Catherine Schwalbe

Catherine Schwalbe
www.CatherineSchwalbe.com

Born and raised Cedarburg, Wisconsin in a 150 yr old+stone house. Schwalbe came from a family of 9 children and calls Chicago home for 40 years. Schwalbe completed a BFA with a sculpture concentration at UW Milwaukee in 1983. Took additional classes at Artist Bookworks, Columbia College for the Book and Paper Arts, Lillstreet Art Center, and Chicago Industrial Arts and Design Center, and Aurora University. As with some, Schwalbe has been shifting her life and reorganizing priorities in a post(ish) pandemic world by putting both feet into her art practice. Schwalbe is a maker of objects and creator of experiences that may include mixed media, sculpture, found objects, bronze & iron, installation, site-specific works, and relational works, all centered around issues and aesthetics related to food systems, water, agriculture, fostering peace, connection, and understanding while being human. Her ongoing Social Practice works, especially Before and After: Mending a life after a pandemic or some other catastrophic event in your life, were born out of her group work as a recreation therapist in long term care. Haptic Studio and Residency is where more mixed media works are made and where she houses an urban residency. She was also a long time studio member and instructor at Lillstreet Art Center and recently moved her clay centric space to Ripple Studios. She teaches a class in the Summer at Lillstreet called The Art of Food – the class evolves every year based on a theme related to food, art, and connection. Schwalbe adheres to the Fluxus philosophy:

“The distinction between Art and Life is irrelevant.”