Kathy Sins started making art in high school, and has never stopped. Back in high school in 1968 in Rome, New York, Sins was primarily into drawing. But by the time she graduated from Syracuse University, she had explored many other mediums, including sculpture. She obtained her first degree, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture, and her second degree, a Masters in Art Education, from Rochester Institute of Technology. A mistake in a housing assignment left Kathy living in the all-deaf dormitory at RIT, where the National Technical Institute for the Deaf is also located. The added bonus was learning sign language from neighbors while getting her Master’s degree.
From Rochester she went to teach art for 5 years at the New York State School for the Deaf in Rome, New York. Then it was on to New York City where she stayed for ten years, relishing the atmosphere, the culture, the company of other artists and the exposure to many different mediums and techniques. She obtained another Master’s degree in fine art — in sculpture and drawing — from the prestigious Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. All the while, she was teaching art part-time, while many of her artist friends waited tables and did other odd jobs to make ends meet.
One of the most interesting things about Sins’ career is that when she eventually made her way to Phoenix, the first teaching position she got here was teaching art at the Phoenix Day School for the Deaf High School. After 5 years at PDSD, Kathy moved on to teach for the Phoenix Union High School District. While teaching art at Trevor Browne High School, she was reassigned to teach ceramics after a colleague retired. From the minute she put her hands in clay because of her new assignment, she fell in love with it. Sins currently teaches ceramics at Glendale Community College. She had hoped to spend part of the 4pm – 7pm open lab time doing some of her own pieces before classes began from 7pm – 10pm, but that really “never happens,” because someone always needs her help with their art projects.
Which brings us up to date on the subject at hand – her gorgeous solar panels on her beautiful new art studio, which is almost finished.
