Kate Claringbould was born and bred in Australia. As a child she did not think herself an artist. In fact, she remembered spending much of her childhood reading and when not reading, 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.

 

In young adulthood Kate packed away her childhood belongings, left all she knew behind and ventured to the USA to study. During this period her focus was on beaded jewelry making, a hobby introduced by her sister. Kate loved to make beautiful peyote stitch bracelets for family and friends. After several years of study and travel between the two countries, Kate permanently immigrated to the USA and settled in Virginia near Washington DC with her American husband, two cats and a dog. 

 

A few years after marrying, Kate was trying to answer a question that had been bothering her. When not working, who am I? She had done a lot of research on the topic, but did not recognize the answer. One day, however, those childhood boxes arrived with the answer inside. Kate was an artist. Since the day people started giving her art supplies, Kate had held onto them. Her childhood boxes were crammed with all these art supplies and very little else. From this point onwards, Kate took time to be creative, exploring the artistic side of herself that she had allowed to lapse during all of life's transitions.

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Early in the pandemic during an online mosaic art class, Kate realized that she could combine her love of beads with her love of art to create bead mosaics. The rest is history. She looks forward to sharing her journey with you as it continues!