If tractors and mobile phone masts had been around in Constable and Van Gogh’s day, they could well have featured in their work. After all, artists paint what they see. Today, digital technology rules the new millennium big time, and is woven into our daily lives.
Kate Pemberton is an artist who uses this fast moving digital age as the inspiration and focus of her work – with results that are both fun and clever.
 | | Kate's work is viewed as clever and fun |
Her influences are pixels, text messaging, computers and anything digital and electronic, but worked as textile designs.
She’s already exhibited in Japan, Canada, the USA, and extensively here throughout the region. She’s also won a Channel 4 ideas factory award for creative achievement in the West Midlands.
| "All this online attention is great, I even get some fan-emails." | | Kate Pemberton, artist |
Her work is attracting a lot of attention, even generating cheeky blogs across the net from people who are fascinated with her design and method, which is shown on her own website. Web traffic is generating fan e-mails Kate:” My work is well received by a large range of people. The crossover of craft, art and technology allows for a wider audience who all seem to find humour and beauty in my work. The use of textiles with technology is not that common.
 | | Electronics made beautiful |
I occasionally get featured on geeky web blogs – this has a domino effect with lots of people picking up on articles and featuring it in other sites.
This often results in a huge amount of traffic coming to my site over a day or so and several emails from people who appreciate the use of computer language or imagery in a real life tangible object. All this online attention is great, I even get some fan-emails”.
 | | Pixel influenced design |
Kate, who grew up in Birmingham, did a foundation course in Art and Design at Bourneville before getting an honours degree in Interactive Arts. This allowed her to use and investigate new and emerging technologies to develop contemporary art pieces. Left Tate Modern for ThinkTank Kate:“After graduating I moved to London where I became the AV-technician for electronic and kinetic artworks as part of the conservation department at the Tate Galleries. My job covered both London Tate galleries. I moved on to become the AV technician for film and events at Tate Modern. After a year or so I yearned to get on with more of my own work so moved back to the Midlands and got a job at Birmingham’s ThinkTank as an Exhibition Technician. This gave me a less hectic life and time to develop my own work. I went part-time about 6 months ago to dedicate more time to my creative practise.
 | | Circuitboard textile design |
My work is well received by a large range of people from different ends of the spectrum. The crossover of craft, art and technology allows for a wider audience who all seem to find humour and beauty in my work. I’ve recently completed a project which allows wallpapers to be sent to mobile phones via WAP technology. The wallpaper designs can also be downloaded as patterns for cross-stitch samplers for the user to stitch.” Desirable antiques of the future?
Kate also has her sights set on business. Being an artist and making money from your passion – during your lifetime - is no easy feat.
 | | Digital influence design |
But Kate is business savvy and is working on extending her product range for sale – she already sells some of her designs online, and at the Custard Factory in Birmingham.
You never know, these could well be the desirable 'objets' to look out for in the Antiques Roadshow of the next century. | 
