It was great to visit Kate’s studio in Pockley today.
Not only did I see her at work but it was fascinating to hear Kate’s thoughts on her creative process. As a mum, student (studying for her Masters in Fine Art) and professional artist, time is inevitably in short supply. However, as she described, there have to be opportunities to experiment, explore, to work without expectation of any kind. Her academic artistry and the challenge of producing work for sale via exhibitions are distinctly different but thankfully she doesn’t see them as competing for her attention – they are both important and time is somehow found.
Making is central to my process. I work intuitively, allowing ideas to emerge through sustained engagement with materials before reflecting on their wider contexts through research and theory. Mapping, archival methodologies and, more recently, rhizomatic diagrams have become integral to my practice, not simply as tools for developing ideas but as ways of making visible the connections, repetitions and traces that shape my thinking. Kate Brown
Kate is a member of a small collective of Ryedale artists, Makers of Rye, whose inaugural exhibition in Sinnington back in April was such a success they now plan to make it an annual event. Look out too for Kate’s exhibition at Helmsley Arts Centre (Nov, ’26 – Feb, ’27).
