ABOUT KATHIE
I was born into a very artistic family. My mother
was an illustrator and my dad a dress designer. I never really considered any
other career. I earned a BA in Graphic Art from Fairleigh Dickenson University
and had a few commissions as a cartoonist. While working a summer job at a wildlife
park I became fascinated with exotic animals and was bitten by the “animal bug”.
I went on to get veterinary technician certification and spent the next
30 years of my life deeply involved in animal medicine. This was an extremely
rewarding career and I was lucky to have fallen into it. I have had the good
fortune to have enjoyed opportunies like; raising a gorilla, relocating Mountain Goats in the Olympic mountains, and reestablishing
California Condors to their wild habitat. It also afforded me the opportunity
to meet my husband, Ed, who worked as a zoo professional and is now retired.
Together we have and still do enjoy nature and wildlife in our lives everyday.
After several degrees of retirement we find ourselves in central
Texas and I have found time to, once again, indulge my artistic interests. I
was fortunate enough to meet Lea Cundy who’s enthusiasm and encouragement pulled me along into the world of ceramics.
Today I am a perpetual student and completely enthralled by the process. I
enjoy the challenge of “painting” with glaze, exploring it’s texture and translucence, and am often mystified
by the final outcome after the firing process. It seems that most of my
subjects are animals and nature but that is not a surprise, is it? Ed has
had instruction in the art of hand building and throwing of clay and has begun producing most of the bisque ware that I decorate,
so now it has become a team effort. We enjoy this so much that we
can barely keep ourselves out of the studio.
