Biography: Catherine Goddard, BA (Hons) Fine Art

I have been attracted to Textiles as a medium to work with for as long as I can remember. I trained in Complimentary Therapy, Fashion, and Textiles and for a while designed and made children’s clothes. I have had work exhibited in several exhibitions having graduated from Plymouth University with a degree in Fine Art, specialising in Textiles.

Artist Statement

In hooking Rag Rug Textiles I have found the perfect medium to combine many of my interests. This creative art form allows me to paint with fabrics and found objects, using the wonderful textures to enhance the work. Each piece contains something special brought about by the fabrics used within them. An old but special garment, which no longer has a use, can be recreated in these art pieces.

I find inspiration for my work within the environment and generally use photography, which I roughly sketch out to form a starting point for my design, which usually changes as I progress. Issues surrounding recycling are very close to my heart and I feel that through this technique I have found a way to revive a utilitarian craft and reconstruct it into an art form while at the same time being able to address environmental issues.

Taking this art form onto another level I enjoy working in collaboration with the ‘art work’ of young children. In reproducing a child’s drawing I have found a way to capture a childhood special moment and at the same time preserve a special garment by incorporating it with the piece.

Exhibitions:

‘Open exhibition 2003’
The South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts.
Exeter Phoenix
Gandy Street
Exeter, Devon.

‘Return of the Tide – Fabrics of Transformation’
May – June 2005
Killerton House,
Broadclyst,
Exeter, Devon.

‘Rags to Riches’
August - September 2005
Fox Gallery,
Coldharbour Mill,
Uffculme, Devon.

‘Introduction’
An A5 Exhibition, Textile Forum South West
1st – 11th November 2005
The Street Gallery,
Falmouth Arts Centre,
Cornwall.

‘Material Reflections’
Textile wall hangings
1st September 2006 – 31st October 2006
Royal Albert Memorial Museum
Queen Street
Exeter, Devon.

Knight’s Stone and Pixes Cave
‘Impressions of a walk at Ottery St. Mary’
August 2007
Luxton’s Yard,
Ottery St Mary,
Devon.

Open Art Exhibition
December 2007 - Janurary 2008
Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital,
Barrack Road.