Kathryn Watne
Medium: Jewelry
CREATIVE BEGINNINGS: Kathy Watne comes by it naturally. She reports that growing up, her home was always the go-to house for the neighborhood kids — her mom had them doing all sorts of art projects. Soon, Kathy was spending her allowance and baby-sitting money at the local bead shop buying brass wire and making necklaces and earrings.
ARTISTIC PATH: Kathy loved the art classes she took in school and eventually declared her major in jewelry and metal design in college. At the University of Washington, she learned basic enameling techniques, fascinated with the process, the jewel-like colors of opaque and transparent enamels turning from a powder to a shiny glass surface.
A few years after graduation she ran into a former professor at a coffee shop and he encouraged her to pursue enameling. Taking the recommendation to heart, Kathy bought a kiln and some enamels — and there they sat in her parents’ basement until one day she fired up the kiln and started playing around. Her creative journey as a jeweler had begun!
PROCESS AND INSPIRATION: Beyond university, Kathy is mostly self-taught. The combination of daily studio practice, collecting books on the processes, experimenting, and attending workshops in silver smithing, she has developed a style that is unique and recognizable.
Firing on copper, her early work had an industrial, earthy look. Then, Kathy discovered one of her signature styles: By sanding the enamels that have been built up layer by layer when she suddenly realized she really liked the matte surface of fired enamels.
More recent evolutions in her work include using more sterling silver, and firing transparent jewel-tone enamels to mimic gemstones and beach shells.
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