Artist Profile

Katherine Sandnas is an internationally-recognized ceramic artist. An impressive and reserved woman, she is a remarkable blend of cross-cultural and historical experiences.

Integrity and purpose guide Katherine in her endeavors, whether she’s creating artwork, teaching a class, or preparing a meal. Born in southern Minnesota in the early 1950s, she began her relationship with the visual arts at an early age, experimenting in many mediums, and later found her passion was working with clay. Katherine's steadfast commitment to the ceramic arts and art education established her as an important artist and arts advocate.

Katherine's artistic vision is often described as a unique blending of cultural influences of American and Japanese prehistoric ceramics. Her powerful sculptural works are compelling female figures, imbued with her particular devotion to the feminine condition and express the beautiful, sacred,and enigmatic qualities of being a woman. The artworks are glaze-free in an almost casual manner, both primal and organic in nature. Her work is imbued with subdued and earthy colors. Primitive figures, vessels, and platters are her signature pieces. Katherine's artistic expression continues to grow with her life experiences. The incredible body of work Katherine has created also includes relief artworks and sculptures in bronze and iron. Katherine's works are exhibited in American and Asian museums and institutions.

Her education began at Hibbing Community College (Hibbing, Minnesota), with seminal Art Instructor William Goodman, a mentor and powerful influence. Goodman received his MFA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; ceramics is only one of his specialties. Katherine completed her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. During graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Katherine received a fellowship to study in Japan. This opportunity enabled her to encounter and study Japanese art, as well as visit master ceramists, ancient firing sites, museums, and galleries. In pursuit of her MFA, Katherine studied at the University of North Dakota-Grand Forks. During this time, she received a McKnight Fellowship to return to Japan for an artist residency at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, where she studied, worked, and exhibited.

Left: Katherine & work in progress at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shiga, Japan, 2013. Photograph by The Shigaraki Cultural Park.

This reconnection with Japanese culture strengthened her convictions and directed her life and work. When she returned to the United States, she received a Jerome fellowship to work and study with Richard Bresnahan, of St. John's University (Collegeville, Minnesota). Mr. Bresnahan is the legendary teacher/potter there, who studied with the Nakazato family in Japan. He and St. John's ceramic studio allowed Katherine to work with regional clay on a large scale.

Soon after the Jerome Fellowship, Katherine secured a fellowship to exhibit, teach, and research women potters in Thailand. This proved to be an extraordinary opportunity bringing to fruition her life's artistic and educational work. She began the fellowship with the historical documentation of rural Thai women potters. Their work is a testament to primitive and traditional techniques native to rural Thailand. Her exhibition at the Suan Pakkard Palace Museum (Bangkok, Thailand) engaged Katherine with the United States Embassy in Thailand. The embassy procured one of Katherine's large scale female sculptures from the Palace Museum to be presented to the Queen Sirikit Center for Breast Cancer. This center is for women in dire circumstances. The work was presented in recognition of the 175th Anniversary of Thai-US Diplomatic Relations to the Sathira Dhammastan Women’s Center, specifically for their spiritual walk gallery.

A Guest Artist Residency at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Shiga, Japan, facilitated a new direction in Katherine's work. The residency was an artistic collaboration with Japanese artist, Ruriko Miyamoto. The artworks they produced were funded by governmental grants from Japan and the United States of America. The work titled “A Collaboration Between Japan and The United States of America” became a seminal artwork and a poignant turning point in Katherine's work. She began her artistic career with primitive-regional clay bodies and techniques, then embraced Japan's newly developed translucent clay body, Todo Clay.

Katherine's unique blend of cultural and historical influences is also evident in her approach to life, clay, and teaching. Anyone reflecting on her work recognizes that she is at peace with self, committed to her work, and at one with her medium. This quiet unity of artist and material is a rare and powerful vision to behold.

Katherine enriches and inspires the lives of her students and fellow artists. Through her work, she encourages them to live with greater commitment and to listen, learn, and create through life’s lessons. An educator who has worked and studied in a variety of cultural settings, she believes the real testament of her accomplishment as an artist and teacher is found in the lives she has touched.

To download Katherine's resume, please click here.

Right: Katherine & work in progress at St. John's Pottery, Collegeville, MN, 2004. Photograph by James Dean.