Artist Bio
Carrie Kersey was born in Scottsdale, Arizona and was fortunate to have an artist path laid out before her. Her father, a geologist, was also a woodworker and instilled not only his work ethic in her but a love for natural beauty. At a young age, she would assist her father while he worked on various wood projects or would accompany him at geological dig sites. It was at these dig sites where Carrie got her first taste of clay, the sensation of the clay between her fingers and toes would be recreated later in her life as she came to focus in her ceramic art career. Carrie’s mother and her grandfather, a commercial machine upholsterer, taught Carrie how to sew and stitch, while drawing was introduced by her grandmother. Porcelain, the core component in Carrie’s work, captivated her interests at a young age. Her Aunt Dee was a porcelain doll maker and gave Carrie her very first electric kiln. These elements combined with her upbringing with a desert for a backyard and her father’s woodshop as a playground, exposed Carrie to the art and the beauty of nature at a young age. Yet, despite all of these factors in favor of the artist’s life, Carrie did not immediately embrace the arts.
While attending Horizon High School, Carrie’s main focus was science. She only attended one art class because it was required. In high school her science classes were fun and seemed easy to her, mixing chemicals gave her a feeling of satisfaction and led Carrie to major in biochemistry. At Arizona State, Carrie, continued this pursuit in biochemistry, taking a drawing class for fun. But she could not deny her creative habits. Instead of making the structured molecules in her chemistry lab, she used the equipment to create miniature sculptures. This led to her changing majors, from Biochemistry to Art; a drastic change, yet one that seemed appropriate. Carrie received her BFA in Drawing and Ceramics from Arizona State and an MFA in Ceramics at the University of North Texas.
