Kathy P. Thompson, Ozark Art-House, Fayetteville, Arkansas

Kathy P. Thompson is probably the original “constant gatherer” that I had the good fortune of calling my friend. Kathy has been collecting, assembling, and treasuring the visually interesting and meaningful minutia of her life from the time she was a small girl exploring the neighborhood and woods of El Dorado, Arkansas. Kathy has worked for over thirty years as a ceramic artist, painter, interior designer and teacher from her studio located just off the bustling downtown Fayetteville square. As a citizen and member of the Fayetteville Arts Council, Kathy has been integral in shaping a more artful environment and support system for the arts as the area has grown and evolved. Her art and design work can be found in the Fayetteville Public Library, fine restaurants, cafes, homes, and businesses all around Northwest Arkansas, Little Rock, and worldwide. I met Kathy when I was just out of high school and trying to decide what path to take…I was leaning toward theater but when that didn’t work out so well I came home to Fayetteville and found solace and inspiration in the work and the lifestyle Kathy had created. It was an artful life…the elements in her home, work, and lifestyle were each as carefully considered as the other. I’m not sure if she realizes how much those years I spent close to her in college helped shape my life- but she inspired me to find my own path to living a more artful life. Thank you, Kathy!

Kathy’s home was once a one room cabin built on a what was a large working farm on the southside of Mt. Sequoyah near downtown, Fayetteville. It has been remodeled and now comfortably houses Kathy, her two dogs, Nancy the cat, and frequent visits from friends, son Quin, daughter-in-law Mary Thompson and young grandson, Milo. She had custom shelves built along the living room wall to house her growing collection of books, found and family treasures. The table was assembled from Ikea. The paintings next to the table are two from Kathy’s self-portrait series. The vintage chair is a favorite flea-market find reupholstered in green Maharam fabric by friend and designer, Joseph Brajcki.

Kathy redesigned the kitchen to fit her lifestyle with the help of her friend, Fayetteville Architect, Jill Anthes. They used Ikea components for the cabinets and had a butcher block counter custom made to fit the layout. The handy recycling bags are from Design Within Reach. Kathy found the striped rug on sale at the The Conran Shop.

The kitchen counter always holds an interesting mix of seasonal produce from local and organic farmers. Kathy keeps a compost bucket from Dinosaur Designs handy to collect organic waste for later use in her own garden.

A favorite spot in Kathy’s open floor plan is a cozy corner anchored by a Paola Lenti sofa purchased from its first owner at an incredible bargain. The pillows around her house are a mix of those made with fabrics left over from past design projects and those from Kathy’s own previous home accessories collections. The painting is a self-portrait by Kathy and the charcoal drawing is by Keith Miller. Both lamps are from Design Within Reach.

Kathy’s home interior landscape also constantly evolves with the seasons. She often re-arranges her furniture and found treasures into beautiful still lives of her life that are a reminder of the things, people and places she holds dear. The antique black box is from a fantastic furniture and accessories shop located below Kathy’s studio- called Window Shop Vintage.

A row of works on paper are in progress in Kathy’s downtown studio. She works in series of multiples that are mostly interpretations of ideas she’s working out in her personal life. Her work resides in many prolific Arkansas collections- the list reading Tyson, Hunt, Clinton, and Donald Roller Wilson. She has also been featured at the The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., and as far away as the Seibu Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan. Several of her large paintings were commissioned to decorate the “White House” for the 1995 film, Nixon. Most recently she completed a residency in collaboration with Winifred Ross Riley at Lamar Advertising Company- utilizing their screen printing machines usually reserved for creating their large scale outdoor advertising. View the results of that work here and Reilly’s here.

A prototype art assemblage box for Kathy’s next project, Hboxes-or History Boxes-coming soon! Hboxes are custom made assemblages that incorporate the personal heirlooms and treasured objects of those who want to commission Kathy to create a personalized art box to preserve thier own memories.(Check back at The Constant Gatherer for updates and the website) Kathy’s art boxes can also be found at Bordino’s Italian Resturant online here…she also was in charge of design for the entire location.

Thanks again, Kathy!
xo, Katie
The Constant Gatherer

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