Kate Claringbould grew up in Australia surrounded by vibrant colors, sights and sounds. As a child she explored the Australian landscape on many driving and camping trips with her family. During these trips she was introduced to the colors and intensity of bushland, tropics, deserts and many places in between. She often states that her love of color comes from those days in the bush. The vivid reds, golden yellows, vibrant blues and jewel greens noted on those trips are often present in her artwork creating bright cheerful splashes of color. These childhood experiences are reflected in the art that Kate creates, from the subject matter, to the colors she uses and to the style of the art itself.
 
Kate is a self-taught bead artist. For many years Kate explored a variety of artistic mediums: painting, drawing, peyote-stitch bracelets. However, in early 2020 Kate took an online mosaic class. While there, Kate realized that her love of beads fit naturally into this new field. Thus, in August 2020, Kate became a bead mosaicist. Kate loves beads because of the way they shine and change depending on the light, the type of bead and how you place them. They remind her of human nature: always dynamic, never static, glowing softly one minute, shining brightly the next.
 
In 2021 Kate was the winner of the Tapestry category of the Museum of Bead Work’s “Wings and Stings” competition. In 2022 and 2023 she was recognized by the Luxembourg Art Prize and the Pinachothèque Museum for Artistic Achievement. Kate was also part of the inaugural exhibition at the Museum of Beadwork with her winning piece displayed from August 2023 to May 2024.