Daisy Kates

Artist's Statement:

My work is rooted in a modern tradition and includes one-of-a-kind hand-built and wheel-thrown pottery, sculpture, tiles and mosaics. I try to use color and line in an intuitive and free style, and often inscribe, impress and slip trail the clay for greater surface interest and texture. My images are abstract or pictorial and the work is fired in both electric and gas kilns. I utilize a variety of clays and glazes that range from bright colors to earthy browns, depending on my desired mood for the piece.

In addition to being a studio artist, I have been an educator of ceramic arts in social service and school settings for 40 years. I have produced several public art murals and also make "tile paintings" which are installed and grouted into frames.

I graduated from the City College of New York with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art, and have attended innumerable workshops in ceramics and other arts to augment my education. My access to the museums and galleries of New York City when I was growing up certainly had an early influence on my artistic development.

I began visiting New Mexico and attending art classes at UNM in the mid-sixties and started down a path which included an attraction to a rustic lifestyle. I have lived in my small handmade house high in the Placitas foothills for 30 years and recently built a new studio with views of the Ortiz, Sandia, Jemez and Santa Fe mountains.