A Previous Life...

Studio at The Old Bank

Catherine Green BCTF Harrogate

Catherine Green press article

Catherine Green at Finestra Gallery

Catherine Green at BCTF Harrogate

Hello, and welcome to my news page! I've been having a big clear out recently, in all areas of my life. I felt that I needed to get rid of life's clutter that I had accumulated during a marriage lasting over twenty years in order to move on to new and exciting times ahead. It was all weighing heavily on me and stopping me from really moving forward. Along with a basement full of 'junk' accumulated over the years I also had an inbox bursting at the seams with old emails that needed filing or deleting; over 5000 in total! It has been very therapeutic to go through and organise each and every one, archiving anything that is no longer relevant and putting past events firmly where they belong.

As well as getting rid of unwanted clutter, it also brought up a few memories from my not-too-distant past life as a textile artist, which I enjoyed going through, remembering the pieces of work that I enjoyed creating. The big statement pieces of artwork that I created in addition to the scarves, badges, lavender bags, greetings cards and tea towels were all printed, many stitched but all vibrant and colourful. Not too different from the colours that I love to work with today.

I used to have a big studio where I created my work, as I had lots of equipment for screen printing, dyeing, stitching, framing and packing, and I taught workshops both from here as well as in schools. I traded under my married name, Catherine Green, and had many exhibitions and stockists around the country and thoroughly enjoyed my practice. I travelled up and down the country attending trade fairs such as BCTF in Harrogate and the Country Living retail fairs in London and Harrogate to name a few, with the help of my Mum who was always on hand to help out! It was hard work fitting in around school hours and holidays as my boys were growing up, but it gave me the opportunity to express myself creatively and maintain my own identity, which can sometimes get lost in marriage and motherhood, as we put everyone else's needs above our own.

My youngest helping out in the school holidays.

Mum and Me staying over in Teddington for the Contemporary Textiles Fair.

When I packed up my studio as we moved to a bigger house I fully intended to start again when I had created enough space for a studio at home, but life got in the way and the interior design business I owned with my then husband became busier. I worked in the background, keeping the finances in order, creating interior design schemes and making sure the ever expanding sample library was up to date. I learned to play golf and enjoyed being around for the boys as they went through high school and into university and thought that my life was mapped out for me......until it wasn't!

So, what happened after the divorce, the fall out, the soul searching....starting all over again mid life??? I rediscovered my love for art! It became my therapy, my escape and my path into the future. I have my own studio again and although it's only small I absolutely love it! It's jam packed full of paints and brushes with a whole wall full of wooden panels and canvas' ready to be painted in the vibrant, bold abstracts that I have found myself drawn to creating. They're full of pattern, hope and energy and they are exactly how I'm feeling right now. Life doesn't always turn out how we think but I'm looking forward to this exciting new chapter under my maiden name of Cath Crowther. Growing my studio to encompass the original artwork that I love to create alongside a range of designs that will form a collection of interior products and accessories, utilising my years of experience in the interior design field.

I hope you will join me on this journey and enjoy my first full collection as Cath Crowther, artist and designer, the aptly named "A New Path" series.