Cathy Mills
Cathy was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.. She attended Louisiana State University and received a Bachelor of Science in Art Education with a Social Studies minor, taught in elementary and high schools and later earned a Master of Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Gifted Education. She has studied with artists through Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and many other workshops. Presently, Cathy teaches Middle School Art and Louisiana Studies at Episcopal School of Acadiana in Cade while creating her own work in all the “spare” moments. Her studio is in her home in Lafayette, Louisiana. She will be retiring from school May 2020 and will work full time on her artwork.
Cathy began to sell her work, which included pen and ink and watercolor paintings in small gift shops in Lafayette way back in 1978. Through the years she has sold work through Lafayette Art Association, Artists of Acadiana at Vermilionville, Barnel’s Art and Framing Gallery, Open Studio, and now at River Oaks Arts Center in Alexandria and Sans Souci Fine Arts Gallery. Her body of work has included watercolor and acrylic paintings, monoprints, and two and three-dimensional mixed media. She is proud to have had three paintings accepted into the Ogden Museum of Southern Arts Louisiana Contemporary exhibit in 2014. For the last five years clay has become her passion.
Outstretched tree branches, veins in leaves, the movement of living things, natural elements that mimic inner dimensions and meet imagination are my inspiration. These include my newest passion representing birds in clay – playful, animated, expressive birds. They represent the very pulsing beat of life for me. These appear in my work as symbols of exploration and growth, telling my stories and allowing viewers to connect their own stories, and hopefully make people laugh with delight.
