The Sheboygan North High Artist Lecture Series (est. 2010) is an in-school program at Sheboygan North High School. We invite local and regional visual artists to share their journey as artists with the beginning, intermediate, and advanced art classes. Visiting artists present and introduce art students to such as but not limited to: how to present a portfolio, share a body of work, facilitate an art demonstration, or talk about about their artistic journey. This provides our students the opportunity to interact with the artists. 

Due to COVID-19 we will be offering our artist lecture series as virtual artist talks for this 2020-2021 school year. 

The 2020-2021 Sheboygan North High Virtual Artist Lecture Series is supported by a grant from the Kohler Foundation, Inc. This artist talk series is in collaboration with Artdose Magazine.

Recorded 02/17/2021

In this episode, Canadian-based artist Katie Lemieux talks about her love for large-scale ceramic works, communicating through the use of texture, embracing the business side of art, and being a full-time artist after graduating from the MFA program from UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts in 2019. 

“Through my sculptural and illustrative practice, I explore visual cues of non-verbal communication and expression. I look to lure the viewer into replicating expressions or postures before them, signaling an empathetic response. I work to create an atmosphere that demands a social code switch, an altering of social behavior. In regards to materiality, the rawness of the ceramic medium allows me to reflect on the fundamentality of the process. Illustration gives me the opportunity to explore rich and complex textures in a two dimensional space, recreating depth through tonal value and shadow. The elemental qualities of clay and charcoal I find physically relevant to our own existence. Our flesh is manipulated into folds and creases as we bend and stretch. Clay has the capacity to recreate the more subtle and romantic aspects of our bodies, and empathy can be experienced through familiar, tactile traits and imagery. This is what drives my artistic practice. ” – 2020 

Katie Lemieux was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario. After receiving her HBFA at Lakehead University in Fine Art, Katie completed her Masters Degree in ceramic sculpture at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA. Her sculptures and production works encompass a variety of techniques including Mishima, Sgraffito and relief carving. She has showcased internationally in Canada, South Korea, Europe, China and USA, and has participated in residencies including Jingdezhen, Sanbao, China and a Virtual Residency in Busan, South Korea.

In addition to her art practice, Katie operates as a support worker for youth and adults with disabilities. This profession plays an integral part in her social research and art practice, as she is continually navigating non-verbal communication, social interactions and body language.  Currently Katie continues her exhibition work in her home studio and enjoys experimenting with elements of the figure, abstracted iterations of emotion and pursuing her research of communicative capacities within humans.

Artist website: www.studiolemieux.com