About

Kate Crankshaw is a Philadelphia-based glass artist whose work explores memory, longing, and relationships through material fragility. She is skilled across a wide range of glass processes, including hotshop, kiln casting, and stained glass, with an artistic practice rooted in flameworking. In addition to her studio practice, Kate fabricates glass work for designers and artists, and creates functional objects including jewelry and home décor. She is currently the Director of The Stained Glass Project: Windows That Open Doors, a nonprofit after-school program serving Philadelphia public high school students and previously held the position of Assistant Gallery Director & Graphic Designer at Gravers Lane Gallery. Kate holds a BFA in Craft + Material Studies with a focus in glass from the University of the Arts (2019) and an MFA in Craft/Material Studies with a focus in glass from Virginia Commonwealth University (2023).

Artist Statement

My work explores themes of memory, relationships, loss, grief, and longing. I grew up living in constant transience, attempting to avoid formal foster care placement. Coming into adulthood made me question my upbringing and it’s effect on my adult persona.          

My work utilizes glass to evoke the fragile nature of stability and the ghost-like quality of memory. I am interested in the dichotomy of having the desire for the stability that I lacked growing up, while simultaneously seeking out the continuation of the uncertainty that became so familiar. Trauma can affect the brain by leaving a haze over your past, leaving holes in what you remember. This process has empowered me to take back an element of control by processing my memories, and therefore, gaining a better understanding of myself. Through the repetitive process of making glass, my body is able to relax into a meditative state, allowing my mind to process grief and trauma. By finding peace in my past, I am able to achieve ataraxia and move forward.