I had been a working artist for 20 years when my life as an artist changed dramatically after a workshop I took on a lark. It was a knotting class with Jane Sauer, a master fiber artist, and I was hooked. After nearly 20 years as a painter, I became a textile artist.

Museums are being built to exclusively collect works of this nature. Existing museums are collecting more aggressively and exhibiting craft objects in record numbers. In the past two years, my own work has been exhibited in 10 museum exhibitions. It is a vital and thriving time to be making art, and to be part of a time in history where "high art" and "fine craft" can't be so readily defined.

After 10 years as a solo artist, I began to collaborate with my husband, Ken, an exhibiting artist himself. For eight years, our collaboration of painted mixed-media assemblages brought us joy artistically, emotionally and financially. The decision to become a textile artist was at once painful and exciting but, by the time I had finished the workshop, I no longer had a choice. The transformation had already begun. I made knotted teapots based on contemporary artists' work.

Knotting is tedious, exciting and magical. The labor-intensive process consists of repetitively making tiny four-ply waxed linen knots around a core. Knotting is all-encompassing. Like painting, the use of colored threads can push and pull figure/ground relationships. The process is sculptural as space becomes defined.

When I was a gallery dealer, I was aware, but as a budding textile artist, I was personally engaged by the ongoing dialogue regarding content, "high art," and the blurred edges where art and craft meet. What I've come to believe is that this part of the art world is a place where innovation is still possible. Craft processes used to make work that is other than functional are in their infancy.

An idiosyncratic set of circumstances led to my conversion. By nature a late-night person, I prefer to work 'til 1 a.m. rather than get up and work early in the morning. As the primary colorist during our collaborative years, I had a problem: At precisely 10 p.m. each evening, all colors turned to mud, yet I wanted to keep working. I had to think about trying some other art form that didn't involve mixing paints.

Other things had also changed in my life over 20 years. Ken and I had created a restful oasis of a home where we enjoyed spending time. Vacationing by the ocean and sipping rum drinks became delightful. It frustrated me, however, that I couldn't work when and where I wanted; I was tired of being tied to the studio every time I wanted to make art. At last I found something portable that I could do with just my hands and minimal equipment. And now I can make art anywhere and anytime.

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Kate Anderson, O'Keefe Brush Teapot, 11.75"x 6"x 2", Knotted waxed linen, 2012

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