Kate Sumner
Portfolios
Breadth is a collection of pieces that show a wide range of techniques and skills. This section includes my 2-Dimensional Breadth collection.
As you may have read, I have been diagnosed with Manic Depression (Bipolar Disorder). This leaves me feeling like a happy, silly chicken some days, and other days I simply feel like a flightless bird. My concentration displays the daily battles I face in a symbolic manner. For example, the chicken in the 7th piece shows a chicken eating his own egg which symbolizes self harm; and the 8th piece shows a chicken looking in a mirror which symbolizes negative self image. Furthermore, the last piece shows the two sides of my illness, happy and hopeless.
I used collaged fabric (including denim jeans) to create my chickens along with acrylic paint to emphasize shadows. Pieces 4, 7, and 8 use a semi-sheer fabric applied with varnish to achieve a distortion effect. The left side of the last piece is a collagraph of the right side. Some of the chickens in my concentration are happy and showing off and others symbolize the struggle and feeling of being tied down by the everyday battles of manic depressive illness.
I used collaged fabric (including denim jeans) to create my chickens along with acrylic paint to emphasize shadows. Pieces 4, 7, and 8 use a semi-sheer fabric applied with varnish to achieve a distortion effect. The left side of the last piece is a collagraph of the right side. Some of the chickens in my concentration are happy and showing off and others symbolize the struggle and feeling of being tied down by the everyday battles of manic depressive illness.
If I showed you a picture of a bug, any bug, your reaction would most likely be negative; I want to change that perception. Bugs are vital to our planet's ecosystem, yet they have always had this scary and icky reputation. My goal in my Sustained Investigation is to sew together bright colors and fun textures to change that reputation to something of respect and teach that Bug Lives Matter.
Through the designs, shapes, and textures of fabric included in my works, I progress from simple oven bake clay and wire armature to more advanced patterns, like in #9 and #3. I learned and developed new ways, techniques, and materials when faced with a complication in my process. For example, when my fly's eyes were too heavy to support his head, I re-designed her proboscis to support the weight. We as humans need to learn to re-design our habits to treat the conservation of bugs the same as other vital animals.
Through the designs, shapes, and textures of fabric included in my works, I progress from simple oven bake clay and wire armature to more advanced patterns, like in #9 and #3. I learned and developed new ways, techniques, and materials when faced with a complication in my process. For example, when my fly's eyes were too heavy to support his head, I re-designed her proboscis to support the weight. We as humans need to learn to re-design our habits to treat the conservation of bugs the same as other vital animals.
Contact
If you are interested in purchasing any of my works or have questions please contact me at