American Ceramist and Educator
Katherine Sandnas is an internationally-recognized ceramic artist. She is an impressive yet reserved woman and focuses on the remarkable blend of cross-cultural and historical experiences.
Integrity and purpose guide Katherine in her endeavors, whether creating artwork, digging in her garden, teaching, or preparing a meal. Born in Minnesota in the early 1950s, she began her relationship with the visual arts at an early age, experimenting with many mediums. She later began working with clay, establishing a steadfast commitment to the ceramic arts.
Her education began at Hibbing Community College with instructor William Goodman, a mentor and powerful influence. Goodman received his MFA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; ceramics is only one of his specialties. Katherine completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. During graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Katherine received a fellowship to study ceramic art in Japan. Her dedication and love for Japan, the culture, and its people provided a wellspring of educational and artistic resources and friendships. The fellowship included working with several of Japan’s Living National Treasures, master potters, visiting ancient firing sites, museums, and galleries. In the following years, she returned to Japan for artist and guest artist residencies at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park and for exhibitions in Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Tokyo.
Left: Katherine & work in progress at St. John’s Pottery. Collegeville, Minnesota, 2004. Photograph by James Dean.
Katherine’s work in Japan strengthened her convictions regarding cross-cultural experiences in the arts; it directed and enhanced her life and work. Upon returning to the United States, she received a Jerome Fellowship to work and study with artist Richard Bresnahan, a legendary American teacher/potter from St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN. Richard apprenticed for five years in Japan with the Nakazato family in southern Japan. Katherine has recently been researching, exhibiting, and teaching in Thailand.
Katherine has synthesized her cross-cultural, and prehistoric influences into an artistic expression that continues to grow. Primitive figures, vessels, and reliefs are her signature. Her artwork is most often glaze-free almost casually, expressing a primal and organic narrative. Katherine’s devotion to the human condition, and in particular the female form, is a study devoted to the sacredness, beauty, mystery, and calming effects found in the feminine form.
Katherine’s incredible body of work includes two and three-dimensional work in clay, bronze, and iron. Her works are exhibited in American and Asian museums and institutions.
Katherine’s approach to life, clay, and teaching is a unique blend of cultural and historical influences. Anyone reflecting on her work recognizes that she is at peace with herself, totally committed to her work, and at one with her medium. This quiet unity of artist and material is a rare and powerful vision to behold.
Katherine enriches and inspires the lives of her students and fellow artists. Through her work and life, she encourages them to live with greater commitment and to listen, learn, and create through their life experiences and lessons. She is an educator who has worked and studied in various cultural settings, and she believes the real testament to her accomplishment as an artist and teacher is in the lives she has touched.
To download Katherine’s resume, please click here.
Right: Katherine & work in progress at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park. Shiga, Japan, 2013. Photograph by The Shigaraki Cultural Park.
Katherine collecting earth by the Urakami River epicenter.
Nagasaki, Japan, in 2018.
Photo by Ruriko Miyamoto.
Katherine Sandnas
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