Poterala named Tryon Arts and Crafts School’s Artist of the Month

Published 1:58 pm Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Katie Poterala, one of Tryon Arts and Crafts School’s esteemed artisans, has been named the School’s Artist of the Month.  Her artwork is being featured during the month of November in the gallery of Tryon’s Arts and Crafts School at 373 Harmon Field Road.  Hours are from Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Katie Poterala

Katie Poterala currently lives and maintains a studio in her native home, Greenville, S.C., where she is surrounded by the influential textures, colors, places and adventures of her childhood. Jewelry was always an object of fascination, even at a young age, and continues to be a dynamic inspiration in Katie’s collections.  Katie received an MFA from Arizona State University after earning her BFA from Winthrop University.  In addition to her studio work, teaching is a strong part of her artistic practice.  In addition to instructing metalsmithing classes and workshops at TACS, she has taught metalsmithing and three-dimensional design at all levels, from elementary through University and adult classes.  Katie is also an active member and volunteer within her field, and currently acts as Volunteer Coordinator for the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

Through her jewelry, Katie seeks to translate some of the beauty and truth she’s discovered in nature and observation. Her work implies a sense of history and is sensitive to the delicate relationship between beauty and decay, as well as our relationships to precious objects. She combines the opulence of faceted stones and gold with provocative surfaces, colors, and textures that mimic the spontaneity found in natural growth and oxidation processes. A focus of her work is the reinterpretation of the jewel — often by removing it, replacing it, or otherwise reincorporating or setting it in unexpected and captivating ways. The work blends the precious and non-precious with a feeling of authenticity.

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Katie’s pieces offer intimate, tactile, visceral experiences as well as a place of quiet contemplation as well as an escape from reality.  Her work has been shown internationally, and she has participated in numerous juried and invitational exhibitions.  Most recent venues include the Racine Art Museum, Velvet Da Vinci Gallery, J Cotter Gallery, Mesa Arts Center, and the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Museum. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and is represented by galleries and shops throughout the country.  Her work was recently published in American Craft Magazine, as well as in the Lark books Showcase: 500 Rings and Showcase: 500 Art Necklaces.

– submitted by Cathy Jewell Fischer