Daisy Kates

My work is rooted in a modern tradition and includes one-of-a-kind hand-built and wheel-thrown pottery, sculpture, tiles and mosaics. I try to use color and line in an intuitive and free style, and often inscribe, impress and slip trail the clay for greater surface interest and texture. My images are abstract or pictorial and the work is fired in both electric and gas kilns. I utilize a variety of clays and glazes that range from bright colors to earthy browns, depending on my desired mood for the piece. I have also produced several ceramic public art murals and privately commissioned installations.

For the past several years I have also been working on large mixed-media sculptures. They include the use of ceramic elements, steel and wood.

In addition to being a studio artist, I have been an educator of ceramic arts in social service and school settings for over 40 years. I have volunteered for a variety of local and international projects including introducing pottery to an after-school program in a Black township in South Africa and participating in a Potters for Peace brigade in Nicaragua.

I graduated from the City College of New York with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art, and have attended innumerable workshops in ceramics and other arts to augment my education. My access to the museums and galleries of New York City when I was growing up had an early influence on my artistic development.

I began visiting New Mexico and attending art classes at UNM in the mid-sixties. I have lived in my small handmade house high in the Placitas foothills for more than 40 years and my studio has panoramic views of the Ortiz, Sandia, Jemez and Santa Fe mountains.