Katie Blue
Bio
Sometimes dubbed “The Plastic Queen”, Katie is a well known artist to thousands of N.I. children for her giant Junk Sculptures using recycled materials and her art workshops in schools and colleges across the province. Her colourful, often humorous creations incorporate thousands of household objects, children’s’ toys, wood, fabric and other recycled materials. Since receiving an Arts Council Award in 2005, she has completed a 2 year tour of solo shows throughout Ireland, as well as participating in several Children’s’ Art Festivals, most recently with madcap interactive shows for children at The Island Arts Centre in Lisburn. Over the last 20 years, she has sold and exhibited her quilts, wall hangings, paintings and furniture creations worldwide, including Mexico, USA, New Zealand and Japan. More recently she has been transforming images of her sculptural work into large, complex digital prints and it is these that can be seen in this latest exhibition.
Artist Statement
Katie Blue has produced rich, textural prints inspired by Appalachian and American quilts and imagery from both American and Irish Folk Art and music. Returning to her artistic background as a quiltmaker, her modern "quilts" are pieced together on a computer rather than a sewing machine. The resulting work has its roots in the past but its feet firmly in the present. With their complex layers of pattern and form, her creations have energy and harmony in equal measure: just like the music that inspired them.