Glass artist hits her stride at 65; see her work and others’ this weekend at Lawrence ArtWalk

photo by: Ashley Golledge

Kathi Fair is pictured in her home on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019. Fair is a self-taught artist who has been making glass art for more than 10 years.

Kathi Fair never thought of herself as artistic, partly because she was never encouraged as a young person to do so. But now she knows better.

“You can escape what people tell you,” she said of her artistic “awakening” in her mid-50s.

That’s when, after working as an auctioneer and raising six kids with her husband, Bill Fair, she walked into a friend’s ceramic studio with the hankering to try something creative. Her friend obliged her by teaching her some basics of working with clay. Problem was, the friend “was military” and “extremely particular.” Seeking a break from the discipline, Kathi took a stroll around the studio and saw something that caught her eye.

“What is this glass stuff?” she asked her friend.

“That’s from when I used to have a glass studio,” the friend replied.

“Oh well,” Kathi said, gazing upon the glimmering assortment of glass, “I’d like to do that.”

And she’s been doing it since.

Glass art by Kathi Fair

photo by: Ashley Golledge

Glass art by Kathi Fair is displayed in her home on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019.

She started off with a small pencil-sized glass cutter to make her fused-glass creations. After about a year, she invited another friend to come over and work with her. That friend whipped out a revelation: a glass saw, which Kathi described as a jigsaw with a diamond blade. Goodbye, tiny glass cutter.

“After I got the glass saw I took off,” Kathi said.

Now 65, Kathi has produced hundreds of fused-glass creations in her kiln and is having her first show as part of the 24th annual Lawrence ArtWalk, which is billed as an opportunity for Douglas County artists to exhibit and sell their creations in their own homes and studios.

Glass art by Kathi Fair

photo by: Ashley Golledge

“Concern” by Kathi Fair is displayed in her home on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019.

Kathi’s home, at 478 North 1950 Road in Lecompton, will be open to the public, at no charge, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6. Also on Sunday, from 10 to noon, visitors are welcome to wander around the 160 acres that Kathi and her husband are restoring to a native prairie state. She sees little distinction, she said, between the art of the natural world and the art on display in her home — an assortment of spiritually inspired animals, faces, abstractions, bowls and wall hangings.

“They’re all unique,” she said, noting that she doesn’t make the same thing twice.

The theme of her show is “Life is but a Dream,” reflecting her notion that “you can re-create yourself repeatedly.”

Kathi’s show is one of more than two dozen on the Lawrence ArtWalk, which features paintings, drawings, photographs, jewelry, ceramics, mixed media, wood work and other creations. A copy of the artists’ biographical statements and a map showing all of the ArtWalk venues can be found at lawrenceartwalk.org.

Saturday and Sunday are the official ArtWalk dates, although some artists, according to the ArtWalk website, will start their shows on Friday.

Glass art by Kathi Fair

photo by: Ashley Golledge

Glass art by Kathi Fair is displayed in her home on Tuesday, October 8, 2019. Fair is a self-taught artist that has been making glass art for more than 10 years.

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