Kim began her art career as a painter in acrylics in the late 1980's but quickly moved to sculpture. She has been sculpting since then in a wide variety of media and sizes ranging from 22' wide fiberglass dragons to fired clay figuratives to architectural ceramic pieces. Primarily self-taught (that is, learning every inch of the path the hard way,) Kim has in recent years moved away from her special effects/fantasy based mold-making work to focus intensely on one-of-a-kind fine art sculptures. These range from beautiful Art Nouveau inspired figurative plaques to busts and portraits. Her current interest is in large-scale fireplace surrounds and other architecturally related pieces.
Since October 2004 Kim has been sculpting with another Seattle artist and former student Gregory Fields. They work together on many of the larger projects, in which the sharing of ideas (and muscles) really helps. You can visit his website here.
"Why do I like ceramics? In a world of uniform commercially available products I still love the old world craftsmanship, the hand built, one of kind pieces. There is a joy in creating a sculpture that is not intended for reproduction. You are liberated from the constraints of "that will be to hard to copy" and "we must make that figure more cost effective." When making original ceramics, the only imperative is to make it beautiful. Classical. To add all the subtle touches and embellishments that will elevate it above the ordinary. It is easy to take a lot of pride in such works. I particularly love the turn of the century work, Art Nouveau, Artist and Craftsman, Alphonse Mucha. The work is so textural. It is not smooth and uniform. It delights in the representation of wood and stone, softly draping fabric and wisps of hair. The surfaces are alive with variety and interest. And each one is different, personal."