Kathy Pallie
After a career in commercial art, Kathy Pallie, this week’s CCC artist, rediscovered the tactile allure of clay. “I need to have my hands manipulating clay”. The tactile sense is always in play, whether she is creating a realistic trompe l’oeil effect or zeroing in on one of the many nuances of tree bark through a macro lens.
Nature is Kathy’s biggest inspiration with its vast palette of colors, textures and patterns. She uses tools like pieces of bark, tree nuts, springs, and twigs. With the idea of the way nature grows vertically from the earth, reaching for the sun, so working in clay brings to life Kathy’s passion to communicate her ideas in clay from the ground up. Observing the detail of nature opens a world of exciting abstract graphic designs and forms.
Kathy uses a variety of clay bodies in slabs, coils and extruded shapes. She doesn’t use the clay as a canvas to paint or glaze but loves to work the surface and allow a 3-dimensional form to take form. The scope of her work ranges from small 3” diameter coil baskets to architectural installations such as Out of the Woods created for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Lake Tahoe. From her home studio, Kathy works around family needs, and keeping active: hiking, skiing, swimming and staying shape.
“I’m always inspired by what is going on around me, nature, political situations and emotions. I start with a concept and figure out how to execute it. It’s always a journey and that’s exciting.”
Since the Covid-19 crisis Kathy has had 3 shows cancelled or postponed. California
Clay Competition at the Artery Gallery in Davis where my piece “Ebony Landscape Trio”can be
viewed on the website https://theartery.net/ccc2020; Art Works Downtown gallery in San
Rafael, CA, in the “100 Years of Freedom” exhibition, my two pieces “Tied Up in Knots - Fake
News” - no clay involved, and “ Dialogue Dispels Differences “ with is fiber and clay tiles
imprinted with lace; and Epperson Gallery in Crockett, CA, a 4-person show “Into the
Woods” (postponed, no new date) where I will be showing a body of 17 pieces of clay work, all
nature and tree related.
You can see more of Kathy Pallie’s work here: www.kathypallieart.com or on Facebook KathyPallieArt.
