Kate Berry Brown was born in 1978 and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. Her current body of work consists of meticulously carved wood and paper sculptures, which evolved from abstract ink drawings on cut paper and the desire to give them dimensionality. The artist’s woodworking journey began four years ago on a tiny island off the coast of Massachusetts where she lived surrounded by vast skies and miles of ocean for several months.

“On the beach I love to watch the ocean waves rhythmically bring in and carry away stones and shells. If you can’t catch them fast enough, back out to see everything goes. Each rock has been through years of churning, breaking, and reforming deep below the surface of the water. I can’t help but feel this journey is a metaphor for life, all this cracking and reshaping. My wood and paper wall sculptures are tokens of this fragility and strength, symbols of impermanent but infinite beauty.

Though I attribute so much of my inspiration to the ocean, I can’t claim it as my own per se. I grew up and still today live next to Lake Michigan, outside of Chicago. Lake Michigan is unlike the ocean with its tides and majestic creatures, but it is a grand body of water and its own right. Walks and drives along the lake growing up taught me about and instilled a need for breathing room. So today I chase space – a moment of clarity or a deep breath – and I want to harness that in my work.“