statement
Despite finding my non-binary identity, the word woman still sits in my mouth. I don’t chew on it. In fact, I find myself clenching my jaw all day long, protecting it. The word isn’t dirty, but it does have grit to it. It’s like potting soil. In stores, it has colorful packaging with flowers all over it. It’s something to grow your dreams in. Something that drinks up the light from the window in your modern white kitchen. When you handle it, it ends up under your fingernails for the next few days. I think about scientific articles with titles like, “Gardening Makes You Happy and Cures Your Depression” and how they sound a lot like the articles titled “Married men live longer; married women, not so much.” These entrenched generosities make me protective of the word and the lives that are woman. I’ve never wanted to completely shake these histories off of myself.
Maybe, “the most beautiful part of your body is where its headed” (Ocean Vuong). I want to find peace with woman and where I’m going.
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bio
Katie Stone is a sculptor from a rural dairy farming region of Connecticut. They are captured by the lessons taught by animals, the land, and the people who live reciprocally with them. Katie comes from a long line of farmers, “horse-girls,” and those who made the West their home. To them, this “hay fever” is genetic, and, personal.
Working with earthenware clay as their primary medium, they utilize the figure to express queer culture and address identity politics. In these sculptures, Katie frequently employs materials and imagery that make reference to women’s work.
They received their MFA in Studio Arts from Syracuse University in 2024 and their BFA in Ceramics from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2014. Throughout the past decade of their artist career, Katie has been the director of a community ceramic studio, a teaching assistant for Cristina Cordóva, and a visiting artist with Clay Cohorts. Their work has been exhibited across North America, including the Archie Bray Foundation and Miami Art Basel.