From Sketchbook to T-Shirt: How Kat House Art Becomes Wearable Art

Ever wondered how an odd little bird ends up on a T-shirt? Kat House Art begins with original artwork, a lot of character, and the idea that what we wear doesn’t have to look like everybody else’s.

It starts with the artwork

Kat House Art begins with drawing.

My characters are created as original artworks — usually birds, cats and slightly strange creatures that develop their own personalities somewhere along the way. I’m not particularly interested in making perfect, realistic animals. I like exaggerated feet, enormous eyes, unexpected colours and characters that look as though they might have something to say.

That is really where Kat House Art began: creating art with personality.

Then the artwork becomes wearable

I loved the idea that an original piece of art didn’t necessarily have to stay on a wall.

Turning the drawings into wearable art means the character gets to leave the studio. It can end up at a café, at the shops, travelling, going to work or simply being worn by someone who likes clothes that are a little less ordinary.

The artwork is carefully prepared for printing while keeping the hand-drawn marks, colours and imperfections that make the original piece what it is.

The T-shirt matters too

I didn’t want to put the artwork onto a cheap promotional T-shirt and call it finished.

Kat House Art wearable art is printed on heavyweight cotton tees chosen for their relaxed fit, quality and substantial feel. The shirt needs to work with the artwork rather than simply being something to print on.

The aim is for the finished piece to feel like something you chose because you genuinely love the design — not because you needed another basic T-shirt.

Meet the characters

Some of the Kat House Art characters already have names and stories of their own.

There’s Delphine, who looks perfectly capable of taking charge of almost any situation. Nigel appears to have opinions about practically everything. Co-conspirators features two suspicious-looking birds standing beneath their umbrellas, clearly up to something.

Giving the characters names is part of the fun. They stop being simply pictures of birds and start becoming personalities.

Art that refuses to sit still

That idea has become a big part of Kat House Art.

An original drawing might become a T-shirt, a greeting card, a sticker or something I haven’t thought of yet. The artwork isn’t meant to stay trapped in one format.

And that is why this blog is called Art That Refuses to Sit Still.

I’ll be using it to share new characters, works in progress, the stories behind individual designs, experiments that work — and probably some that don’t — and what goes on behind the scenes as Kat House Art grows.

If you like colourful artwork, peculiar birds and clothes with a little personality, you’re in the right place.

Kathryn Yates
Artist, Kat House Art