Cathie Wier: Weaver and Silk Artist
Cathie has lived on the Salish Sea since 1997, first on Orcas Island and now in Port Townsend. She is fascinated by what she sees 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. At low tide, seaweed of all colors and textures are laid out on the sand in beautiful compositions. All of these inform her art.
Once she arrived on the Olympic Peninsula and became an avid hiker and backpacker,
the mountains and forests were added to Cathie’s regular meditations in nature. Her
subject matter expanded to snow covered peaks, mossy and lichen-covered rocks,
wildflowers, roaring rivers, and forests green and fire-scorched.
Just as seaweed changes color and shape as it dries, Cathie weaves with yarns and
structures that change shape when she takes them off the loom, washes, and dries
them: some yarns shrink, some bubble, and some twist. Although many weavings have
strict horizontal and vertical lines, she loves to break away from those structures and
find ways to create angled or undulating lines.
Most recently, Cathie has been exploring shibori (a Japanese stitch-resist dyeing
technique). Cathie discovered that unlike most shibori artists who appreciate the
designs that can be created with this technique, she loves the textures that are created
when a piece of silk is stitched, dyed, steamed, and dried before taking out the stitching.
The textures are permanent at that point and Cathie now combines these in wall
hangings.
Through this work, Cathie explored pleating and has taken the fascination with pleats
back to her loom. She creates pleats in her woven work by using a fine silk yarn that
shrinks when it is steamed. Because of the woven pattern, peaks and valleys are
formed when the finished piece is steamed and the silk shrinks. Cathie then
manipulates the woven pieces to create intriguing wall art.
Cathie frequently enters juried shows in the Northwest and also shows with Tangled
Fibers and The Peninsula Fiber Artists .
See her work online at
Once she arrived on the Olympic Peninsula and became an avid hiker and backpacker,
the mountains and forests were added to Cathie’s regular meditations in nature. Her
subject matter expanded to snow covered peaks, mossy and lichen-covered rocks,
wildflowers, roaring rivers, and forests green and fire-scorched.
Just as seaweed changes color and shape as it dries, Cathie weaves with yarns and
structures that change shape when she takes them off the loom, washes, and dries
them: some yarns shrink, some bubble, and some twist. Although many weavings have
strict horizontal and vertical lines, she loves to break away from those structures and
find ways to create angled or undulating lines.
Most recently, Cathie has been exploring shibori (a Japanese stitch-resist dyeing
technique). Cathie discovered that unlike most shibori artists who appreciate the
designs that can be created with this technique, she loves the textures that are created
when a piece of silk is stitched, dyed, steamed, and dried before taking out the stitching.
The textures are permanent at that point and Cathie now combines these in wall
hangings.
Through this work, Cathie explored pleating and has taken the fascination with pleats
back to her loom. She creates pleats in her woven work by using a fine silk yarn that
shrinks when it is steamed. Because of the woven pattern, peaks and valleys are
formed when the finished piece is steamed and the silk shrinks. Cathie then
manipulates the woven pieces to create intriguing wall art.
Cathie frequently enters juried shows in the Northwest and also shows with Tangled
Fibers and The Peninsula Fiber Artists .
See her work online at
and instagram @cathiewier
