Katie Schutte

Katie Schutte tells use about her practice with ART MAKER in Issue #1.

ART MAKER: What emotions or ideas do you hope to evoke in viewers who experience your art?

KATIE SCHUTTE: I love when my work surprises viewers when they realize that there’s the physical crocheted component to it. Often show jurors are surprised by how different pieces look in person compared to in photos. The 3D textures of the crocheted thread, its thickness, and the stitches I choose can all impact how light and shadow appear when viewed in-person. I also enjoy that people often want to touch them and many will bend and stretch to look at the piece from different angles to visually experience the texture. The pieces evoke the viewer’s curiosity and desire to interact directly with the piece, not just passively view it.

ART MAKER: How do you approach color, form, and composition in your work? Do these elements hold symbolic meaning for you?

KATIE SCHUTTE: When I began this series, I planned for all of them to start with spraying paint through doilies and treating the paper as a fabric by stitching and crocheting on it. Beyond those initial parameters, I challenged myself to let the rest develop organically. Much of the process of making these pieces was left to chance. Even when I planned which colors to use, I give up some control of the final result as I never know how much the paint will bleed or absorb into the paper. I chose the fiber color and how it would be stitched and crocheted after the painting was completed, so I was always reacting to the work and making aesthetic choices as I went. Overall, color, form, and composition in my work tends evolve from the work as I react and make mostly intuitive decisions in response it.

Katie shares much more about her practice in ART MAKER Issue #1 here.

Katie Schutte, Memory XVII, 2025, 24 in × 18 in, acrylic with stitched and crocheted fiber on paper.