Kathran Siegel
Odalisque/Wissahickon Walks series, 2016
American Linden, Graphite
18 x 26 x 3"

About the work

This piece is one in a series that I titled "Wissahickon Walks," inspired by the pleasure that it gives me to walk along the Fairmount Park trails. It was illustrated in an article (archived at- www.persimmontree.org; Summer Issue 2016) on my work titled "Kathran Siegel, Carving A Life")

A large portion of my work draws from nature in a fanciful way. In this series I was especially interested in leaving my tool marks behind as evidence of this artist's hand in creating the work. These marks provide a history that often gets erased through sanding.

Bio

Born and raised in New York City, Kathran Siegel attended Bennington College, where she studied painting with Jules Olitsky and Paul Feeley, sculpture with Anthony Caro and David Smith, and printmaking with Vincent Longo. She worked towards an M.F.A. at the University of New Mexico, but at the invitation of Newton Harrison and Paul Brach, stopped her studies to help develop the program for a new art department at the University of California at San Diego. Following these experiences, Siegel moved to a loft in N.Y.C. where she continued to paint. After a few years, she moved to Gainesville, Florida, where she taught at the University of Florida.

While working on an MEd., Siegel took a woodworking class, which led her into 25 years of making studio furniture and other carved and turned objects. Until her retirement from teaching in 2011, she combined her studio practice with teaching art in Florida and in and around Philadelphia, where she currently lives. Her work is in several regional museum and public art collections. She was awarded an NEA Ventures Grant and later an Andy Warhol Foundation Grant. She has published a monograph on the artist, Mildred Thompson, as well as articles on the arts and arts education. Siegel is currently a member of Muse Gallery in Philadelphia.

www.kathransiegel.com
Instagram - @kathransiegel