Kate Schroeder

Bio

Kate Schroeder is a ceramicist and full-time professional artist residing in Kansas City, Missouri. She received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Sculpture and Ceramics from the University of Central Missouri and a Masters of Fine Arts also emphasizing Sculpture and Ceramics from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Although her academic focus was on sculptural forms, Kate has spent the last 8 years as a ceramicist, focusing on functional/semi-functional works. She is currently a Red Star Career Resident at Belger Crane Yard Studios. In addition to her career as a professional artist, she also spent nearly a decade as an adjunct educator, and several years managing a ceramics studio/ Not-For-Profit arts organization, which specialized in teaching art to people with disabilities.

artist statement

My recent work is inspired by the emotional impact of collecting objects; why we collect them, and the significance of the ones we choose. The dimensions of the objects in my work are hierarchical. The three-dimensional objects represent my lineage, marriage, and career while the two-dimensional illustrations are nostalgic and joyful. The overarching themes between the dimensions are whimsy and delight. 

I began this body of work shortly before the pandemic began, but the significance of creating dwellings has become more significant to me in the year of isolation within my own home. I chose to make a series of lamps to represent my feeling surrounding the current climate of hope and light, and nearing the end of these “unprecedented times”.