Her Story
About Kate
I have been working as a sculptor and scholar for 50 years in sculpture and academia. I build things that resonate in the world, creating sculpture that uses directness, honesty, and clarity as its foundation. My most notable achievement is earning my master's degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 1990. It is an educational program that is very intense and very much about the intellect, and I am very proud of that accomplishment. I got my master's degree 10 years after my undergraduate degree, putting myself through school and restarting everything in sculpture. Artists work in a different way and our approach to the world is different, and this is what makes us good at what we do. I have been a member of the International Sculpture Center for a long time. Mostly I am in the studio, continuing to create work that stays true to my own voice.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kate
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my own hard work and effort and to focus. I have had tremendous mentors, and their guidance has been extremely important. Professional artists that I have met over the years, and just working with them has shown me routes through the confusion of making. Their guidance has helped me navigate the challenges of creating art and finding my way forward in my work.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was to keep digging. Keep digging deeper, keep working harder. This advice has guided me throughout my career and helped me stay committed to my work and continue pushing myself to grow as an artist.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell young women entering the visual arts to stay true to themselves, dig deep and find it. Find their own voice. Learn as much about other artists, male and female, as they possibly can. Be connected with art history, and draw from that, and continue to look to the future. It is important to develop your own authentic voice while also learning from those who came before you and staying open to what lies ahead.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my personal life, honesty and clarity and directness are most important to me. And in my sculpture, I think that is probably the same. Directness and honesty and clarity guide both my personal relationships and my creative work. These values shape how I approach the world and how I create art that resonates.
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