Red Lodge Clay Center – Short-Term Resident (AIA) 2019
Kate Maury received a Bachelor of Fine Art from Kansas City Art Institute and a Master of Fine Art from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Currently she resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota where she is a studio resident at the Northern Clay Center and teaches full-time as a Professor in the School of Art and Design at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Her work is featured in both juried and invitational shows at national and international venues. In addition, Maury’s work is published in contemporary ceramic art books such as Cast: Art and Objects Made Using Humanity’s Most Transformational Process by Jen Townsend and Renee Zettle-Sterling, Making Marks: Discovering the Ceramic Surface by Robin Hopper, 500 Bowls by Lark Books, The Art of Contemporary American Pottery by Kevin Hluch, and High-Fire Glazes by Lark Books. She has taken part in residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation, Ceramic Art Institute in Jingdezhen, China, International Ceramics School in Kecskemet, Hungary and this summer at Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana.
Clay has the ability to reveal the passions of life.
Within my journey as an artist the pursuit of functional ware that transcended time has given way to the intoxicating revelry of the aesthetic drunk. The formal elements of functional ware and the systematic approach within the throwing process are still deeply cherished however they are now backdrop for the overtly decorative. Centerpieces for the celebratory moments are made from repurposed craft hobby molds that embellish surfaces or construct elements of a vessel. Who knew that the repetition of a Santa’s beard used as a sprig to embellish could harbor such innate potential? From my studio…. much laughter ensues.
My formal education has informed my current work despite my best efforts. I have been fortunate to learn from those who appreciated historic pots, asked dynamic questions and understood the inherent beauty of the journey. My earliest inquiries regarding clay were “how” then “why” but alas my current mantra has become “why the hell not”.
I feel the strong foundation of my undergraduate experience and the open-ended questions of graduate school challenged by the daily discourse of life has led me to this current work. Previous assumptions or “rules” are now suspect. The good Catholic girl has become the irreverent run away. I am on my lost weekend with no plan to return home. I want only the visual pleasures of abundance in texture, tactility and lushness of excess.