TOAST artist-in-residence Kate Owens turns block printing into a performance

13 October 2020

Watch the artwork unfold as part of the lifestyle brand's annual Creative Residency, which goes virtual this week

13 October 2020

Crafted promotion

Printmaker Kate Owens, the 2020 TOAST artist-in-residence in her studio. Photo: Tommy Grace

Textile artist Kate Owens has developed a unique approach to the craft of block printing in which the gestures of her body play a lead role. ‘My work is about movement and process,’ she says, which made her an apt choice of maker to take part in the annual Creative Residency from lifestyle brand TOAST, this year themed ‘Flux & Flow’.

Taking place this week (15- 17 October), the three-day digital programme of events – from workshops in kantha embroidery, tapestry weaving, ceramics and kintsugi, to inspiring interviews and studio tours – is part of a long-term commitment by TOAST to support creativity and bring people together.

Artist Kate Owens printing on fabric using the soles of her carved wooden sandals and the weight of her body. Photo: Kimberley O'Neill

With the residency going virtual this year, the performative nature of Owens’ work was the perfect complement. TOAST awarded the artist £1,000 to develop a new work – and a further £300 contribution towards materials – after an open call for proposals on the theme, run in partnership with the Crafts Council.

Owens' carved wooden sandals. Photo: Kate Owens

The residency has provided an opportunity for Owens to develop a project she had been contemplating since February. ‘I’ve been trying to find a way to share the journey I go through within the context of a work and this has given me the support and platform to do this,’ she says.

Each of her large-scale block prints is a tightly woven story of her everyday movements and domestic routines. In her choreographed performance for her TOAST residency – which is being captured both indoors and outdoors by filmmaker Kimberley O’Neill – the artist is printing on the fabric using the soles of her carved wooden sandals and the weight of her body. ‘Observations from nature and the nuanced movement of the printmaker are pitched against the steady rhythm of the print as it progresses,’ she says.

A production still. Photo: Kimberley O'Neill

It gives time to pause and reflect, just as TOAST intended with the ‘Flux & Flow’ theme of its Autumn/Winter collection. After the residency, the work will be donated to the Crafts Council Collection.

The TOAST Virtual Creative Residency runs from Thursday 15 October until Saturday 17 October. Kate Owens' live performance and Q&A with Crafts Council’s head of exhibitions and collections, Annabelle Campbell are both free to attend

TOAST artist-in-residence Kate Owens turns block printing into a performance

Read more

Anna Ray’s colourful textiles take over London’s former silk weaving district

Artefact contemporary craft fair launches in London

8 textile artists reimagine archive clothing for the TOAST Renewal Auction