Artist Statement

Materiality and process are vital to my art practice. Weaving is the basic foundation of my work for its ability to support my material fascination. The grid acts as the physical system that holds all of the different parts together. The structures inherent in weaving are the points of connection for diverse material and textures to come together. I am interested in unwanted or trash materials and how found objects can have a second life creating new conceptual meanings. The stories we can tell with textiles are intimate, and the processes of making them is physical and bodily, weaving is time visualized. My work forms through an accumulation of labor and reflects my obsessive approach to composing materials, pattern, texture, and color. Embracing the 2-sided object-ness of textiles, I look for ways to take fiber based artworks into space through armatures, mixed media sculptural forms, DIY loom building, and experimental display. The themes I reference in my work are a response to my interests and curiosities about mortality, time, forever plastics, science and consciousness. These influence my work in a variety of ways including the use of found objects and the history embedded in things. My love of the natural world and how it scientifically works paired with my concern about the environment. My curiosity about humanities place in the cosmos, the temporary time spans of our lives, and grief we experience because of it. I hope to make complex emotions and ideas such as these more accessible through my work.

Bio

Through physical labor, pattern, transformation of materials, and color Katlin Shae examines time and life using craft disciplines. Shae’s studio work also incorporates drawing, and studio play through material investigation. She received her BFA in Fiber / Textile Arts from Kent State University, and her MFA in Sculpture / Material Studies from The University of Georgia. Katlin Shae has been published numerous times with inclusions in Research Magazine, Surface Design Journal, Complex Weavers Journal, ColorATL, Fold/Unfold, and Materialities: Contemporary Textile Arts. She has exhibited extensively though out the United States in locations including The Ohio Craft Museum, Praxis Fiber Workshop, The Georgia Museum of Art, and The Biggs Museum of American Art. Shae has participated in residencies at Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Athens Institute For Contemporary Art, Yellow Moon Yurt, Kent State School of Art, and Belger Arts. After 7 years in Atlanta GA, she moved back to NE OH in 2019 and worked many years as an adjunct professor at Kent State University Center for the Visual Arts. Shae has taught courses at both UGA and KSU such as Introduction to Weaving, Felt Making, Dimensional / Off Loom Textiles, and Introduction to Sculpture. Katlin Shae resides in Akron’s West Hill neighborhood. She is developing new studio work and expanding her business Akron Fiber Works with the purchase of the historic West Hill Hardware storefront building (335 W. Market St. Akron OH) to become her studio and the home of Akron Fiber Works.

Akron Fiber Works

Katlin Shae founded her studio arts business Akron Fiber Works in 2025, she is the owner and sole operator of the business. She purchased the historic West Hill Hardware storefront building (335 W. Market St. Akron OH) to become her studio and the home of Akron Fiber Works. The studio will host classes, workshops, and equipment rental such as looms, dye lab etc. The almost 100 year old building is under renovations and will open to public in 2027. *Stay Tuned and Thank You for your Support!