From "Future Heirlooms: Kate Kretz", a 2011 interview with Joette Maue for MrXStitch:

"The superstar artists that make the newspapers these days run their art practice like corporations: the brand is marketed, and the work is outsourced to assistants to maximize profits for all. I am not against having assistants, I have used them myself on occasion, but part of my work has always been about the time invested in the objects, thinking of it as a gift given to the viewer. I create my own paintings from start to finish, often taking 9-12 months to complete. The peculiarities of the way I work have been a source of frustration to me, and after searching for a way to reconcile my art-making reality with that of the contemporary art world, I created this series is a way of emphasizing and honoring my process. Each garment has the paint colors from a particular painting wiped on them, as it is my habit to wipe brushes on my pant legs while working.

I was raised with the Catholic notion of relics, treasured objects that remain as evidence of martyrdom or sacred events. The overalls in the Art World Truths series are the residue of the cathectic ritual of creation: the garments mark the months spent on a particular painting. I then honor and invest them with even more time through the embroidery process.

Overalls, the garment of “the worker”, make reference to a philosophy of art making that espouses growth and development through years of work with materials, as opposed to a “design & factory fabrication” model. As many aspects of the art world have become removed from the actual artworks themselves, the embroidered phrases on these garments aim to strip bare some of the more absurd realities.

Each garment in this ongoing series was found at a thrift store, worn to produce a specific painting, and then embroidered with truths that I have observed about the contemporary art world. It’s an ongoing series, and I have only exhibited two pieces so far, even though there are currently six of them, but it seems to be a popular series with my fellow artists."