Kate Elkins is a visual artist whose work explores memory, identity, and the quiet power of everyday symbols. Drawing on her rural Michigan upbringing and a lifelong connection to the land, Kate creates charcoal drawings and mixed media works that investigate how personal history, environment, and tradition shape who we are.

Her recent charcoal series examines the psychological weight of uniforms. Large-scale drawings depict family members and close friends in garments that reflect personal transformation; moments when the act of putting something on becomes a redefinition of self. Kate uses drawing as a way to honor the evolving roles we occupy and how we are seen by others.

In a separate body of work rooted in environmental awareness and spiritual reflection, Kate merges printmaking and drawing to create a new kind of botanical illustration. Prompted by the loss of family members to cancer and a desire to reconnect with the values of self-sufficiency, this series contrasts local, sustainable food sources with the environmental consequences of industrial agriculture. Her use of plexiglass, recycled paper, ink, and layered charcoal invites viewers to consider how generational knowledge of food, health, and land has been lost, and what might be regained through awareness and reconnection.

Kate received her BFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design and her MA in Art Education from the Corcoran College of Art. She is Chair of the Visual Arts Department at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Virginia, where she teaches 2D visual arts and champions a curriculum that encourages voice, inquiry, and thoughtful risk-taking.

Kate works out of a studio designed by her husband, an architect, in the heart of Old Town Alexandria. When she’s not drawing or teaching, she’s often seeing live music, visiting galleries, tending bees, or sketching roadside scenes on family trips. Her life and art are deeply interwoven, centered around creativity, curiosity, and community.