Kate Clayton, Metalsmith Beauty is Grace Under Pressure (View Kate's Resume) Since graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1982, Kate Clayton has pursued a path of artistic self-expression by forging ideas into reality, from silver, gold and most recently steel. Her pieces have a powerful, branded look all their own. Accordingly, Kate's unique style and selected work has been featured in galleries and exhibitions throughout Colorado and the United States. In recent years, Kate has committed her artistic talents and professional life to become a Blacksmith and welder. In the spring of 2001, she studied in Santa Fe, New Mexico under Master Blacksmith Frank Turley. Subsequently, she designed and constructed a private studio from a grain silo at her home near the historic mining town of Telluride, Colorado overlooking the rugged San Juan Mountains. Kate enjoys playing with fire respectfully harnessing its power to transform metal into something with meaning, giving joy through its strangeness of beauty. This grace under pressure not only identifies Kate with her art; it is a dynamic tension that is reflected in her other passions like archery, rock climbing and exotic international travel. Whether Kate is climbing world-class sandstone cracks in the southwest desert of Utah or exploring the cultures of the high Himalayas, her steady hand and indomitable spirit are in full view for all to see. On a recent trip to climb in Tibet, the Tibetan people and their culture awed Kate. Buddhism is interwoven with the land and their everyday life even under the oppression of the Chinese. Her goal now is less about the climbing and travel and more about how to preserve cultures and help others. As part of a six-week journey through India, Kate became an active member of the dZi Foundation, a non-profit organization, committed to promoting the education, health, culture and welfare of indigenous mountain communities. Her plans for the future are to return to Ladakh, often referred to as "Little Tibet" to pursue a new service project for the people of Zanskar, a small kingdom deep in the Himalaya. ARTIST’S STATEMENT (Carravagio) and his young crowd had run the streets, tough and high spirited people - painters and fighters - who used the motto ne spe nec metu - without hope or fear. Sandrart 1675; Hibbard 1983 When I make an object the action becomes a vehicle. It questions, investigates and connects me to the inherent beauty of others and the things around me. This is what I can share. Decades ago, my work began as a direct reflection of my thoughts and emotions, my story. The subject matter became empty upon the realization that my story was just that: a story about experiences, thoughts and emotions ever changing and never ending. In Florence, Italy at the Galleria degli Uffizi, Carravagio’s painting “Medusa” on a three dimensional shield, stopped me in time. I was Medusa seeing my own reflection on the shield Minurva gave to Perseus. Carravagio produced that piece in 1597, painting as sculpture, object as subject! I’ve never been the same since. My hunger and curiosity for knowing have led me to many countries and experiences. When in a place where the people do not speak my language, I’m transported back before Carravagio’s shield. But now, instead of turning to stone, my understanding expands. The responsibility as an artist and “road warrior” of this planet is to make objects that speak to beauty/ugliness, duality, what is reality and what is our intrinsic nature. The viewer as well as the creator live in a state of aloneness which is our human condition. Our experience of beauty and illusion is a way of accessing the quality of deep appreciation for life and our connection to all things. There is so much apathy in western society. Throughout my journeys in Asia (Tibet, Ladakh, Thailand, Indonesia) and the time spent getting to know the people who live there, my eyes have been opened to my mistaken identity as an isolated individual. We strive to find ourselves, to be individuals here in America. Sharing yak butter tea with a Buddhist monk at 18,000 feet gave me a glimpse into how similar and connected we are. I’ve also experienced this commonality with animals. Searching for our individuality distances us from nature and each other. The people I’ve met around the world have taught me simple appreciation, to let go of all hope and fear and my story, to work with my passion and aggression, to just be. No drama, no me, no you, no time, no place, just now. This is what I work with when I make objects: illusion and our inherent nature.