Today we’d like to introduce you to Kassie Dilworth
Hi Kassie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My journey in art, like many others, has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. I cannot recall a time when I wasn’t drawing, painting, or creating patterns and structures using everything from leaves and twigs to odds and ends I found around the house.
I grew up in New Jersey, living on the edge of the Pine Barrens, where my sister and I played and went on adventures through the woods, collecting interesting rocks, drawing in the mud of the creek bed, and observing the sun’s patterns as they changed and shifted on the mossy forest floor. My family moved to Florida in 2000, where my parents enrolled me in art lessons, and my passion for art grew exponentially through encouragement and practice.
We relocated to Texas when I entered sixth grade, settling in the Hill Country, where I lived in Llano until graduating high school. There, I was fortunate to have incredible art teachers who encouraged me to continue my artistic journey despite adversity and social pushback. If it weren’t for my high school art teacher, Mrs. Haines, I would never have found the courage or drive to pursue my art in college, and I am eternally grateful for her encouragement and support to this day.
I attended college and graduated in 2014 from Angelo State University with a dual major in Painting & Drawing and Ceramics. During my undergraduate years, I interned with a local legend and master potter, Roger Allen, at the Chicken Farm Art Center, where I had the opportunity to learn from him and work alongside other talented production potters and artists in his studio and gallery. After graduating, I continued to volunteer my time to learn further and was eventually employed by the studio in 2015. Shortly after, I opened my very own studio there in March of that year, The Closet Studio, as an homage to the fact that I had been throwing pots and making art in the closet of my apartment for several years by that point.
I had the honor of becoming a resident artist at the Chicken Farm Art Center in 2016, living and working among some of the most talented artists I have had the pleasure of knowing. Over the years, I advanced in the production studio and art center, learning the inner workings of running and operating an art business as an office and production assistant, then as a gallery manager, and finally discovering production painting and throwing. Roger passed away in 2019, and I found myself in the position of lead thrower and painter, ending my tenure there as production manager in early 2021.
A lot of life changes happened for me that year as I had the opportunity to begin teaching ceramics classes at a local community studio, Concho Clay Studio, instructing wheel throwing and alternative firing courses. My husband and I bought our first house that spring and had to make the hard decision to close my studio at the art center and create a home studio. I renamed my business to Kassie Dilworth Art and worked on establishing myself independently through my online presence and working the art show circuit in Texas spanning from San Angelo all the way down to Corpus Christi. The biggest honor and privilege in shows for me was finally being accepted to the Texas Clay Festival in 2023, the largest ceramic art show in the state.
I assumed the role of Interim Ceramic Studio Director in June 2023 and continued in that position until July 2024. During that time, I put the business skills I learned from being a part of the Chicken Farm Art Center to work and learned how to work in the non-profit sector as the Concho Clay Studio is a part of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts. This brought so much joy to my life in providing me and other artists with the ability and opportunity to reach out and offer art access to the community and a platform for us to share our love and passion for the arts.
After leaving the Concho Clay Studio, I, along with a group of dedicated local San Angelo artists, began working on a passion project years in the making, the Art Spirit Collective. The ASC is a newly established non-profit entity aimed at bringing artists and the greater community closer together, breaking down the barriers and stigmas surrounding art, and making it accessible and approachable to anyone, regardless of income, demographic, status, age, or any other limiting factor that we can combat.
The principles surrounding art and its positive impact on our lives, which I learned from my time with my mentor and the plethora of artists at the Chicken Farm Art Center for almost a decade, have grown and fueled my desire to share my knowledge without gatekeeping. I believe that art is meant to be shared, that everyone has the capacity to be creative, and that this should be cherished and nurtured within each of us. The ability to express ourselves through art—any art—is innately human and something that makes each one of us beautifully unique and worthy of celebration.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The journey has been worthwhile, despite its challenges.
Though I had the unwavering support of my family, I nearly abandoned my artistic ambitions after receiving discouraging responses from peers when I shared my passion. I often heard remarks like “good luck with that,” “prepare to be a starving artist,” or “are you sure that’s a viable career?”
These comments were frequently accompanied by gender-related assumptions, such as “don’t you want kids?” and suggestions to prioritize marriage to someone who could support my “art hobby”.
For years, I battled the impact of these comments, leading to severe depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts from my early teens into adulthood. It wasn’t until I started dating my now-husband in high school, received support from teachers and peers, found a great therapist, and embraced the art community in San Angelo through the Chicken Farm Art Center that I discovered my true path. Living as an artist has become the most fulfilling experience of my life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I live and work as a ceramic artist here in San Angelo, Texas for a little over 10 years. My current work is focused in midrange porcelain and stoneware fired for either functionality or decorative aesthetics.
I love throwing on the potter’s wheel! I create colored clay through staining my porcelain and create layers of colors and then through the process of throwing on the wheel those layers spiral and swirl to create beautiful one-of-a-kind functional wares in the form of mugs, cups, bowls, vases, and more.
A signature line of my works has been my alternatively fired ceramics. These pieces, while purely decorative and not safe for food or drink, focus on exploring the extremes and strength of the clay body through a variety of process such as horse hair raku, obvara, saggar, and alternative pit firing methods. These firings offer the opportunity for the clay to go through intense temperature changes and chemical exposures to achieve a vast array of abstract surfaces, smoke effects, and dramatic colors across the surface of the pottery.
My lifelong love of painting and drawing also makes it’s presence know on my work as I use a variety of methods to create images and illustrations on select works ranging from photo realism to abstract imagery. One of my ongoing series is focused on the literal use of clay as a canvas, forming platters and large wall forms in clay, firing them and then using watercolors to illustrate the surface and combining additions of wire wrapping and felted forms to add additional dimensions and variety to the works.
As you can tell, I don’t exactly know when to quit exploring creative opportunities. I think that this insatiable desire to continue to learn all that I can and never stop growing as an artist and person is something that I am most proud of in my career and personal life. I also find that this deep need to ask more questions and seek broader answers to art and life’s mysteries is eternally important to me and is something that I actively try to encourage others to do as well.
The last question is one that I’ve never really felt like I ever have a good answer for, I am me and that’s what makes me unique. My journey is far from over and I know that my work will always reflect that aspect of continued growth within my person and knowledge of the ceramic medium. I like to think that my work is not stagnate, I’m constantly seeking and trying new ideas and techniques to incorporate into my art. If there is one thing that I hope my art never becomes is boring, I love the excitement that being the studio brings me and my hope is to bring that same love and excitement to everyone who encounters the things that I create.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I’ll try to keep this list short, honestly there are more people in my life that have been loving and supportive than I could possible begin to list or even feel that I deserve.
Going back to the early years my high school art teacher, Mrs. Haines was my biggest advocate and mentor. She had a very no nonsense attitude in the classroom and would find the best ways to encourage us to explore our artistic capacities. She’s the one who actually got me my first college interview and I would never have gone on to higher education if it hadn’t been for her encouragement and support.
The biggest mentor in my art life has been Roger Allen. He was a master potter and the founder of the Chicken Farm Art Center, he taught ceramics to all ages for years, created and built his own line of ceramic work, mentored and employed countless artists and potters, and encouraged the passion that I still hold deeply to never stop learning and growing. His tutelage and guidance during the formative years of my early career development in the art world have been invaluable and I am so very grateful for the time we had together and the lessons I learned and experienced being a part of the art community that he helped found and I look forward to continue to grow and pass on those values of sharing, passion, and love through all that I do in this life.
My partner in crime for over 17 years has been my husband, Casey, we’ve known each other for years through band in school and now live our lives together and support each other in everything that we do and love. He saw what my art meant to me when we first got together and was, and still is, my biggest supporter. What started as a joke, I called him my Muse for years, has turned into a truly dedicated statement. For every moment that I doubted my work, my skills, my passion, he has always been right by my side through it all. In my darkest moments Casey has never failed to shine a light on the path and help me find my way thought the challenges I’ve faced both personally and aesthetically for many years now and I look forward eagerly for the many years to come!
The multitude of friends and fellow artists who have supported and advocated for me on this journey is vast; Morgan & Eric Grasham, Ashley & Matt Crumley, all the amazing ceramicists and potters in the Texas clay community, and the local San Angelo art community and art supporters. They have offered their knowledge, skills, love, and compassion throughout my entire journey and I am so thankful and honored to have them all in my life and love them endlessly!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kassiedilworthart.com
- Instagram: @kassiepanda
- Facebook: @kassiedilworthart
