Kathryn Blackmun

I came to pottery fairly recently...although I was interested in art from an early age, and received a degree with honors in Fine Art from the University of California at Irvine, I never really got into ceramics. I did take a class with John Mason–he wanted us to make big sculptures, I wanted to learn to throw pots. I went on to attend Art Center College of Design In Pasadena as an illustration major and embarked on 25 years of doing publication design and illustration in Los Angeles. After my move to Santa Fe in 2004, a casual pottery class turned me on to a whole new world, one where you could actually do interesting and attractive art that could be used for something. Many more classes and inspirational instructors followed at Santa Fe Clay, SFCC and a handful of workshops.

After trying out different styles, including slightly off, funky functional pitchers and cups and one-of-a-kind birdhouses, right now I mainly do press-mold earthenware pieces that I paint with underglazes. It's a great way to combine pottery with my illustration experience, and this sort of whimsical, almost naive painting is definitely fun to do. Is it art? Is it functional or funky? Don't worry, just enjoy.