Kathryn Sowinski

Work samples

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Sumi Landscape

Oil on Canvas 48" x 32"
Terry Winters Good Government

Glass beads, thread, colored pencil and ink 2014 2 x 2.5
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About Kathryn

Kathryn Sowinski is an artist and art educator residing in Baltimore City and teaching elementary art in the county. She received her BFA in 2004 and MAT in 2005 from MICA. In 2008 she traveled to Italy in MICA's Sorrento Summer program. She has exhibited her work with Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, the Washington Project for the Arts, Jordan Faye Contemporary, Metro Gallery, and the Maryland Art Education Association.

View Kathryn's Resume

Microcosms

I began these abstract watercolors in spring of 2017. While my daughters napped in the front bedroom (previously my studio, now their nursery), I sat at a small desk beneath the window in the master bathroom, the only place left for me to work. As an art teacher, I saved the scrap papers my students used beneath their art to protect their desks. The scrap papers, used by multiple students for multiple years, are gorgeous: they have layers of watercolor, permanent marker, pencil, oil pastel, and tempera paint. There are washes of colors, lines, letters, and doodles. I use the casing from an old 35mm slide as a viewfinder to select a composition that is aesthetically pleasing. I use gouache to recreate the composition on watercolor paper.

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Oil Paintings

I've gone back to my early love for the qualities of oil paint on canvas. These medium and large canvases explore mark making and composition.

Peacock

Oil on Canvas 48" x 32"
Lake and Sand

Oil on Canvas 54" x 36"
Spring

Oil on Canvas 20" x 16"
Chincoteague

Oil on Canvas 60" x 36"
Landscape Skirt in Venice

Oil on Canvas 48" x 32"
Bramble

Oil on Canvas 36" x 24"
Half Pint

Oil on Canvas 54" x 36"
Lake and Trees

Oil on Canvas 54" x 36"
Wedding

Oil on Canvas 36" x 24"
Sumi Landscape

Oil on Canvas 48" x 32"

Art History Flashcards

I made mixed media collages in response to artworks from Gardner's Art Through the Ages.

Hans Hofmann The Gate

Collage, colored pencil, and ink 2014 2.75 x 2
Terry Winters Good Government

Glass beads, thread, colored pencil and ink 2014 2 x 2.5
Sigmar Polke Bunnies

Glass beads, thread, graphite, and ink 2014 2.5 x 2
Sherrie Levine After Piet Mondrian

Colored pencil, graphite, and ink 2014 2.5 x 2
Kandinsky Several Circles

Collage, colored pencil and ink 2014 1.75 x 2.5
Judy Pfaff Deepwater

Collage, thread, and ink 2014 2.5 x 2
Joyce Kozloff Tut’s Wallpaper

Glass beads, thread, and ink 2014 2.5 x 2
Jenny Holzer Selection from Truisms 1982

Ink 2014 2 x 2.5
Harry Callahan Cape Cod

Glass beads, thread, graphite and ink 2014 2.5 x 2
Yaruma Morimura Self-Portrait/White Marilyn

Collage and ink 2014 2 x 2.5

Calendar 2010

The goal of the calendar project was to create a work of art everyday in 2010.

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2012 Calendar

The objectives for the 2012 Calendar series were to make art every day. The idea of art as a marker of time references artworks from On Kawara’s date paintings to Sally Davies’ daily photographs of a Happy Meal. The artworks are sequential and reference one another. My artworks are responses to the printed images on the calendar pages along with my personal experiences while traveling, art historical references, and playful explorations of materials. Initially I intended to work on one page every day. I ended up skipping working on some days and catching up by working on multiple pages on other days. The result is a calendar year’s worth of images.

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Architectural Fantasies

The art of urban societies frequently show our human desire for a connection with the natural world, manifest in ancient Roman frescoes to Chinese panel paintings. I am interested in quiet, secret places in the natural world. A path through the woods. Moss hiding in the shadow of the tree. Sparkling stones in the dirt. Bright red berries beneath the leaves of a raspberry bush. I am also interested in human constructions of nature. Balconies teaming with potted plants. Gated courtyards with elaborate gardens. Wrought iron railings, crumbling walls, and tangled electrical lines mimicking stones and vines. I begin my work by painting observed details and use collage and embellishment to create architectural fantasies.

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Collages

The Collages are a combination of drawing, painting, and mixed media collage. The artworks grow and change organically as I respond to formal qualities and personal connections. I want the viewer to get closer and explore the interplay of images, media, and mark-making. The narratives that emerge are quirky, often with references to art history, popular culture, and playful explorations of materials.