So just this afternoon I’m drinking my coffee, you know, trying to find something actually interesting instead of the usual celebrity gossip or political nonsense. Kinda clicked around randomly at first.
Then wham, stumbled across this name – Katie Mares. Never heard of her before. Total blank slate in my head. Felt a little clueless, honestly. The title promised “cool facts,” so I figured, why not? Clicked on it.
Started basic, obviously. Just typed her name into the search bar.
- “Katie Mares artist?”
- “Katie Mares who?”
- “Who is Katie Mares?”
Links started popping up. Mostly pottery sites and art blogs. Okay, okay, getting warmer. She makes stuff. Like, physical stuff. Not just another influencer. Good.
Digging Deeper
Started opening tabs, probably ten of them at one point, getting lost in the process. Found her own website – looked handmade, felt genuine. Started reading about her background.
- Fact #1 hit me first: She was born in Chicago, grew up surrounded by cornfields. Not your typical “born in an artist’s loft” story. Grew up rural.
- Kept scrolling, found pictures of her work. Wow. Functional pottery, sure, like cups and plates. But wild shapes, textures like crazy. Fact #2: She literally stamps words and quotes INTO the wet clay before firing it. Like embedding stories right into the mug you drink from.
That really blew my mind. It’s not just decoration slapped on top; it’s part of the pot itself.
The Clay Journey
Got curious about her clay. More searching. Turns out she’s big on this stuff called Terra Sigillata. Sounds fancy, right? But her explanation? Simple and messy. It’s basically an ultra-fine clay slip made by letting coarser particles sink. Fact #3: She uses it to paint smooth layers on her textured pieces. Creates this amazing contrast – rough textures underneath these smooth, almost liquid-looking colors.
Clicked through to articles and interviews. Found Fact #4: Her pottery journey started totally unplanned. Just took a community class! Went from hobby night to full-blown pottery obsession.
The “Ah-Ha” Moment
Kept digging. Came across her talking about making cups for people she knows. This quote stuck: “Cups I give to people always have hidden text; a secret to discover while you drink.” Fact #5 (and my favorite): She hides secret text inside the rims or on the bases of mugs! Only the person using it discovers it.
How cool is that? Drinking your morning coffee and suddenly finding a message baked into your cup!
Wrapped it up by checking out different galleries. Saw she sells online, teaches workshops occasionally. Seems to genuinely love the process, the feel of clay, turning dirt into something meaningful. It was a satisfying little internet adventure, stumbling across a real artist doing something unique. Definitely learned some unexpected, cool things today.
