Kim Whitt

Kim Whitt has had a lifetime of involvement in the arts. From student, to teacher, to administrator, she has been a student of and practicing artist in dance, fiber/textiles and painting.

Whitt is a fiber artist and painter, holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and dance from The University of Southern Mississippi with graduate studies in Process Pedagogy, and is certified to teach K-12 in visual and performing arts. Kim taught creative movement, visual art and drama for 10 years, is a past Fellow member of the Mississippi Craftsman’s Guild and has taught weaving to all age levels, beginner to advanced.

Currently, Kim is focusing her artistic talents on abstract landscape painting in oil expressing an intuitive sense of place through the use of color, line and shape. Inspired by the works of Wolfe Kahn, Mark Rothko, and Color Field painting, Whitt adds the element of intersecting line, reminiscent of the weavings she’s done for over 30 years. Details are left to the viewer, completing their own personal connection to place.

“My hope is that when the viewer stops for a moment at a painting or views it from a distance, stillness and harmony speak to the stillness within.” Some are provocative, metaphysical landscapes meant to bring you in. The color, the light and the texture are used to reveal a unique quality and feeling of a place. The more abstract work seeks to explore color and texture...I have always been comforted by nature and feel a deep connection to the elements. My studio was rebuilt after Katrina using only wood from the trees that were lost and milled on site after the storm. They speak to me while I work. I am also very inspired by the environment around me.”

Ms. Whitt is retired from serving as the Arts Education Director for the Mississippi Arts Commission for eight years where she administered grants and provided technical assistance to schools, individual artists, teaching artists and organizations throughout the state. She oversaw the Teaching Artist Roster and the Visual Artists and Craftsmen programming for MAC in addition to developing arts education programming and initiatives. She and her husband John, a stained glass artist of over 30 years, have Sweetwater Studios, Inc. in Moselle, Mississippi.