Spotlight: Kim Tepe, Fiber Artist

Meet Kim Tepe, the fiber artist whose journey into the world of art began with a passion for fabric. She manipulates fabrics to create her art inspired by often overlooked elements in nature. Her process involves experimentation and a variety of techniques.

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

Five years ago I set out to get my work into a gallery. I had the opportunity to apply to a local co-op and jumped at the chance. I’ve been there for five (5) wonderful years. That was the first time I think I seriously thought of myself as an artist, although there are days I still have doubts. 

How did you get started making fiber art? Why did you choose that medium? 

My Mom taught me to sew when I was 7.  I costumed all the plays in high school and then went on to live in my college costume shop. I love fabric. I love the possibilities that fabric holds. A blank canvas scares me but give me a pile of fabric and my mind races.  

I went on to work as the costume shop assistant at the Seattle Opera. We saved scraps of fabric and they were open for the taking. I was surrounded by the most beautiful scraps. (16 years later, I still have a few containers in my studio)  At the same time, the Opera was displaying the work of its employees in the lobby during performances. I had discovered art quilts and wanted to give it a go, so I challenged myself to create a body of work to submit. My first show was 10 art quilts in the lobby of Macaw Hall during the run of Electra. I haven’t stopped since then.  

Are there recurring themes in your work? What is it about a subject that inspires you to continue exploring it?

My work has always been inspired by nature. It’s all around us, how could I not be inspired. I also love texture. I’m one of those people who has to touch the moss, or lay in the grass. My mind translates those textures to the fabric. It’s not green velvet, but the possibility of moss. It’s not rough wool, but wood waiting to be exposed. 

My current work is inspired by the small overlooked elements that we walk past every day. Have you stopped to really look at tree bark and notice the colors?  Or even better, have you looked at what’s growing on the bark? The little bits of yellow and white are worlds in themselves.  

And mushrooms! They are everywhere. Okay, here in the Pacific Northwest they are everywhere. We mulched the garden with wood chips and the following year I had a plethora of mushrooms, all different types. I had been playing with embroidered moss patches and decided they were missing mushrooms. Now I have a full collection of terrariums. 

Where do you find your inspiration for your designs?

Besides my own backyard and the sticks I bring back from the park, I love to follow mushroom hunters and fungi/lichen hashtags on Instagram and Facebook.  They post the most beautiful photos of fungi and lichen. I’m always inspired. I feel like it’s a great use of my scrolling time, finding my next exploration. 

What different creative media do you use in your work?

I’m always after the perfect representation and texture in my work. I’m always playing with a new technique or adapting something I saw, but it is always something in the fiber world. I put cheap craft felt next to duchess silk and then embroider it with yarn if that achieves the look I’m after. 

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

I normally start with a subject. I might be working on tree bark and then spend a week creating multiple pieces. Then I decide how each one needs to be finished and work through the stack. Same with the mushrooms, I will see a really interesting one that intrigues me and I will spend time making multiples.  

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

I’m a finisher. I feel like every piece has an ugly stage where I don’t think it’s working and never will and I want to set it aside. Then I know I’m about halfway through and I need to keep going. It’s rare that I have to set something aside because I don’t want to finish it.  

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

We have a split-level house with a downstairs rec room. I have taken that room over. My husband doesn’t even come in. I can pull out all the fabric and no one will say anything about the mess. He knows that if the room is clean I’ve hit a block.  

What is your favorite lesser-known tool for your trade? Have you taken something designed for another use and repurposed it for your studio?

My current favorite tool is my heat gun. I take polyester and felt and stitch it and then put it under the heat gun to get wonderful shapes and textures.  

How often do you start a new project? Do you work actively on more than one project at a time

I always have something in process. I tend to work in a production method. Currently I have 4 different pieces of tree bark on my table with a box full of lichen next to it. When I work through these 4 then I start the process over. I think I need to do a series of mushrooms on tree bark next. 

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

I think the golden yellow lichen I find on trees is amazing, Xanthoria parietina. It has little cups. My mind pondered how to make it for months. 

I saw somewhere that you can use a shibori technique to wrap buttons in a polyester fabric and boil it. When you take out the buttons, the fabric keeps its shape. I tried different fabrics and different buttons and created what I was looking for. 

I then stitched down the fabric with a blanket stitch and added french knots for texture. 

I’m very happy with the completed piece but I don’t think I’m done exploring the subject. There are many more lichens of different colors that have a similar shape.  I’m trying to find a way to make the inside and outside of the cup different colors. I haven’t found a way that makes me happy yet. 

Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?

I like the puzzle of how to make fabric into the shapes I’m looking for. How do you take something so flat and bring it to life? The worst part is the ugly stage when you know you have to keep going on a piece that doesn’t look the way you want it to.  

Is there an overarching theme that connects all of your work?  

Currently, the forest is a good theme for my art. In the past, I’ve created flowers and landscapes, but right now I’m all about the bark, lichen, and mushrooms. Very Portland.

How do you know when a piece or project is finished and needs no additional work? 

I believe the piece talks to the artist and lets you know when you are done. Just like I believe that fabric tells you what it wants to be.

How is your work different than it was in the beginning? How is it the same? 

I think my work is freer now. I’m not trying to duplicate the picture I have in my head but to be inspired by it. To see where the work takes me in a way I didn’t before. I also can play more now. I used to think I could only create if it was for a reason, like a gift or an art show. I’m okay if something ends up in the closet.  

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?

It’s okay to play and explore without making something. It’s taken years for me to embrace this. 

What traits, if any, do you think that creative people have as compared to people who are not creative? 

I think creative people are problem solvers. We think outside the box and challenge ourselves to find the answer. 

Where can people see your work?

I’m a member of Alberta Street Gallery in Portland Oregon, a wonderful co-op gallery and Stephen Fine Arts in Anchorage Alaska. I also just started a website, www.kimtepeart.com.

Follow Kim Tepe on Instagram @kimtepe74

Interview posted October 2023