryorganization
Away from the loom and dye pot. Back to some ply-split braiding. Somehow these 2 starts will intertwine. #plysplitbraiding
Safflower. My first season dyeing with these flower petals. First you extract yellow, then the pink remains, with the help of some ph shifting. #naturaldye #inspiredbynature #inspiredbypetals #flowerdye #safflowers
Playing with layers. #shiboridyed