Vol. 6 Presenter: Kat Kinnick
Presenting
Roots of the Desert
Summary
The gnarly twisted roots of the New Mexico desert are exquisitely expressive. The climate and extremes of our desert have shaped its roots into dramatic twists and turns. I’d like to think that the conditions of our environment, likewise shape our roots. The word “roots” leads to thoughts of trails and pathways. As a visual artist, I gravitate towards understanding through my senses, especially through sight. To look at the shape of roots is to understand them better. Why do they resemble veins, neural pathways and ant tunnels? To me, they’re poetically connected. Why is it that we use this part of nature to describe the origins and history of a movement and process, like cultural and musical roots? Roots express hidden connections, reflective of their environment which support and sustain life.
Bio
Kat Kinnick mostly works as a painter/illustrator, printmaker and ceramicist. Born in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico, her parents, both having backgrounds in craft & design, ran their own business restoring and appraising Navajo rugs. She received a BFA in Interdisciplinary Sculpture with a concentration in Sustainability & Social Practice at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore in 2015, and currently lives near Lone Butte & the Cerrillos Mountains, south of Santa Fe