"My love affair with form is evident in all of my work. This passion was appreciated throughout school eventually earning me artistic merit scholarships as well as academic grants from the University of Hartford Art School in West Hartford, Connecticut. There I received my fine arts degree in studio art concentrating in sculpture and printmaking. Since then I have worked as a monumental mold maker for Lands End Sculpture Center, a public school art teacher and started my own studio, Zimmerman Fine Art Studio, during the five years I resided overseas in China. I have been juried into the membership of both the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts and Connecticut Women Artists organizations and recently juried into membership into the National Association of Women Artists in NYC. I have had solo exhibitions at the University of Connecticut's Alexey von Schlippe Gallery, Kehler Liddell Gallery and at the Nash-Zimmer Transportation Center, which was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, State of Connecticut's Office of the Arts and Windham Arts. My work has been juried into international, national and regional group exhibitions and I have won awards at the New Britain Museum of American Art, Mystic Museum of Art, University of Connecticut and Guilford Art Center exhibitions." “At the beginning of my career, I received a public commission for a life-sized cast bronze sculpture, titled Melody, that was placed in the renowned Benson Park Sculpture Garden in Loveland, Colorado. Today I am collaborating with Modern Multiples in Los Angeles, California, creating a full range of serigraphs from my graphite drawings. Last year I was chosen as one of thirty-two artists from across the nation thought to lead the way in this new millennium in an exhibit titled: Taos Art Insurgency: The New Protagonists. This visionary exhibition was located in Taos, New Mexico, a major artist’s colony that has been at the forefront of most of the major modern art movements initiated within the last 120 years.” “My art is the way I explore ideas concerning relationships, stages of life and culture. It is a meditative practice of sorts that helps me stop and think about the issues of our time. As I work I find layers of meaning both intentional and unintentional, become apparent filling me with delight and wonder. I create my work in series’ so I can fully investigate each subject. The size of the series is determined by what I need to think through and what holds my interest. Over the years I have developed a personal visual language that uses symbolism and surrealism to transform my subject matter into archetypal images giving my work a mythical quality filled with layers of meaning." “While I use a variety of materials, the ideas are the driving force behind these visual statements not the materials. That is one reason why I use graphite, clay and wood in creating the originals. They are all very expressive without taking over. When working two-dimensionally, I begin with graphite because there's an intimacy about a hand-drawn image, which I love … whatever I put down on the paper is what I get. It is a real joy in being able to capture the creative act so purely. Julia Pavone, curator for the Alexey von Schlippe Gallery, described my drawings as follows, 'Kathleen's intricate, delicately layered graphite drawings each appear to come together to form the complex entity. As with life, each lovely drawing is made up of so many ethereal textures, shades and shapes that you want to look at more deeply to experience the emotions visually laid out before you.' Thank you, Julia. I use these drawings as the basis for my print work, which is currently digital and serigraphic. The nice thing about printmaking is I can add contrast, color and sometimes texture, depending on the type of printmaking method, while still retaining the essence of the drawings. I don't want my drawings to become painitngs or to rely on 'happy accidents' to make them interesting, thus I use technology in an intentional manner to enhance the original thought not to get away from it. When working three-dimensionally, I begin in clay or wood, both materials that are very user friendly. Clay lets me form organic shapes that are wonderful to touch while wood lets me construct simple shapes or more complex elements to compliment and finish the statements. I then cast and fabricate these elements into more permanent materials, such as bronze or stone. I do this because all my sculptures are envisioned as life-sized or large scale work to become part of the landscape or creating a landscape indoors. I often incorporate water as an essential material to complete the visual statement adding movement and life." “The historically important artists I most admire are; Kathe Kollwitz, a German Expressionistic printmaker, Remedios Varo, a Mexican Surrealistic painter, Georgia O'Keeffe, an American Modern painter, Paul Gauguin, a French Post Impressionist painter and Brancusi, a Romanian Minimalist sculptor. All of these very different artists have inspired me to create my own visual language, which is accessible to others, while remaining intimately personal. Today I find inspiration wherever I happen to be. Whether it is here in the states, or when I lived in China, or traveling in other countries; I find if I remain open to my surroundings there is ample material to insight profound thought, which leads me to creation. One of my favorite professors told me, 'Everyone is influenced by everything they see, read or hear so choose your influences wisely'. Thanks, Dr. Orman. While some things may influence us more, basically I think he was right." Kathleen Zimmerman