Katrina Wilde | create (self) advocate
I’ve always been interested in art and drawing since I was very young. My parents are Jack & Jill of all trades and both share an aptitude for creativeness, which always encouraged me to pursue my own creative flair. My sister too, shares similar interests in textiles and design, and at home we are both surrounded by beautiful objects and fabrics, which creates a really stimulating environment. I’ve always been curious and messy, which are of course key ingredients to creating interesting things!
I went through the school – college – university route, studying Art, then BTEC in Art & Design specialising in Fashion, then going on to study Textiles in Practice at Manchester School of Art, specialising in Printed Textiles – recently qualifying with a first class honours degree. My course, placements and residencies have given me an opportunity to gain creative influences from lots of different sources and cultures, including Hong Kong, New York and of course Manchester (and even Stoke!). Due to family ties I often visit Bulgaria, which always inspires me, whether that’s the landscapes, the textiles or just my vivacious grandma – or a mix of it all. I’m currently working on creating more commercial designs for my portfolio and experimenting with different styles of design and drawing. I’m also interested in the supply chain and the manufacturing side of things – where our products come from, how they’re sourced and that sort of thing, and think that this can be something that I go on to develop towards working in.
I’m looking to get studio space in Manchester to carry on with my practice and freelance work, as well as some different placements to gain some more industry experience. I’ve got one lined up next year in Australia, and a couple of other exciting things in the pipeline too! Ideally, I’d like to work in a small design studio where there is an emphasis on hand-drawn designs, but still using digital tools too, but for now I’m still exploring who I am as a designer, and enjoying the process of understanding for me just what that is.
I’m also pleased to be part of thescapeartists collaboration with Human-Nature and being the ‘Create (Self)’ Advocate. My mum’s a person centred therapist, so I can really appreciate the benefits art and creativity can bring to people’s wellbeing. I’m keen to support the project as an artist and workshop activity leader. I’m enjoying sharing experiences with the other artists participating with the project, as we have such diverse backgrounds and each have our own areas of specialism, from textiles, to photography, to origami, to pottery making and that too makes for an exciting mix of skills, interests and influences.
Click on Katrina’s photo to see her artist’s profile.