Dana here to introduce Katie Peck, the second artist in our Open Studios Series.
Katie Peck was born in San Jose, CA where she grew her strong connection to bodies of water. She received her BFA in Art from Chapman University located in Orange County, CA with a minor in education studies. She is a current member of the Black Sheep Handweavers guild in Mountain View, CA where she is developing her knowledge of weaving on her four shaft floor loom gifted to her from her aunt.
Her most recent work is focused on comparing the description of the landscape of her family’s past with the climate crisis we face today. She works to process what it means to find the beauty in nature even with signs of humans impact. Drawing on collective memory through nostalgic material choices, such as carpet, woven cloths, and trash polluting natural spaces, Peck works to give a voice to the places that these materials are impacting. Not only is she sourcing subject matter from her own past and present to highlight humans impact on our natural world her work engages with local scientists and activists to gain objective information to define the limitations of her reality.
In 2017 received she was awarded the Summer Undergrad Research Fellowship from Chapman University where she created an 8ft installation from marine pollution collected from the local beached of the University. Displayed for the International Beach Cleanup Day it received great media coverage. From there she curated an international art show, Matters of the Ocean, for the 6th International Marine Debris Conference put on by EU Environment and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association. Her work continues to focus on plastic pollution and consumption and protecting local waterways within her hometown.
Katie recently got accepted into Maryland Institute of Contemporary Art's MFA Program. Check out Katie's website here and connect with her on instagram here. If you want to check out her schedule for Open Studios you can see that here
