Cat Babbie
Fiber artist, sculptor, project manager
Solo Exhibitions
2026 Science of Preciousness, Turner Center for the Arts, Valdosta, GA
2026 Gentle Water (integrated show with Laurie Smithwick), Ampersandbox, Charlotte, NC
2025 Paralleled Expanses, Performance, Chromatic Roots, Charlotte, NC
2025 Soft Release,Pauline’s Tea Bar, Charlotte, NC
2021 Expanded Spectrum, Free Range Brewing, Charlotte, NC
2021 Undulating Thoughts, LOOM Coworking Studio, Fort Mill, SC
2020 Cocoon Installation, Alchemy, Charlotte, NC
Select Group Exhibitions
2026
Of Earth & Sky, The Pearl, Charlotte, NC
2025
Needle & Thread, The Art Gallery at Congdon Yards, High Point, NC
Beasties, Dransfield Jewelers, Richmond, VA
Tree of Stars, Chromatic Roots, Charlotte, NC
2024
Textures & Textiles, The Cain Center, Cornelius, NC
Small Favors, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Please Touch the Art, Woodstock Arts, Woodstock, GA
Annual Benefit Art Auction, McColl Center, Charlotte, NC
2023
ArtFields, Lake City, SC
Materia Prima Sulfur Studio, Savannah, GA
SC Festival of Flowers Juried Show, The Arts Center of Greenwood, Greenwood, SC
2022
Up and Coming Invitational, Shain Gallery, Charlotte
2021
Air & Dust: Duet, Courthouse Gallery, Rock Hill
2020
Color Show, Gallery5, Richmond
2019
Textures CLTextiles, C3 Gallery, Charlotte
Intersection C3 Gallery, Charlotte
2016
Spaces Between, Good Year Arts
Residencies, Grants, Awards
2026 Emerging Creator Fellow, Arts & Science Council
2025 Artist in Residence, Olive Stack Gallery, Ireland
2025 Artist Support Grant, Arts & Science Council
2024 Blumenthal Fellow, Charlotte International Arts Festival
2021 Artist in Residence, Immersive Van Gogh Experience
2021 H.U.G. Grant, Charlotte Is Creative
2021 Class of 2021, ArtPop Street Gallery Future Movement
2020 Community Supported Art Grant, Class of 2020, Arts & Science Council
2016 Artist in Residence, Good Year Arts. Installed ‘Spaces Between’
Consultant/Project Management
2025 Chromatic Roots: Creative Leadership Team, Project Manager
2023-2025 Creative Project Manager for Salt Paper Studio
2022-2023: Blumenthal Arts: Project Manager, 100 Tiny Things,
Charlotte International Arts Festival
2021-2024: Visual and Performing Arts Center (VAPA):
Marketing Committee, Co-Chair
2020: WorX Creative Consultant for MakerX brand:
photoshoot support and tutorial creation
Education
Bachelor’s of Science, Studio Art; minor, art history, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
My creative vision is ingrained in a curiosity around microbiology and deep sea creatures, blended through imagination and embellished with sparkling abstractions, with an emphasis on tactile depth, color, and craft traditions. I utilize ancient techniques that center on wet felting, lampworking, and metalsmithing to create work that draws the viewer to lean in with curiosity. I am fascinated by the beauty in the microscopic. So many people speak to their inner child, their inner artist, I’ve recently realized that I have an inner scientist. I have embraced this facet of my personality and imagine that the parallel universe where I am a microbiologist walks hand in hand with my reality of being an artist.
My overall style is abstract, colorful and deeply textured, it is precise and playful. I play with biomorphism, scale, and the science of preciousness through highly crafted whimsy. I want my work to make people feel a range of emotions, some pieces elicit comfort and joyfulness, while others feel eerie and complicated. Everything I make is created with physical touch in mind, I encourage my audience to reach out and touch the work. There are layers of weight, texture, and occasionally sound (bells, squeakers, etc.) embedded into the sculptures.