STEPH KATES
September 2-30, 2022
ARTIST BIO
Steph began her art career as a painter, creating otherworldly landscapes exploring mythology, fairytales and fables. When she transitioned from painting to ceramics, she combined her years of experience with image making, illustration and pattern work to the practice of ceramics.
Steph constructs her forms from porcelain and stoneware using a combination of hand building and modified wheel thrown processes. She creates her surface designs using the sgraffito technique: before the clay fully dries, she paints on layers of underglaze, then hand carves her unique imagery, revealing the contrasting clay color below. She fires the clay, applies glaze and fires again. Each piece is one-of-a-kind.
Steph received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University. She’s an art teacher at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, where she teaches Intro to Art and Ceramics. She creates her work in her home studio in Kansas City.
Steph is represented by the Phoenix Gallery in Lawrence KS and the Leedy-Voulkos Gift Shop in the Kansas City Crossroads District.
