Throughout her formative years, Kathleen Wall considered Pueblo Pottery a basic ingredient in her life. As a young woman she looked on as her grandparents, mother and aunts all made pueblo pottery, and Kathleen followed in their footsteps.

A teenager with strong ambition, Wall tried selling her pottery for money with favorable results. While Kathleen began her artistic journey making storytellers, she knew all along in her heart that she was destined to transcend the traditional art that she was taught. During her late teens, Wall’s works began to take on more figurative qualities. The artist contends that she was “a young girl in the midst of something I had a passion for.” The ambination of studies in her chosen discipline and having the opportunity to attend professional art shows opened her eyes to the diverse creativity of contemporary Native art.

Upon graduating from IAIA, Wall submitted her first application to the SWAIA Indian Market. The excitement of being accepted was compounded by the fact that she, to her astonishment and delight, also received her first blue ribbon.

Kathleen Wall became a respected installation artist in 2009. Reverence for her work is evidenced by the overwhelming response to her first solo show “Celebrating Native Legacies: Works in Clay by Kathleen Wall of Jemez Pueblo” at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The exhibit incorporated multimedia elements to tell two stories—the traditional and the contemporary. Wall’s installation art has added a new dimension and depth to her career, permitting her to explore in different art media and allowing her creativity to be challenged and soar.

“The Native cultures of my family and friends have been my inspiration for years, and I continue to draw on their strengths and their surroundings for my creativity.”