Kathy Nida
“In short, I tell stories.”
Artist Statement
Many of Nida’s drawings start as dreams or ideas in response to what she observes or hears, or because of an event or idea. During a later stage of her art career, Nida became a science teacher, starting out in biology. This constant exposure to human bodies and their parts began to assert itself into her drawings, and now is a crucial part of her work.
As her teaching job changes, this new information becomes part of the toolbox of symbols and ideas that show up in her work, as do recent political issues. Her work very much is a narrative of her personal life, even as it refers to the greater human population. Issues of women’s rights, climate change, and gun control are recent focuses in some of her pieces. Most of her work is now fiber, quilts on the wall, using the traditional form of the quilt with what she learned from her printmaking days to create figurative imagery.
The never-ending palette of commercial and hand-dyed fabrics brings her joy, and she also appreciates the slight three-dimensionality and tactile quality of working with fabric.
