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Kami Watson is an award winning, second-generation fiber and textile artist who currently resides in Huntsville, Alabama with her partner. She works out of both her studio at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment and her home studio/garage. She focuses on wet felting. the ancient process of creating a textile by combining thin layers of wool fiber with soap, water, and agitation. She uses this labor intensive technique to create both sculptural and flat textile work, and often incorporates salvaged fabrics and fibers, as well as those she hand dyes, into her designs. Most recently, she has been exploring the addition of hand stitching and mixed media as a part of her work. She is both a working and teaching artist, and member of multiple national and regional craft guilds and organizations.
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Artist Statement
Prior to moving to Huntsville, Alabama in 2013, I was living life as a nomad, traveling the globe, learning and exploring while focusing my efforts in community outreach, environmental conservation, and humanitarian services. Those experiences, as well as growing up in a military family that moved every few years, exposed me to global influences in design and culture, and eclectic natural and man-made aesthetics. They fostered my desire to create functional and visual art with an ecological sensitivity, while allowing the materials and my life experiences to guide me instinctively in color and design. With the gift of a supportive partner, knowledge of a traditional art form passed on to me by my mother, and a working studio situated in a vibrant artist community, I am fortunate to be able focus on both honing my craft and sharing that knowledge with others.
Prior to moving to Huntsville, Alabama in 2013, I was living life as a nomad, traveling the globe, learning and exploring while focusing my efforts in community outreach, environmental conservation, and humanitarian services. Those experiences, as well as growing up in a military family that moved every few years, exposed me to global influences in design and culture, and eclectic natural and man-made aesthetics. They fostered my desire to create functional and visual art with an ecological sensitivity, while allowing the materials and my life experiences to guide me instinctively in color and design. With the gift of a supportive partner, knowledge of a traditional art form passed on to me by my mother, and a working studio situated in a vibrant artist community, I am fortunate to be able focus on both honing my craft and sharing that knowledge with others.
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Exhibitions
2022 Labor of Love, Alabama Women's Caucus for Art, Wilson Hall, University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL Are We There Yet?, Piedmont Craftsman Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC Guild Show, Piedmont Craftsman, Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, Huntsville, AL Shelter, Alabama Women's Caucus for Art, Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, Huntsville, AL Labor of Love, Alabama Women's Caucus for Art, Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, Huntsville, AL 2020 Alabama Sampler, Aaron Sanders Head, Greensboro, AL 80/20, Alabama Women's Caucus for Art, Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, Huntsville, AL B20: Wiregrass Biennial, Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, AL Embracing Art XVII, Carnegie Arts Center, Decatur, AL Member Showcase, Alabama Women's Caucus for Art, Union Grove Gallery, University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL 2019 The Art of Detailing, Southern Highland Craft Guild Focus Gallery, Asheville, NC Member Exhibition, Southern Highland Craft Guild Main Gallery, Asheville, NC Member Exhibition, Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC Fiber Explorations: Regional Artists Exhibit, Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, Oxford, MS Perfect Imperfection: Embracing Wabi Sabi, Southern Highland Craft Guild Main Gallery, Asheville, NC 2018 Visual Arts Fellowship Exhibition, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Montgomery, AL SHCG Member Exhibition, Appalachian Regional Commission, Washington DC 2017 Fiber Art VIII International Biennial Fiber Arts Exhibition, Sebastopol Center for the Arts/Surface Design Association, CA |
Honors and Awards
2019 Saunders Dawson Award of Excellence in Fibers, Piedmont Craftsmen, Winston-Salem, NC Honorable Mention, River Clay Fine Arts Festival, Decatur, AL Peak Award, Monte Sano Art Festival, Huntsville, AL 2018 Individual Artist (Craft) Fellowship, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Montgomery, AL Merit Award (Fiber), River Arts Fest, Memphis, TN 2017 Honorable Mention, River Clay Fine Arts Festival, Decatur, AL 2016 2nd Place, River Clay Fine Arts Festival, Decatur, AL 2014 1st Place Fiber, Art on the Lake, Guntersville, AL Publications
2022 Rapid River Magazine (December) 2016 Fiber Art Now (Emerging Artists Showcase, Digital) 2014 No'Ala (Nov-Dec) |
Memberships and Affiliations
Alabama's Women's Caucus for Art (2020- ) Piedmont Craftsmen (2019- ) Southern Highland Craft Guild (2017- ) Alabama Craft Guild (2017- ) Fiber Art Now (2016-2020, 2023-) Carolina Designer Craftsmen Guild (2020) Craftsmen Guild of Mississippi (2018-2020) Huntsville Museum of Art - Teaching Artist (2018-2020) American Craft Council (2016-2020) Surface Design Association (2016-2018) Flying Monkey Arts Collective / Lowe Mill (2014-2018) |
