Not a Trained Artist but I Play One on TV – Journey from Casual Tourist to Professional Installer with Katherine England

Saturday, February 6, 2021, at 10:00 am EST

Sometimes courage trumps expertise.…at least in the beginning.  In this presentation I discuss the importance of learning to trust yourself, having energy and integrity enough to do the work properly, and ultimately having true grit can bring amazing opportunity and challenge. Using a recent installation as an example, I will share how a chance trip, an unexpected visit, and a little trust led me to the best installation I have had the privilege of executing.

As an attendee to past conferences, I have learned the most from presentations that share personal journeys in the move from local artist to commercial/professional installer. I get letters from artists wondering how this happens. I plan to share all the details: costs, stumbles, (always!) disappointments, surprises, a little loneliness, enrolling my community and anything else that might help artists in their own journey. I will include the process of public art committees, city councils, patriarchal oversight, and budgets. I make it sound so sexy, believe me. There will be plenty of photos showing the successes, failures and problem-solving. I often am asked to consult on installations by commercial newbies and there are always things that go wrong and sharing this with the audience can often help artists feel less frustrated when those problems show up on their jobs. I am excited to share a new type of architectural installation form that I have never seen done before in the states. By conference time I will show the finished project. My goal is audience members leave feeling inspired and energized to take on things they thought beyond their reach, whether it is a project for their own home or a local school or park.

Katherine England was born in Hawaii in 1956 and spent her younger years in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is an internationally exhibiting artist who has taught in schools and in art retreats across the United States, Europe, and Mexico for over two decades. Literally thousands of children have benefited from her instruction via numerous projects and through her role as a teaching artist in Fullerton School District’s AEMDD grant Project CREATE. While Ms. England is a passionate activist for art education in the public school system, she also creates public works of art. Her more than 32 public pieces include sculpture, as well as glass or painted murals, and can be seen throughout Southern California, Utah, and Alaska. The most recent of which won the 2017 Anaheim Arts Council Art in Public Places Award for her piece at Ponderosa Park. katherineengland.com/