Kate began her artistic journey in design, scenic painting and stage management in professional theatres across Canada. She then spent almost 30 years as an educator, teaching creative writing, English and theatre. As Head of Drama and Media Arts she directed and produced hundreds of mainstage musicals, dramas, original collective creations, theatre festivals and Fringe Festivals. She made her way back into visual art, completing a Masters and Ph.D. in Arts Education with both projects including original glass art: her Holocaust themed Masters work was exhibited and acquired by the Holocaust Survivors’ Speakers Bureau in the Bronx, New York. Her women’s rights and closed adoption based Ph.D. project included a solo exhibition in Toronto. She has published numerous journal articles with accompanying glass artwork illustrations, and delivered many conference papers using art as a means of communication.
Kate creates most often in watercolour, and in glass – fused, stained and mosaic – frequently combining mixed media and photo-transfer elements. Her favorite subjects to paint are flora, fauna, and landscapes, where she tends to work representationally; in glass, she leans more to abstract expression or thematically linked pieces. Most recently she is experimenting with collage, and adding dimensional pieces to her paintings, as well as glass on glass mosaic. Works range from decorative paintings, glass panels, and pet portraits, to more practical items such as garden stepping stones and fused glass votive candle pieces. She has exhibited widely in solo and group shows across the GTA, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and several US states.
When not employed in artistic pursuits she can be found cooking, tending her gardens in her rural backyard, and snuggling with her beagles.