OUR DESIGNER

Kate Kennedy is the visual artist responsible for The Jaded Palette.™ She explains the impetus behind her jewelry line as follows.

For many years I took master classes with Knox Martin at the Art Students League of New York, painting mostly in acrylics. At the end of the day, we would gather around these big utility sinks to wash our brushes and palettes, and people were forever saying, "your palette's so beautiful, it's a shame to throw that paint out." I agreed it was wasteful, so I decided I would let the paint harden, then scrape my palette. I had no idea what I would use these rubbery dried acrylic paints for, but an artist friend, Sabine, said casually, "make jewelry out of them."

It was pure coincidence that over the years I had collected a few beads here and there (turned out to be quite a few) as I travelled around the world both for work and for pleasure. There was a small horde of fine silver from Thailand I'd bought near Chang Mai, jade from Hong Kong, handfuls of old glass beauties from Paris, antique cloisonne from China, gold leaf beads from Japan, vintage Murano from Venice, copal from Morocco, sleeping beauties from Arizona, batik from East Africa, Bali silver from Indonesia, and Kiffa from Ghana. On a trip to Kenya, I stumbled on one of the earliest fair trade cooperatives, and came home with some now-famous Kazuri beads. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                        

I never had any intention of making jewelry; I just liked the look and feel of the beads, sort of like a child in love with a jar of marbles. But over time it became a natural extension of my painting—art to wear. I also adopted the practice of using recycled, salvaged materials for mixed media paintings, sculpture and assemblages, as well as my own home decor. These threads are now interwoven in my daily life and creative process.

 

                         

For more on Kate's artwork, go to www.katekennedyarts.com.