Katherine Rhodes Fields
2012 MA TESL, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi
2005 MFA Studio Arts, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi
1997 BA Cum Laude, Studio Arts, The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee
1996 Environmental Art, the Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow Scotland, UK
A native of Mississippi, Fields is an artist whose work cross-pollinates traditional printmaking with contemporary processes, such as photography, digital media, and installation. Her material and process choices are led by her concept, which is based on seeking empirical communication with the use of historical images and literary devices, such as metaphysical conceits and puns, within the visual realm. These devices act as the cohesive element to her image selections, installation preferences, and material choices within her work.
Beginning her career as a college educator in St. Louis, Missouri, Fields taught at Webster University, Maryville University, St. Charles Community College, East Central College and Lewis and Clark College. In 2008, Fields returned to Mississippi, where she became the Visiting Assistant Professor of Art in Printmaking at Ole Miss.
Fields accepted the position as Professor of Art and Head of Printmaking at Houston Community College, Central College in the summer of 2012 and also taught Printmaking and Design at The University of Houston, Clear Lake (UHCL) until the spring of 2017. Currently, Fields is the Division Chair of Studio Art and Art History for the Center of Excellence for the Visual and Performing Arts at Houston Community College.
Fields lives and works in Houston, Texas and served as President of PrintMatters, a Houston based Arts 501 C3 non-profit organization from 2015 until 2019 and now serves as an Advisory Board member for the organization. She participated as a Visiting Artist/Artist Resident, teaching printmaking workshops at the University of Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Belgrade, Serbia, and Universidad de Veracruzana, Facultad de Artes Plasticas, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. She was also a selected artist representing North America, USA at the 40TH Annual Artists’ Colony at Studenica, hosted by the Tourist Association of Kraljevo Serbia and invited graphic artist representing the USA at the International Artist Colony at Visegrad, Republic Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Her handmade books with prints are featured in two publications, 500 Handmade Books: Inspiring Interpretations of a Timeless Form and The Lark Studio Series: Handmade Books. Fields' work can be found in the permanent collections of the Mississippi Museum of Art, Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, Christchurch, New Zealand, Proyecto A'ace Print Collection, Buenos Aires, Argentina, University of Colorado Special Collection, Boulder, Colorado, Richard F. Brush Art Gallery, St. Lawerence University, Canton, New York, The William D. Merwin Collection of Contemporary Art, St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis Community College at Wildwood, Wildwood, Missouri, Amity Art Foundation Print Collection, Woodbridge, Connecticut, Southern Graphics Council Print Archive, and The University of the South Archives, Sewanee, Tennessee. Fields created broadside prints for the authors Jeffrey Eugenides and Adam Johnson respectively on the occasion of their visits to Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi.