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My Story

I have always been an artist. I always knew that I didn't just //want// to make art, I //had// to make art. All over the furniture of my childhood room are the words “I love art”. I tried everything, and I was lucky to have parents that supported my every whim. I drew, painted, learned to crochet and sew, I made sculptures and blanket forts – who didn’t? I spent a lot of time outdoors and grew up a quiet, careful observer of my surroundings. I have a genuine love for all things beautiful and have grown up with an appreciation for fine art, folk art, outsider art, and just about anything that considers the aesthetic appeal.

I grew up in upstate New York but moved to Maine in the fall of 1999 to attend Maine College of Art. I graduated in 2004 with a BFA in Ceramics. Upon graduation I was one of a handful of lucky recipients awarded a summer residency at the famous Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts. This was such a big deal to me – and still is. Anyone who visits will confirm that this is one of the most magical places in the world. The Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts is a public, nonprofit, educational institution founded in 1951 by brickmaker Archie Bray, who intended it to be “a place to make available for all who are seriously and sincerely interested in any of the branches of the ceramic arts, a fine place to work.” And it certainly was. The work made from these four months can be seen here.

When my residency ended, I returned to Maine completely broke and looking to make a living. With my degree in Ceramics I knew this was going to be easy! I started working as a clerk at an art supply store while continuing my ceramic work in my free time. It wasn’t long before a manager recognized my undying work ethic and quickly promoted me to “office worker”. For the first few weeks I didn’t dare turn my computer off for fear of embarrassment at not knowing how to turn it back on. I guess I could say that I was part of the last group of people that managed to get through high school and college without ever touching a computer. In any event, I love to learn new things and when I decide to do something it's all or nothing. So I spent the next few years working as an accounting clerk, first at the art supply store, and then for an outsourcing bookkeeping company. I became so engrossed in the profession that I couldn’t find time for my artwork. Needless to say, I became very unhappy. I knew I needed to do something different but I wasn’t sure what.

Part of my job responsibility in the outsourcing bookkeeping company was to manage a team of bookkeepers that lived in Bangalore, India. We communicated only by email and chat and I spent a lot of time teaching them about bookkeeping, software, and day-to-day business practices. I found that I really liked teaching them but I didn’t really care about business. And so I began to pursue a career in art education. I was very grateful to have a day job to fund this endeavor. I continued bookkeeping and finally finished my BFA in Art Education from the University of Southern Maine in the spring of 2011.

I landed my first teaching job in the Machias Bay Area School Department in the fall of 2011. I taught art to elementary and middle school students at Fort O'Brien, Jonesboro Elementary, and Whiting Village School. After one amazing year, I took a job at Massabesic High School in Waterboro, ME. I was sad to leave my students and colleagues in the Machias area, but I was happy to return to Southern Maine. In my two years at MHS I have taught Ceramics, Foundations of Art, Painting & Design, and I am excited to be teaching a new course in Integrated Arts in the fall. It has been a challenging but rewarding first few years of teaching and there is no doubt in my mind that my strange path has led me to where I finally need to be. My mission is to spread the love of art, the many different ways of making art, to as many students as I can. Like Archie Bray, I hope to make available to all students who are seriously and sincerely (or even remotely) interested in any branches of the arts, a fine place to work!

Kathryn Robertson July 9, 2014