South Carolina’s Katie Kameen takes secondhand objects, like plastic plates and children’s toys, and playfully reinvents them as wearable sculptures.
Artist: The Illinois native was born and grew up in Peoria. She earned a BFA in 3-D studio art at Eastern Illinois University (EIU) and her MFA in metalsmithing and jewelry design from Indiana University (IU).
In 2018, she moved to Aiken, SC, to work as an art educator at the University of South Carolina Aiken.
In addition to creating art in her home studio in Aiken, Kameen also works as an assistant professor of 3D studio art at Augusta University in Augusta, GA, where she also has studio space.
In the beginning: In high school, she took art each semester and continued to focus on art in college. It wasn’t until Kameen took a metalsmithing class, where she was encouraged to use alternative materials and found objects that she knew what she wanted to do.
After college, she experimented with different scales and types of sculpture.
Art & materials: Secondhand and post-consumer plastic objects to create wearable sculptures.
The artist finds materials at thrift stores, garage sales and though donations. She stores objects in her studio in various sized bins and drawers (also thrifted).
If Kameen doesn’t have a specific shape in the color she wants, she has been experimenting with 3D printed forms based on found objects using filaments.
To keep it as sustainable as possible, she uses Beyond Plastic filament, which is a fully compostable bio-polymer, and ReFlow filament made from recycled food containers.
What’s popular:
- Earrings and small brooches ($80 to $200).
- Larger lightweight brooches ($250 to $500).
- Necklaces ($300 to $600).
Favorite tools: Flex shaft, drill bits, jewelers saw, tiny tweezers, calipers and tape.
Process:
- Collecting materials and the time it takes to amass a certain amount of yellow cups, for example.
- Organizing materials based on size, type of object, and color.
“I have a wonderful old set of library card drawers that I’ve color coded,” she said. “I can pull out a drawer, set it on my bench, and work straight from that collection.”
- Using her jewelers saw to cut apart and recompose objects into playful abstractions that speak about home life, social expectations, and interpersonal relationships.
- Isolating the formal qualities of these mass-produced objects from their original functions by focusing on color and composition.
- Once the sculpture is composed, she stitches the forms together with reused plastic thread salvaged from vintage lawn chairs.
Inspirations: Many, including:
- Painters: Frank Stella and Hilma af Klint.
- Art jewelers: Helen Britton, Robert Ebendorf and Denise Julia Reytan.
- Mid-century modern: Anything and everything.
- Contemporary art: Jessica Stockholder, Judy Pfaff, Tara Donovan, Nick Cave and any artist who uses found objects or alternative materials.
Recent project & award: Received the South Carolina Arts Commission FY24 Arts Project Support Grant, to create a series of works that include sustainable 3D printed elements.
Kemeen created a series of 10 new pieces that incorporate recycled filament and an ecofriendly biopolymer.
See the new work in her solo exhibition “Reflections” at The Silver Fern’s Fiddlehead Gallery in Cookeville, TN. Through Aug. 31.
What’s next:
- “Art of the South” exhibition at Stove Works gallery in Chattanooga, TN. Aug. 16-Sept. 28.
- FORM + SPACE 2024 International Juried Exhibition, Museum of Art, DeLand, FL. Oct. 4-Dec. 29.
Where to buy: Message the artist on Instagram or through her website: katiekameen.com
Get social: Instagram: @katiekameen
