In the summer of 2003 I went to Penland for a workshop with instructors I knew nothing about but their bio's in Penland's catalog.  There I met Pinky, Kitty, and Mcleod a very lethal and playful group of fellow Southerner's.  By the end of the workshop I was planning on digging a pit kiln to fire pots in my miniscule backyard in ND, where I taught at a local University, regardless of the code restrictions within the city limits regarding fire.  It took me a month or so before I came back to my senses and remembered I had spent most of my adult life developing my skills in photography and mixed media and still had only scratched the surface. 

 

But it wasn't just her ability to infect me with her love of clay it was her own unique self as a woman and an artist that profoundly inspired me.  She graciously invited our class at the end of our session to her home.  I already admired her zest for life at the age of 88 but in her home I saw how she had created a living and working space that I could hope to attain at some point.  "Lovely, beautiful", we're all commenting as we view her space.  "Hey Kitty, where do you sleep?"  "Up there" she answered.  Up there was a loft that was only reached by a ladder that went straight up the side of the wall.  I couldn't imagine climbing up and down that in the middle of night at 41 much less 88.  Then there was something that seemed to be missing in her living/dining area and yet I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  Oh, no chairs!  I already had found the vitality and energy as artists and teachers that she and Pinky personified uplifting.  But now I thought, my god, if only I'm in her shape with a sense of humor and wonder still intact as it is in Kitty when I'm her age.

 

I have a BA in art from Valdosta State University, Valdosta GA and a MFA in photography and printmaking from the University of Memphis, Memphis TN.  I teach in the art program at Dickinson State University in Dickinson ND.  Those two women spoke to me and continue to inspire me.  What fun they had together.  Some people stick with you and Kitty is one that stands out even in that group.