BIOGRAPHY:
Kate grew up in Marshfield, Wisconsin before attending UW-Stout where she earned a BFA with an emphasis in Ceramics and BS in Art Education. Post graduation, she switched from throwing to hand building and from porcelain to stoneware. Kate currently lives in Marshfield, WI where she works full-time in her home studio. Her pinch pots combine sculptural qualities with functional objects and preserves the handbuilding process on the finished terra sigillata surfaces. Bones, seed pods, chrysalides, and other vessels found in nature provide inspiration for these objects.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
“The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.”
- William Morris
The role of ceramic pots in daily life serves as a source of inspiration in my continued exploration of functional ware.
I make functional stoneware pots that formally draw from rural Wisconsin’s cocoons/chrysalides, bones, and seed pods. On long walks in Wisconsin’s landscape, I find joy in the smaller details of the land: stones, wild flowers, birds nests, and tree bark become focal points of my excursions. Incorporating these surfaces, forms, and patterns in my work is my invitation to join me in the intimate moment of discovery.
I use a coil and pinch technique to highlight joinery and record the interaction of fingers and pliable clay. Stacked concave curves evolve into rhythmic forms with handles that reinforce the illusion of accordion-like compression. I am interested in the volume and negative space created by the repetition of these curves as well as the interplay created when multiple pieces are in
proximity to one another. Every vantage point of each piece reveals information, rewarding the investigative user.
My terra sigillata color palette is that of wild flowers, animal bones, leaves, and stones. Subtle
and distinct color shifts encourage closer inspection, consideration and reflection. Simple patterns disrupt the visuals of the forms, maintaining their path, unaffected by the undulations of the form. Borax washes adds quiet patterned layers and bone-like speckling. The care and thoughtfulness invested in creation is a celebration of my genuine interest in the details of daily life.
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