Kate Missett |
 I was born in 1951 in New York. My family moved to South Florida when
I was a year old and I grew up surrounded by the wonderful lushness
of the tropics. Mangrove forests, the Atlantic ocean, tropical birds
and all sorts of sealife, as well as my grandmother's collections
of bone china and ceramic figurines have all found their way into
my work.I majored in Journalism at Loyola in New Orleans but took a ceramics class my senior year that completely transformed my life. I immediately bought a wheel and kiln and set about trying to learn everything on my own while living on a commune in Washington state. After apprenticing at a ceramics studio in the Florida Keys and selling my work at many craft fairs, I eventually went back to school for a BFA. Then to graduate school at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. During that time I also worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Pursuing an interest in figurative work, as well as minoring in both ceramic history and photo processes were formative in creating new directions in my work that I continue to pursue. Traveling in Europe, India and the Caribbean has given me a visual vocabulary of colors and imagery I continue to draw upon. Studying and teaching about ceramic cultures of the past has been instrumental in my current work. I am currently an Adjunct Professor at the City University of New York, as well as a faculty member of Greenwich House Pottery and the Art Program director for the West Side YMCA. The opportunity to share the creative process and help others to find their own way of expression is an immeasurable joy. The continuing attempt to translate my own vision and experience of life into clay is a great privilege. |