Spotlight: Karen Lewis, Textile Artist

Karen Lewis found her way into the artists path after a career break and has never looked back. She screen prints textiles, designs fabric lines, creates quilt patterns and teaches a variety of quilting and textile techniques. Her most productive time? When she is inspired.

How did you find yourself on an artist’s path? Always there? Lightbulb moment? Dragged kicking and screaming? Evolving?

My artist path started long after I first discovered my love for the arts. I had hoped to take the art route at high school but due to the academic school I was at, it was Latin for me…art was for those that couldn’t. Many arguments with parents and teachers later and it was still a no for me! I finally found my way into the artist path many years later after a career break; having children gave me the opportunity. I have never looked back.

What different creative media do you use in your work?

I stick to printing, predominantly screen printing and textiles. I love all sorts of creative media and could get lost in so many different ones but for my sanity and ability to focus I force myself to stick with just those!

Do you plan your work out ahead of time, or do you just dive in with your materials and start playing?

Oh I wish! Sadly I get way too distracted to plan very far or if I do I find it difficult to stick to it. I am very much an ideas person and get fully taken over by the new idea that just has to be explored there and then. There are somethings that get planned, like all the work I do with The Thread House or magazine work or my Fabric Club printing but I focus much better when I can work when the mood strikes.

When is your most productive creative time? 

My most productive time is definitely when I’m inspired. I find it very challenging to be forced to produce something creative so if I have left a deadline too short I get very stressed trying to fulfill it. I am much more productive if I can produce work when I am in the right mood and feeling inspired. Hence I try and go with it when I am inspired and pick up the pieces of what should really have been done instead.

Do you have a dedicated space for creating? If so, what does it look like?

I am very lucky to have two work spaces. One is here in the house which is my textile space. It has all my fabric storage, apart from my solids for printing which are in my Printing Shed. More on that in a minute! My in house studio has my sewing machine, all my notions and accessories and a large table for working on. I also have my computer station in that room too. I do a lot of design work on that.

My Printing Shed is a post Covid space that I had built in the garden as an escape from the entire family (husband and three University aged kids at home at that time) to be able to work uninterrupted. I LOVE my Printing Shed and I have now put a sewing machine in there also so I have another reason to escape to it!

Do you use a sketchbook or journal? How does that help your work develop?

I used to only use a sketchbook for designing but I have more recently arrived in the 21st Century and learnt Touchdraw and Procreate which has helped enormously with both my fabric and quilting designing. I do love a list so have more than one journal on the go for that.

Are you a “finisher”? How many UFOs do you think you have?

Am I a finisher? I HAVE finished things. Does that count?! I am seriously the world’s worst starter. I have no filter on having an idea and just HAVING to try it out. I am trying very hard to be better at that but I justify it by seeing if something works and can be looked at properly at a later date.

Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How does a new work come about?

My latest quilt pattern came from a tiling I saw in Italy, hence named Mosaic Italia. I get inspiration from everywhere and take a lot of photos that I regularly scroll back over when I am ready to produce something new. The tiling that inspired this piece didn’t stay in my phone for long. It was one of those “had to do immediately”occasions.

Do you think that creativity comes naturally to people, or do you think creativity is a skill that people can learn? 

I think creativity is definitely a skill that people can learn. Like most skills it does come more naturally to some than others but that doesn’t mean to say we can’t improve our creativity. The more we are exposed to creative situations in various forms, the better and more natural we become.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work? 

I find being with people keeps me motivated and inspired, whether that is with other ‘professional’ creatives or teaching others. I just love the buzz that comes with teaching a class of enthusiastic students. Everyone produces something completely unique and it is so inspiring to see different interpretations of the same theme. I always come home from teaching completely inspired and want to drop everything and delve in myself!

Tell us about your blog and/or website. What do you hope people will gain by visiting?

My website is karenlewistextiles.com and I can be found on Instagram at @karenlewistextiles I hope people will be inspired to see that everything is a journey. I post a lot about techniques and processes and hope that people will be inspired by the process and not just focus on the end final product. To me it is about the practical doing, whether that be stitching or printing and if the process is an enjoyable part then you are going to be even more enamoured by the magic of what your hands have achieved at the end.

Do you lecture or teach workshops? How can students/organizers get in touch with you to schedule an event?

I do and I love it! People can get in touch with me at karen@karenlewistextiles.com I do both zoom and in person. I love being in a class with people and love to travel to see people. I also run The Thread House Academy with my fellow creatives, Lynne Goldsworthy and Jo Avery and you can see what we are up to over at @threadhouseuk on Instagram, thethreadhouse.co.uk website or email us on hello@thethreadhosue.co.uk .