I’ve been admiring Kate’s encaustic paintings online for quite a while but only met her last summer. She works at Front Street, in the first floor of the 100 Building, where she shares space with Elisha Frontz.
“In college I started out as a theater major” she told me “and then switched to fine arts and eventually got a degree in sculpture. Then I raised a family for 20 years.”
“About 10 years ago I saw an encaustic piece that I was really drawn to. Its layering gave it a sort of ethereal feel. About that same time a friend told me about an encaustic class being taught in St Joseph, Michigan. I decided to take the class and then just dove into encaustic work. I love the versatility of the medium, the way you can be sculptural or really painterly, the way you can scratch parts off or draw lines on and do all kinds of other things.”
Kate tells me she has a busy exhibition schedule coming up. Her work is being shown this month at Studios on High in Columbus. Then in May through August she’ll fill the walls at Wheat Penny Oven and Bar. In October she has a show at Edison State College in Piqua. Next year she already has two shows planned, plus a residency in France. But my favorite way of seeing her work is to stop by her Front Street studio. She’s working there most days, and is always open for First Friday and Third Sunday.
For more photos of Kate’s work, and photos of her studio, go to https://billfranz17.com/
