A brief interview with 2016 Open Studio Tour artist: Kathy Strauss
Kathy Strauss in her studio.
Can you tell us a little bit about the work that you do in your studio?
I am a fiber artist and printmaker, and my work is largely informed by my other career as a laboratory scientist. Recently I have been making block prints embroidered with structures related to the printed image, along with monotypes layered with mathematics that describe the image.
Undercurrents 6, Oyster Toad by Kathy Strauss
What drew you to the medium(s) that you are currently working with?
I love the immediacy of monotypes, and I love making block prints and then seeing how many variations on each of the same print I can make by the addition of embroidery.
Palimpsest 4 by Kathy Strauss
What is something that you think is unique about your studio or practice?
Being both an artist and a scientist makes my subject matter unique, and being a scientist also makes me approach my art making differently from many artists I know well. I obsess about the connectedness of the images with the embroidery and mathematics, about the scientific soundness of my work, along with the more usual (for artists) attention to solid picture-making with respect to form, composition, handling of space and so forth.
Wound 3 (Pott’s Disease) by Kathy Strauss
What is one thing you love about being an artist in Baltimore?
I love the vibrancy of the city and the fact that it has attracted so many very gifted artists who are willing to look beyond the normal galleries for exhibition opportunities, and use imagination and forward thinking to use or create amazing spaces for showing artwork.
What are you most excited about for this year’s Open Studio Tour?
This is my first time!
Fusion, Lunar (Olivine) by Kathy Strauss