Kathy Ross – Multi Media Artist
My name is Kathy Ross, I was born and raised in Waite Park, Minnesota. I come from a family where creativity was both encouraged and nurtured. I learned early that I love art. I love the creation of art, the appreciation of art, and the realization that art is literally everywhere. Just waiting to be discovered, or admired, or designed and produced.
The creative process for me is sometimes a flash of an idea that is the completed project or a slowly smoldering concept that needs time to develop. Either way, the production of the piece is where I find satisfaction.
My chosen mediums include glass mosaics, stitched paper and crochet. I learned to mosaic while attending Arts Underground at the Paramount Visual Arts Center in St. Cloud Minnesota. Creating beauty from brokenness appeals to me, and while I create all sorts of mosaics, I gravitate toward making items that light can pass through. Every project includes a moment where I hold the work-in-progress up, and marvel at how the introduction of light transforms it.
I love to stitch paper as well, and make a number of greeting cards featuring metallic thread that might entice you to pivot the card to see it shimmer. The cards are beautiful and unusual, and it’s important that what I do with thread and paper is not found at many craft fairs, or on the shelf at the local Hallmark. They are tiny works of art and frameable!
I taught myself to crochet during my annual ‘it’s time to learn something new’ challenge. It was a good choice, as a couple of my works have been rated in the top five at the MN State Fair. I make blankets of all sizes, scarves, and stuffed animals (amigurumi). Crochet is my textural creativity, and creating something beautiful, cozy and huggable is very satisfying.
There are many other ways I tap into my creativity, and it’s highly possible I may add to what I have described here. For now, though, the path I travel towards creating unusual, beautiful items is bordered with glass, thread and paper, and yarn.