Artist in Residence
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2024
Artist in Residence Dr. Kathleen Thompson Painting • Fiber • Photography • Drawing Our esteemed friend and member artist, Dr. Kathleen Thompson, brings decades of creative expression and fine art prowess to our final artist-in-residency of the year. Artist Statement: According to my kindergarten report card, "Kathleen is good at art." Raised in the mountains of New York State in a family that spent a lot of time outdoors, nature has been a lifelong theme for my artwork. To no one's surprise, I majored in art in college. Not art education. I earned a BFA in printmaking and painting at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Somewhere late in my senior year, I realized I did not want to be a starving artist. There was a shortage of art teachers and I took a job in Atlanta on a provisional certificate. Five years later I moved to the mountains. The combination of creating art and teaching best expresses my life in art. I began teaching art in high school, then to middle school, and finally elementary classes in the last four of my 37-year teaching career. My students gave back to me as much or more than I offered them. Additionally, I taught art history and studio to undergraduates for 22 years and arts education for another dozen years to undergraduate students and graduate teachers as an adjunct professor. So many good memories. My own art production has crossed many art disciplines. When I came to Fannin County my students shared their parents and grandparents craft heritage. I learned how to weave at the John C. Campbell Folk School and spin and dye with natural materials at the Arrowmont School of Crafts in Gatlinburg. For years I had a weaving loom in our dining room. While working on my Doctoral coursework I explored drawing. My interest in photography first allowed me to document the work of traditional crafts persons. As I began to travel the world, my photos reflected beautiful and diverse places. Art and teaching have added so much to my life. I hope you can see these experiences reflected in this exhibit. |
