By day, Kathryn Upitis (aka Dr. Kathryn Dundas) uses integrative medicine to heal people as a whole: body, mind and spirit. When quilting, Kathryn applies this same approach to the quilts that she makes. She infuses everything she touches with intention, positive energy and the desire for her art to heal. Kathryn has not been quilting for very long, but what she has made in that short time has been impactful. Her quilts have shown at QuiltCons in 2105, 2017, and 2018; and her quilt, Silver Lining, is featured in the Modern Quilt Guild’s book Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century. In addition, Kathryn’s quilt, Rocky Mountain High, is currently touring with the Best of Quilt Con Traveling Exhibit 2018. Kathryn’s designs have been featured in Modern Quilts Unlimited magazine and have won awards in Sewtopia challenges. In addition to making award-wining quilts, Kathryn’s wellness spa was recently recognized as one of the Top 25 Spas of Canada and was the recipient of the Education Award in the 2017 Canadian Spa & Wellness Awards, presented by Spa Inc. magazine, the Spa Industry Association of Canada (SIAC) and its consumer arm Leading Spas of Canada. Welcome, Kathryn!
How would you describe your quilting style/aesthetic?
Kathryn: I always have multiple projects on the go. Partly, it is how my brain works and how I function best, but also because it gives me warming up exercises and enables me to keep focus. I tend to lose focus if I am only to work on one thing. My art is improv by nature. Sometimes I will sketch out my original design on paper first so that I have an outline. Other times I just start cutting and sewing, and it just flows. I work on only one improv quilt at a time. You will see lots of posts on IG of my leader and ender blocks as I will work on traditional patterns and challenges, sew-a-longs, during my improv work to help keep me grounded and connected. I tend to show this work and often forget to show my other. My improv is definitely more personal to me as it is more a reflection of myself and my art, so there is a real vulnerability there. Bill Kerr told me he felt my style was very Canadian – similar to the Group of Seven in painting. I often do improv of skies, nature, a sense of vastness. Lately I have been tackling minimalism as I feel a pull towards it. My quilt Rocky Mountain High is currently travelling with the Best of Quiltcon 2018 Traveling Exhibit. I still feel angst that people will be looking at it; but, I would rather have the Imposter Syndrome than the God Complex so that I am always looking to learn and to really explore finding my voice and being confident in that artistic voice.
Rocky Mountain High. Image courtesy of Kathryn Upitis.
How would you describe the creative environment in your home as a child?
Kathryn: I grew up as the youngest of 5 kids – 4 older brothers, by quite a bit (I was adopted). I had a lot of time growing up on my own, as there were times that I was what I would say an “only” child at home. I would finish a book in a day sitting on the stairs reading. There was a skylight overhead, so I had the sky and nature above me and in my own little world but still out in the world to connect with family as they would walk by me. I don’t recall my Mom or Dad ever asking me to move off of the stairs ☺ I would also draw and paint. From a young age (Grade 2 on) I made crafts that I would sell at Craft Markets (crepe angels at Christmas were a big one for me ). I also made hair accessories that I sold on consignment at a local children’s store when I was in elementary. I modeled for them so that I would get free clothes and some extra money to put aside for university. In Junior high I spent more time writing, and was published in poetry anthologies twice, won many competitions, and received an award from the United Nations for an Essay on World Peace. My parents were big supporters of the arts and would take me with them to art auctions, exhibits, and galleries, as they collected art. Dad would rotate paintings in the house and hanging them was always a process. There are pieces of wine corks on the backs of all of their paintings to help keep them level!
My Godmother, I would say though, was my biggest influence. She was the curator at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto. She was an art historian, and I would spend time in the summer with her.
I was always the “artist” (& writer) in our house and at school. But it was not supported for me to pursue that as a career. It was made clear that I needed to find a “real” career and not be a “starving artist. So I got a full scholarship to university for a Bachelor of Journalism. Long story short, I wasn’t happy about politics in media and switched into a course overload to maintain my scholarship but still be able to apply to Medical School – while playing on university teams. I received a full scholarship to med school so that was that. I became a doctor.
I do believe though that medicine in itself is an art form – a healing art.
I also need to mention that I do feel there is a genetic link (as well as environment) that pushes one to become an artist or to at least look at outlets for expressing this inate creative side.
I found out that both of my birth parents are artists. My birth father is a painter (full-time). My birth mother is a fiber artist and has her own farm where she raises the sheep she shears and spins the wool into yarn. She knits and gives workshops and sells her yarn (another full-time pursuit). In the healing Arts my father was a doctor (environment) – he was given an award for being one of the top 100 physicians of the century in Canada. In my genetics there were also healing arts however, my great great grandfather performed the first appendectomy in Canada. My great grandfather was Dean of Medicine at McGill in Montreal. I learned all of this after I had become a doctor.
Keep Austin Weird. Image courtesy of Kathryn Upitis.
What artists and makers do you most admire or have an influence on your work?
Kathryn: Nancy Crow is why I started quilting. I was actually in Vancouver on Granville Island and wandered into a store there that had all of this amazing fabric. I had never seen anything like it, couldn’t stop touching it and then saw one of Nancy’s books sitting there – I bought it and some fabric. I had no sewing machine. Had never even threaded a needle nor seen how someone would (my mother never sewed when I was growing up – she was a fan of Kaffe Fassett though, and did a lot of needlepoint as well as some knitting). I loved the tactile component of this art form and using fabric as paint. Nancy was my idol and I delved in head first not knowing any other quilters and never having heard of Instagram!! That is how I started my first quilt.
Voodoo Code. Image courtesy of Kathryn Upitis.
Do you consider yourself a “quilter”, an artist, or some combination of both?
Kathryn: I consider myself both. I am an artist with a gypsy soul ☺ Creating, making, helps to ground me. After September Dawn was accepted into Quiltcon I said to my husband, “I guess I can actually call myself an artist now as I am in a show.” I have a piece I have made on exhibit. I truly do have the Modern Quilt Guild – a big shout out to Jacquie [Gering]! — for providing a forum that helped me to connect with other quilters and discover IG (which is now what I use vs. FB just because of quilters). I get inspiration to create from other art forms, as well as nature, architecture, —- EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE A FUTURE QUILT ! I always want to translate it into fabric. One of my team at work bought me a quilt book that she had seen at a used bookstore. They were all watching me when I opened the book and started flipping through it and said it was crazy how immersed I get into anything and everything quilts. It is a connection I cannot explain, as it is with so many quilter/artist friends I have made over the last few years.
Kathryn’s twin girls with Jacquie Gering. Image courtesy of Kathryn Upitis.
How would you define “making with intention”?
Kathryn: I don’t think that I can give you a short answer here. I think for those that already follow me on IG they will see that, if anything, I dissect meaning out of everything ☺ It is me. Everything I do, I try an send out positive energy, love, and light. When I quilt, I envision the person I am making for, and I usually will have thoughts and a mantra that I will say to myself as I sew. I started doing this when I would cook food for my family and when I first made baby food after my first child was born. I read that studies showed people received more nutrients (and felt better and the food tasted better) when the cook thought of love and positive thoughts as they were cooking (as simple as: I am making this meal for you to nuture you and send you love). With my quilting, I do the same thing. I have made [quilts] for patients where there were issues and unknowns. I wanted to give them comfort and hope, but also to address the question: What mantra did they need to hold onto through their treatment? For example, one patient going through radiation had this mantra: Cry, Fry, Die. He had picked that, and said he would visualize it as he was receiving his radiation. I will then sew or piece mantras, selvedges on the backside [of the quilts that I make] to help that be next to the person [in treatment] to enable them to repeat it to themselves and be held in that energy/space. I have been working on a book I’ve titled “Quilting With Intention: A Healing Art” for a couple years now. I need to finish up a few more projects and then get more serious about it as this is the essence of my quilting, my art.
Alberta Skies. Image courtesy of Kathryn Upitis.
Do you think that having a craft makes us more compassionate? If so, then how?
Kathryn: Somehow I think it is more that as artists/crafters we are people who perhaps “feel” more, can be more in tune with our surroundings and other people – perhaps more sensitive to it /them – which in turn drives us to create as an outlet. This leads to the next question, which is “how does creating feed my soul/spiritual purpose?”. It helps me to have it as an outlet to feel I am doing something to help someone, others, in times of need, trauma, chaos in the world. I have a drive to create so it also feeds that part of me. I almost view quilting not only as my meditation and what keeps me sane, but also as a form of prayer. I do get into a zone and I prefer quiet to get myself centered and open to what comes to me.
Ignite. Image courtesy of Kathryn Upitis.
How does creating feed your soul/spiritual purpose?
UP*IT*IS Quilts is about that. Up it is – as in to lift you up, through this art form. Quilts are tactile, quilts can wrap and comfort the receiver, hug them, connect them, ground them. Honour them. Even when someone does not know exactly how long it took you to make it, they know YOU took TIME to make it. You were thinking of them. They matter. We all want to matter. It is such an experience giving a quilt to someone and receiving a quilt. You have a piece of that person with you. For quilts I have made for competitions, I still will have a person in mind – usually one of my children or my husband or myself even! They are usually a reflection of a time of our life I am trying to work through, or a theme I am exploring. But just like making a meal, I will still infuse my love and healing thoughts to whoever will be receiving it as I sew. If you have ever seen Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton it shows how beautiful water molecules look under a microscope with healing and loving thoughts, music etc., and then the chaos when it is the opposite. All of our actions and thoughts go out into the world as an energy, and I want to ensure that people feel that what they receive from me will enrich their lives, be healing in some way – whenever they may need it. Quilting is a Healing Art too.
Keep Austin Weird (detail). Image courtesy of Kathryn Upitis.
Are there any rituals that you perform to prepare/ground yourself in your work?
Kathryn: In preparing to work I usually first lay my things out – I’m always on-call so my phone has its spot with its charger. I make a drink – usually coffee or a protein shake. My dog has a set up by me, as she likes to always be where I am. I then just really go with the flow. I think about who I am making for, or the intention of the challenge, and what message I want to deliver, and go from there. Silver Lining had started as a different quilt, and I remained open as I was making. Our life shifted, we were going through a very bad time for my husband and family, and I saw the quilt take shape. That quilt helped calm me as I was making it and remain hopeful. It helped me to keep the faith. Helped my husband to keep faith. I feel blessed that it was included in the Modern Quilts Designs of the New Century. The picture in the book can’t show the Silver Lining as you need to take a picture with a flash to have the fabric light up just as when you are in a storm you sometimes need to look at things a different way to see the silver lining. It came full circle too in that my quilty wife @spontaneousthreads, Stephanie Ruyle, sent me the nano fabric and somehow she often sends me scraps that seem to appear in most of my quilts ☺
Silver Lining. Image courtesy of Kathryn Upitis.
What is the support system you have in place for creating your work?
Kathryn: THE BEST HUSBAND FOR A QUILTER – he is a clean freak but has come to ignore the constant thread barf and fabric piles that seem to randomly prolifereate everywhere around our house even though I have a “studio” (storage locker that I converted) downstairs. I prefer to be with my family when I am sewing vs. all the way downstairs. When they are not home I will often sew downstairs. He will not grumble when he asks when dinner is and I say “just one more seam…” – on weekends he serves up amazing cocktails and plays guitar by me. He is the biggest collector of my quilts and that is the only issue. He wants them all!!!
How do you deal with comparison to / envy of others? Can you describe a time when you used comparison/envy/admiration to push yourself in your own work and self-discovery?
Kathryn: I admire others work. I don’t have envy – maybe time envy? I.e., I will wish that I had more time to quilt, but I am always so happy for others’ success, as I know they have worked hard and I am so happy for a fellow quilter to get recognized. That promotes our work as an art form and benefits everyone.
Comparison – I guess just my Imposter Syndrome when September Dawn was accepted to Quitcon and it was the first quilt I had ever made, I did go onto Quiltcon rejects hashtag (I was brand new to IG that year!) and all of a sudden I was nervous that people would now be seeing my quilt in the show and how it was nowhere near the workmanship of many of these expert artisans who had had stellar pieces rejected. Then I stepped back – deep breaths – I made this.It is going to be out there. Celebrate that. I do still find that hard. I don’t get pictures of my quilts at shows nor stand by them nor show them to people (often). That is myself having an element of being shy and the vulnerability we open up in sharing our art. It is a piece of us – a thing to overcome. Hopefully it gets easier with every quilt I make but I am also fine if it doesn’t, as that is just a part of who I am. I am that way in medicine, too, and I believe it is a part of why I am a good doctor. I will always work harder and do my best as I know one can always do better. I do not like hearing people at quilt shows talking badly about another person’s work in front of other people – the maker maybe there, or a friend, and it is just mean in my opinion. Do that in private with your friends if it is to critique to learn for yourselves. If it isn’t to advance skills or to learn then I feel please do not judge, do not be critical, that person has put their heart and soul out there, too. It almost feels like bullying to me if that makes sense? We all have different art that appeals to us.
Silver Lining Detail. Image courtesy of Kathryn Upitis.
What was the most challenging thing you ever made?
Kathryn: My first quilt. September Dawn. This was an improv quilt that I designed as I went. My husband finally marked a line on the ground as my kitchen floor design wall started moving into the living room. He said I think you are done – that is often the defining moment in the size of one of my quilts – he puts a line on the floor☺ When I went to quilt it on my little machine, the machine was not happy with this ginormous quilt. It was a big huge beast. My machine balked and stopped working I had to dig up another machine. Same thing. I had emergency calls with Bernina and a local service guy, Mike. Nothing. I ended up quilting it on my daughter’s little kid sewing machine. I managed to get it done minutes before Quiltcon entry deadline. It was highly stressful and I honestly felt I should have been able to complete it faster however now that I have more experience I am absolutely stunned that I was even able to complete that in the little time frame that I had and on the machine I used. My current year long project The Circles of Life Quilt is challenging me on a completely different level. I make a block daily reflecting on my day and taking something from it. If I don’t have time to put it together that day, I make a note of it in my daytimer of my highlight that day so that I can come back to it. Most days, I do get one done but I am behind in posting my completed blocks. I enjoy the challenge of going through my scraps to find ones that can represent the concept that I want to express for the day. I am thoroughly enjoying the process and the reflection though.
September Dawn. Image courtesy of Kathryn Upitis.
What does it mean to you to work in a traditionally domestic medium that historically has been regarded as predominately female (aka “women’s work”)?
Kathryn: I don’t even look at it as being women’s work – never occurred to me – I just make….
How do you see your current work in the context of quilting history?
Kathryn: I am proud to be amongst some amazing modern quilters as contempories and to see the movement build. I feel that it will be seen as part of this resurgence and I am proud to be in the MQG book and involved at what I see as such a pivotal time. Quilts are now becoming more mainstream and we are seeing more in high end décor as well as art collections. My latest on the weekend was the trend of quilts vs. sleeping bags for camping. Now I want to make a bunch of those to sell and to give away – my mantra will be: the mountains are calling and I must go – stay wild — stay warm.
Thank you, Kathryn! It is clear from your words and your work that you put intention into everything that you do! To learn more about Kathryn, visit her at UP*IT*IS Quilts. Also, be sure to check out the work of the #beeinspired2018 sewing group! You can find Kathryn on Instagram as her primary form of social media.
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Gayla
May 18, 2018 at 9:48 pmThe words of @kupitis are so introspective and humble. Her genetic link to the arts (creative and healing) is remarkable. She not only creates with intention but it is clear she lives intentionally every single day. I thank her for sharing her creations and thank you for sharing her words.
Laura Hartrich
May 20, 2018 at 10:12 pmI admire your work so much! It’s so beautiful and it makes sense to me that you put so much thought and intention behind it. So fascinating about your birth parents as well.