About

ABOUT KATIE:

I'm Katie Hayes, a Hillsborough, NC based printmaker specializing in small batch prints and placed based design.  I created New South Pattern House to highlight the vibrant cities and amazing ecosystems of the Southeastern US. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a naturalist, and spent every minute I could outside learning about the plants and animals of Western NC where I lived. I carved my first linoleum block in high school, and sold my first print at age 15.  My grandmother was an accomplished watercolorist, and -- although I didn't formally study art in college-- I benefited enormously from the generational knowledge in my family. When I'm not carving blocks and pulling prints, I also play Americana music with my husband, and chase my kids around in the woods.   

ABOUT BLOCK PRINTS:

A "Block Print" is an imprint made from a carving. You carve away the negative space of your design, and then apply ink to the remaining surfaces. Once the carving is inked up, you press a paper on top and rub the back of the paper to transfer the image.  I always sell fewer than 100 imprints for my limited edition prints, and I only use inks made here in North Carolina. You can carve into a variety of different surfaces to make a block print.  Printmakers can use wood, foam, even a carve into a potato! But, the two types of substrates I carve in most frequently are linoleum (the grey stuff you may have carved on in school) and synthetic linoleum (my favorite,) which is softer and more suited to the puzzle-piece printmaking techniques I use so frequently in my work. If you want to know more about the specific substrates I carve in, you can see my FAQ page. 

PATTERN MAKING:

In addition to carving block prints, I really love to create repeating patterns.  My current project is creating a line of North Carolina themed gift-wrap, and I am working with an amazing eco-friendly manufacturer to bring these products to life. Gift-wrap orders ship directly from my home studio here in Hillsborough.  I also enjoy designing wallpaper and fabric, which I sell through the Durham, NC based company, Spoonflower. These products work differently from my other products because you don't order them from this website. Instead you can shop my designs from Spoonflower, which then pays me royalties based on the artwork I've sold. Many of the motifs I use in my printmaking get new life as patterns, and I love bringing placed based themes to life as functional artwork.