Meet Kathryn
(1953-2020)
Kathryn’s art aesthetic evolved over the years as influences of life and favored mediums shifted. Themes that have remained constant are that of reuse, repurposing, non-preciousness and trying to say the most with the least. She rarely framed anything, she rarely named or signed anything, we have little record when most pieces were created. Those constructs were unimportant to Kathryn who made art for art’s sake, commenting on life and self-expression. She was fond of working outside the confines and definitions of boundaries and the expected art world. One word that describes her process best is Ephemeral.
A childhood filled with craft projects, lots of reading, meal prep for a family of 8 and imaginative play with her 5 siblings, Kathryn learned early to express herself and cope with life through creativity.
She grew up in rural Illinois and at age 18 attended college in rural Wisconsin. She was drawn to art immediately, graduating with a BS in Fine Art. After a 1.5year marriage dissolved she moved to San Francisco in the mid 70s to find the burgeoning lesbian community.
In San Francisco, Kathryn helped form a drawing group with live models and found her lesbian art community. Her roommate at the time was Carol Seajay (a founding mother of Old Wives Tales Bookstore). Kathryn had her first art show in the bookstore in 1977. She was a member of the Women’s Press Project and soon discovered her precise talent lent itself well to the printing industry. She obtained an apprenticeship in pre-press eventually working as a full union journeyed stripper (preparing copy for production). Later she worked with Carol again at Feminist Bookstore News.
In 1977, Kathryn and I met at a weekend workshop housed at the SF Art Institute that was given by the LA Feminist Art Project. We decided to work together on an art exchange, creating a final piece for each other. Kathryn created a gigantic site-specific reclining woman carved (with power tools, of course) out of a wooden sign she had found in a dumpster. It lived for many years in our homes. Originally a forest scene, it was repainted in the early 2000s with blue sky and white clouds. She was always enriching, improving and beautifying the spaces where she lived.
Agnes Martin became Kathryn’s muse. She traveled to London to view Agnes’ retrospective at the Tate Modern and would return to the Chicago Art Institute, SF MOMA and NY MOMA over and over to soak up her wisdom.
In her education journey, she completed a Masters in Graphic Design (creating a Barbie font) and later a second Masters in Gerontology. She worked in both fields for a number of years creating her own graphic design business and partnering with others to connect housebound seniors with services. Kathryn was a lifelong seeker of ideas and knowledge, always curious, devouring all things written. She participated in classes from small non-profits, city programs, weekend workshops and peer gatherings, always on a quest for intellectual and creative stimulation, pushing herself to try a new process, think another way.
Along the way her path led her to practice Tibetan Buddhism, become a Zen hospice volunteer and participate in a Thich Nhat Hanh meditation group at the Aquatic Park Senior Center. Eventually her art and spiritual life was woven together at Laguna Honda Hospital volunteering in the hospice ward and teaching with the Art With Elders (AWE) weekly art program for residents. For several years, the Openhouse art group and her Qi Gong practice met her need to “show up” for art and spirituality.
From 2006-2020 Kathryn took private Spanish lessons from Claudia Ochoa, who joined our family in 2007. Kathryn’s passion for words and the Spanish language influenced her work as can be seen in a playful, quiet and thoughtful series using Cláusulas Adverbiales. Her major body of work combines collage, drawing and words.
Another important influence on Kathryn’s work was open water swimming especially being a part of the SF Dolphin Club. Much of her later work was inspired from her time immersed in the Bay drawing from themes of water, pollution and wildlife.
After her cancer diagnosis in February of 2018, she joined the Art for Recovery group at UCSF. There, in addition to her own work, she collaborated with others to create pieces for the institution.
Public showings included Marin MOCA altered book shows, several café wall installations and annual Openhouse Art Shows.
One of my motivations for this show is to distribute Kathryn’s work out into the world from which it came. If you are moved by any piece and would like to live with it or gift it to another, please look at its back and if it is not claimed with a post-it, you may claim it. At the end of the show, you will be contacted to pick it up.
by Debra Resnik