Northwest Designer Craftartists - NWDC

NWDC is pleased to share the art and ideas of Tom Gormally in our latest NWDC Member Artist Interview.

Tom Gormally is an award-winning American sculptor working primarily with wood and mixed media. He has exhibited nationally and internationally for four decades, in galleries, museums, and outdoor sculpture exhibitions, with numerous publications and reviews. Gormally was awarded the NEA/MAAA Fellowship in Sculpture, and an International Residencies for Artists travel grant. He lives in Seattle with his wife, artist Malayka Gormally. Learn more about Tom Gormally here: https://www.tomgormallysculpture.com/

Images:
"Empty Suit", 2026, Wood, paint, LED light, plastic labware, 24” x 24” x 65”, Photo: Mark Woods / "Saint Doesn’t Know Whether He Is Coming Or Going", 2026, Wood, cast glass, LED light, gold leaf, resin, 28” x 28” x 82”, Photo: Mark Woods / "Descending Storm", 2025, Wood, steel, LED lights, paint, stain, pickling solution, wiring, porcelain, 102" x 40" x 40", Photo: Mark Woods / "Communication Breakdown" with Stellar's Jay, 2024, Wood, steel, stain, paint, LED lights, wiring, porcelain, 84" x 35" x 35", Photo: Mark Woods

NWDC Member Artist Talk
Patti King: Confessions of a Thread Head
Presented on Zoom
Sunday, May 31st at 3PM

REGISTER at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/GV4A6y90ScuwLABGWBu_Yw #/registration

Patti King has been working as a textile artist for over 40 years. For 25–30 years, King wove custom rugs for the design trade and individual clients. Over the past 17 years, her practice has transitioned to working in the tradition of the Korean wrapping cloth, generally known as bojagi, with some overlap between the two bodies of work.

This newer medium reflects the geometric structure and color relationships present in King’s earlier rugs, while operating on a smaller scale and using only needle and thread.

Over the past 14 years, King has also curated three exhibitions: two focused on Korean wrapping cloth and one co-curated with Misik Kim in 2022, centered on contemporary Korean quilting. Two of these exhibitions were presented at the Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum in La Conner, Washington. Most recently, Bojagi Journey 2023, an international exhibition, ran for 10 weeks during the summer and fall.

In addition to her studio practice, King has taught weaving and, more recently, has led workshops in the art of bojagi. Through this teaching, she guides students along a path of discovery and process-based creativity using needle, thread, and small fabric scraps.

King’s artistic focus centers on the interplay of color and design within a geometric framework, both in weaving and hand stitching. Her work has also, at times, incorporated natural dyeing and shibori techniques.

Watch “Stitching A Life.” This video captures the final stages of a bojagi-jogakbo curtain created by textile artist Patti King for a friend. As she works, Patti reflects on her creative process and her passion for preserving the stories held within inherited cloth—stories that find new life in each carefully placed stitch