Kate Rattray

I was born in Devon and trained at what is now the Manchester Metropolitan University in 1989 gaining a BA (Hons) Creative Arts. I made unusual collages, photo montages, and music videos.

I was attracted to mosaic in 1995 when asked to make a large mosaic with school children on an exterior wall.

I am now based in Somerset and make work for exhibitions and commission, and with schools and communities.

I am a member of the British Association of Modern Mosaic and was selected as a full member of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen in November 2006.

I work with many different mosaic materials, and particularly enjoy working with smalti glass and gold because of the intense and vibrant colours and tones. In 2004 I attended the Orsoni master mosaic course in Venice, to learn how to cut and use smalti glass and watch it being made.

I often use unorthodox processes to arrange colour and to prepare and set materials, such as using stained glass strips set on edge, and setting the tiles in the same direction and/or colour for both subject and background.

Much of my two dimensional work is made indirectly (the mosaic pieces are stuck onto paper upside down and back to front, then the adhesive is poured into a frame onto the back of the mosaic. When it is dry, the paper is soaked off) This gives the work a flat surface, which I find is aesthetically pleasing and easier to look at.