Katie Mae Adams

I began my journey as an artist drawing the animals on the family farm. It wasn’t until college that I found and fell in love with woodworking. In sculpture, I found a way to bring my drawings and illustrations to life. I became fascinated with materials, and through the course of my undergraduate and graduate studies, I developed them into a color palette. I learned to multi-axis woodturn, to cast metal and glass, and to work with additive processes like sculptable epoxies and welding. Each material is selected based on its unique characteristics, color, or texture, that will best enhance the narrative or aesthetic of the piece.

Early in my professional education, I discovered the woodworking community, and while I explored new mediums and methods, wood has always been the foundation I return to. As a young artist, I sought to balance the sometimes-contradictory advice of academic critiques with craftsmen’s practical experience, and more important, to develop my own voice as a melding of the two. I have further refined my voice through national exhibitions, teaching, and public art works. My largest public artwork to date is a life-size bronze statue titled Roscoe and Trouper, located at Northeast Alabama Community College in Rainsville Alabama.

Combining functional work with my animal sculptural pieces, I am currently exploring multifunctional jewelry that is comprised of pieces that can be both worn and exhibited as fine art. In creating art pieces that are meant to be worn as well as displayed, an emphasis is placed on range of motion and versatility as well as aesthetic appeal.

In 2021 I made the decision to transition into commercial woodworking. Creating custom millwork in a manufacturing setting, I have honed my finishing skills, learned drying specifications, and developed my ability to create unique and replicable designs that meet building specifications. Using the knowledge I have gained from academia, craft, and commercial woodworking, I established my own small woodworking business (KMA Studio LLC) in 2022 with a focus on functional objects and sculpture. I am currently living and working in Alabama with my dog Berkeley, and my horse Jag.