Kate Thornton: Meet the artist bringing old maps of Yorkshire from the 1930s and 40s back to life

“Some are linen backed and they are all around the World War II period, late 30s to mid to late 40s,” explains Kate. Around West Yorkshire and the Peak District are among the destinations featured in the treasured collection which Kate believes were the areas around which her late grandfather and grandmother, Millie, walked during their courtship.

“My grandparents used to walk all day, 20 miles or so, and that is how they did their courting. The maps were an important part of their walks,” says Kate. “The colour in them is beautiful. What is nice about them is you see the difference where there are no motorways and more railway lines and you can see the old place names, or where they have shortened the name. If you look at the back of the maps the country is broken up into a grid so you have a map per grid. They are very different from the OS (Ordnance Survey) maps you get now.”

Inspired by their colour and simplicity, Kate began incorporating her late grandfather’s vintage maps into the artwork, cards and prints she creates. “I always work in a simple, graphic style,” she explains.

Creativity is something that has surrounded her since childhood. Her greatest influence was her creative parents – her mum worked in interior design and her dad was an architect.

“We were always encouraged creatively. My dad is very knowledgeable about colour and it is very important for me, I will tweak and tweak until the colour and composition is right.”

Books and magazines, featuring seventies interior design, were another source of inspiration to Kate. Her lifelong interest in nature and bird watching, which she has inherited from her dad, is also integral to her work.

Picking up a pair of binoculars while on holiday in New Zealand with her husband, and seeing the surrounding wildlife gave her an insight into how she could combine her interests into a career.

“I started to cut out these simple shapes and situated them on coloured papers and, because of my interest in wildlife and nature, these were the silhouettes I was drawn to,” says Kate, a fine art graduate who attended Leeds College of Art and later Nottingham Trent University. She began showcasing her artwork, cards and prints featuring her wildlife and nature inspired silhouettes, among them birds, deer, foxes, hares and trees, against the backdrop of her late grandfather’s vintage maps, in 2008/09 at local craft markets around the Holme Valley where she grew up. Her style was soon spotted by a gallery giving Kate the opportunity to combine her lifelong passion with her career. “Once somebody had said ‘I like your work I want to put it in my gallery’ it kickstarted it. It made me think ‘maybe I have got something here,’ and it went from there,” says Kate. “I started selling in a few places but I thought if I am going to make this into a business I need to know about business, so I did a business course and I have grown it slowly from there.”

Working out of a studio in Bates Mill, a former textile mill in Huddersfield, Kate creates bespoke artwork, cards and prints for customers all over the world through her online shop which she incorporated into her website during the pandemic. “I think it is that connection between the artist and the customer, the effort and care that both of the parties have put in and somebody is going to receive this special piece of artwork,” says Kate.

Her artwork is popular for gifts. She sourced maps of Sydney and Dublin for some recent special commissions she was working on.

“That is what is nice about the maps, it reminds people about where they have been, where they are rooted and the connection they have to that area they live in and the wildlife that is around them. It is a nice reminder of what we have around us and what there is to protect.

“I am really interested in wildlife conservation in the UK and I’m trying to convey that in my designs. I am a big supporter of the RSPB and the Wildlife Trust,” says Kate, who is inspiring the next generation by nurturing her five-year-old daughter, Iris’ love of nature through bird watching, and supporting charities such as the RSPB and the Wildlife Trust, where possible, through her work.

As well as creating bespoke gifts for customers, Kate also supplies her artwork to clients including the National Parks , Millennium Gallery in Sheffield, along with independent retailers in Holmfirth, Haworth, Ilkley, Ingleton, the Lake District, Norfolk, Wales and beyond.

“As an artist you are always thinking ahead, but it’s really important to look back and see what you have achieved,” says Kate.

“What excites me is about what is possible. That is what is brilliant about being an artist or a creative person, you can adapt, you can change, you are creating your own story and, I guess, I am telling stories through the maps, sharing some of my family history and there is a history in the maps.

“You are looking at a world that has changed. It is very different and that is a big issue – we are living in a rapidly changing world, and climate change is a big issue. We need to protect our very precious natural environments because they are shrinking.”

Kate will be showcasing her artwork, cards and prints at The Hepworth Wakefield Festive Market on November 26 and 27 and December 3 and 4 at The Hepworth Wakefield, Gallery Walk, Wakefield.

katethorntondesign.com.