About Kathy
Kathy has been a studio potter and art educator for most of her life. She grew up in the small town of Muncy, Pennsylvania, where she learned how to use the potter's wheel in her high school art class. She’s been throwing, coiling and building clay ever since.
In college, Kathy studied ceramic art and art education, earning a B.A. from Kutztown and an M.S. from Alfred University. Straightaway, she joined The Clay Studio in Philadelphia as one of its first resident artists. A few years later, she returned to Muncy to pursue a teaching career and to open her own studio. She set up shop in her family's unheated garage and built a large gas-fired kiln on the foundation of an old chicken coop. She became a regular at art shows and festivals throughout Central Pennsylvania, including the annual arts events in State College, Lewisburg, Williamsport, Eagles Mere and Muncy.
In college, Kathy studied ceramic art and art education, earning a B.A. from Kutztown and an M.S. from Alfred University. Straightaway, she joined The Clay Studio in Philadelphia as one of its first resident artists. A few years later, she returned to Muncy to pursue a teaching career and to open her own studio. She set up shop in her family's unheated garage and built a large gas-fired kiln on the foundation of an old chicken coop. She became a regular at art shows and festivals throughout Central Pennsylvania, including the annual arts events in State College, Lewisburg, Williamsport, Eagles Mere and Muncy.
During this time, Kathy also taught workshops at the Bucknell University Craft Center and art classes in the Muncy public schools, where she eventually gained tenure as a full-time art teacher. She took a break from teaching to raise two sons, but she missed her students and the school's art room. When her boys became teenagers, Kathy accepted her current position with the Lycoming College Art Department as the Instructor of Ceramic Arts.
Kathy creates a diverse blend of functional pottery and contemporary clay art. Her works range from large abstract sculptures to coffee mugs and jack-o’-lanterns. Along the way, she makes plates, platters, mugs, goblets, bird bowls, face vases, nude female torsos, large geometric forms, hen-and-chick planters, you name it. Her style is to work with the clay so each piece has its own unique character and appeal. She creates strong natural shapes colored by warm earthy glazes, a distinctive style that ties together her diverse body of work.
"I like to work with the clay to bring out its nature, whether by the fluidity of the throwing process or the subtle, minimalist lines of hand building. I'm influenced by the beauty of natural objects that surround my daily life in such abundance. The earthy colors and textures in our local landscapes are a source of inspiration for the colors and textures of the clays and glazes that I use in my forms."
"I like to work with the clay to bring out its nature, whether by the fluidity of the throwing process or the subtle, minimalist lines of hand building. I'm influenced by the beauty of natural objects that surround my daily life in such abundance. The earthy colors and textures in our local landscapes are a source of inspiration for the colors and textures of the clays and glazes that I use in my forms."
For over a decade, Kathy was represented by The Eagles Mere Art Gallery, where she was an active member-artist and board member until the gallery closed in 2016. Her work has also been exhibited at the LH Horton Gallery in California, The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen Gallery in Bushkill Falls, the Packwood House Museum in Lewisburg, and the Radius Gallery in the State Museum of Pennsylvania. Each year, she shows her latest creations at the Lycoming College Art Faculty Show and at the Muncy Historical Society Annual Art Exhibition.
In 2014 and in 2016, some of Kathy’s works were selected for the “Visions in Clay” Exhibition at the LH Horton Gallery in Stockton, California, named by the editors of Ceramics Monthly as one of the top five ceramic art shows in the nation. That year, Representative Garth Everett hosted an exhibit of Kathy's work in the Pennsylvania State Capitol.
Each spring, Kathy and her students make soup bowls for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank's annual fund-raising events. In 2013, the Food Bank invited Kathy to create a line of commemorative bowls bearing the agency’s mission and logo. That year, the Susquehanna Health System (now UPMC Susquehanna) acquired some of Kathy's ceramic tiles for its new medical center in Williamsport.
Kathy handcrafts her ceramics one piece at a time and gets to know each pot personally. Her work is available as it's removed from the kiln and produced in small quantities. For this reason, she does not sell online or make custom orders. You can find her work at local galleries and shops in the Williamsport and Muncy areas.
Each spring, Kathy and her students make soup bowls for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank's annual fund-raising events. In 2013, the Food Bank invited Kathy to create a line of commemorative bowls bearing the agency’s mission and logo. That year, the Susquehanna Health System (now UPMC Susquehanna) acquired some of Kathy's ceramic tiles for its new medical center in Williamsport.
Kathy handcrafts her ceramics one piece at a time and gets to know each pot personally. Her work is available as it's removed from the kiln and produced in small quantities. For this reason, she does not sell online or make custom orders. You can find her work at local galleries and shops in the Williamsport and Muncy areas.