Acclaimed Textile Artist, Kay Klose, Presents 2019 Line
Tara A. Spears
Want to be noticed? Wear one of textile artist Kay Klose sensuous nuno felt garments. They are so beautiful yet 
durable and functional. The sold out Women to Women Fashion Show 2019 will showcase Kay’s new line of original nuno felt women’s clothing. It’s a complicated and fascinating process to sculpt fabric but the result speaks for its self!
Kay credits having grown up in a more romantic time as the impetus of her fashion flair. “People dressed so nice back then (in the 1950s). I loved helping my mom dress up to go out, especially opening the hat box.” While hats in colder climates are utilitarian, in Kay’s hands they become gorgeous-beauty plus function.
“Art has always been in my life. It is my meditation. I have worked in many mediums for expression and enjoyed all of them,” explains Kay. She graduated from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1983 and struck out for the wilds of Alaska with her photography gear. While growing up on a farm in northern California, Kay was selected for a work study abroad program in New Zealand for a year while in high school. It was in New Zealand that Kay worked as a shepherd and learned to shear sheep. This was her first contact with the merino wool which she uses today to make her original wearable art.
“Nuno felting is a fiber sculpting process that uses fine merino wool natural fibers, soap, water, and friction to get the wool to travel through cloth,” said Kay. The wool and other natural fibers are bonded together permanently via this process. It takes a lot of time to produce just one section of cloth; the final size is less than a third of the starting size. Notice the texture and colors in the following hats. You really need to touch the fabric to fully appreciate the unique characteristics besides the wonderful visual appeal.
As with any true visionary, Kay is inspired by “travel, experiencing different cultures, found objects, nature, color, water, and the wind. I enjoy the unique in ordinary things.” She has lived the last six years on the Oregon, USA, coast and wintered in La Penita Mexico. “I need to live next to the ocean!”
Kay believes that fashion should be “Natural, elegant, textural, unique and durable.” Her work has been featured in several galleries and museums ranging from Alaska State Museum to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Kay also is a member of the Pacific Artist Co-op. For more information visit her website www. kaykloseart.com or email her directly: kaycloseoink@gmail.com
You must see her garments firsthand to truly appreciate the depth and texture of each wearable art. I love the vivid colors for this year’s garments! The 2019 Klose designs are exceptional- which one are you going to take home?