Karin Weston is a Columbus, Ohio based artist who works predominantly with textiles, natural dyes, watercolor, and acrylic paints. When working with textiles, she utilizes centuries-old techniques to color fabrics with natural dyes in combination with a contemporary method, referred to as eco printing, that leaves lasting images from botanicals directly on fabric. Karin enjoys the intersection of art and science in working with natural dyes. Some of her dyes come from purchased materials, such as logwood, a Central American tree, while others originate much closer to home, having been grown in her garden, such as coreopsis and Japanese indigo, or foraged locally, such as goldenrod, walnut husks, and acorns. She creates unique, one-of-kind designs on silk scarves and other fabric through the use of Japanese Shibori stitching and clamping techniques and/or eco printing with leaves and flowers. Much of her artwork over the last few years has been heavily influenced by themes of flight and metamorphosis, often using insects as subjects that exhibit resilience during change. She hopes to enrich people’s lives with works of art evoking beauty drawn from the natural world.
Her work has been exhibited in Cincinnati, Columbus, Westerville, Worthington, and Dublin, Ohio. Karin is a member of the Ohio Art League, the Dublin Area Art League, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She is a 2023 recipient of the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Neighborhood Arts Connection Fellowship and is looking forward to conducting and coordinating several free art workshops and arranging an art exhibition in the Hilltop Community this summer.