Artist Statement:
The permanence of craft allows for an extended connection with others by playing a continuous role in our daily lives, allowing for unspoken conversations to slowly unfurl in the background, creating deeper, more meaningful relationships. I use design and woodworking as a way to explore connection – connection with others, connection with the natural world, connection with creativity, and connection to myself. The modern world leaves many of us disconnected from our communities, nature, our creativity, and even ourselves. This wonderful unspoken language of creation allows me to embrace and exist within a vulnerability that is often elusive or completely lacking within spoken language.
Artist Bio:
Katherine Edmonds is a craftsperson, designer, and educator based in Corvallis, Oregon. With a diverse academic and professional background, she holds a BA in Biology from Rhodes College (Memphis, TN), an MA in Ecology from the University of Georgia (Athens, GA), and a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on design from Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR). Her design education is complemented by hands-on experience; she trained in traditional woodworking at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship (Rockport, ME) and continued her studies through workshops at Anderson Ranch (Snowmass, CO), the Florida School of Woodwork (Tampa, FL), and the Port Townsend Wood School (Port Townsend, WA). Katherine further refined her craft by apprenticing with two master furniture makers: Richard Shrader in Athens, GA, and Pat Megowan in Corvallis, OR. She also spent several years with Oneta Woodworks in Athens, GA, where she worked on building custom interiors for local bars, restaurants, and breweries.
Katherine has explored a wide variety of careers, having held over thirty-five different jobs throughout her life. Her roles have often centered around education, from ski instructor and whitewater kayaking guide to college professor, preschool teacher, and woodworking instructor. Embracing her neurodivergence and kinesthetic learning style, she has recently returned to her craft with a renewed focus on the physicality of making. As a graduate teaching assistant at Oregon State University, she taught in both the Art and Design Program in the College of Forestry and the Design Program in the School of Engineering. She was also a founding steering committee member of the Tarweed Folk School (Corvallis, OR), where she designed and built their website and helped the school get off the ground during its first year. She still teaches classes for the school through out the year.
Currently, Katherine co-operates Highland Woodshop, a community woodshop in Corvallis, OR, where she teaches classes, mentors members, and helps manage the daily operations. In addition, she is co-founder of Playing Possum Collective, the brain-child of three queer visual artists, which hosts the Playing Possum Podcast. Katherine also volunteers as a founding board member of the Oregon Sibling Leadership Network, a nonprofit supporting siblings of individuals with disabilities.
A passionate experimenter, Katherine is always exploring new materials and techniques to expand her craft. She is currently focused on marquetry and pyrography, seeking ways to integrate her inspirations from the natural world and her knowledge of ecological and biological processes into her designs
Want to hear more of Katherine's story, listen to her podcast interview with Closing the Gap.
Check out the Playing Possum Podcast! Playing Possum Collective is the brain-child of three queer-identified visual artists, Kacey Montgomery, a photographer and multimedia artist, Katherine Edmonds, a woodworker, designer, and educator, and Jamey Hudnall, a painter.