Biography

Hoosier artist, Kathy Stieglitz Rinearson, grew up in Wabash County, Indiana.  From the time she was a child, she knew that she would be a teacher and an artist.  Her aunt and parents were a source of encouragement and support in all of her endeavors as a child and a teenager.  Kathy’s high school art teacher saw creative potential in Kathy that inspired her to set goals and work toward them. During her high school years, Kathy entered various art contests. The first art contest that she entered was the Nappanee Art Fair. As a sophomore, Kathy won the Best of Show award. Her winning piece was a chalk pastel portrait of an elderly Vietnamese man.  Kathy went on to win other local art contests during her high school career.

Kathy’s love of teaching lead her to earn her Art Education degree at Manchester College, a liberal arts college in northern Indiana.  During her work toward this degree, she married her love, Don Rinearson.   She taught for three years before their daughter, Abigail was born.  Soon after the birth of Abigail, Kathy earned her Masters in Art Education degree.  Kathy has taught elementary art for many years for Manchester Community Schools.  She also has taught for the Visual and Performing Arts Co-op of Wabash County.  Through this program, she has touched the lives of many very talented young art students.  During this tenure of teaching, Kathy and Don had a son, Rudin.   Kathy has earned recognition for her professional standing in Who’s Who in American Education journal. She has written and published several educational articles in local publications.  Kathy has authored many elementary art and gifted and talented art curriculums during her teaching career.  Kathy continues to work towards professional development, serving on many professional organizations locally and statewide.  She belongs to Indiana State Teachers Association, National Education Association, FAME, Wabash County Visual and Performing Arts Co-op and the El Paseo Art Foundation.

Kathy has only painted professionally for less than five years.  She studied with known western artist, Robert Hudson.  She has taken workshops with watercolorist Henry Bell. Kathy has worked with many artists throughout her teaching career.  These experiences helped create a security that gave Kathy confidence to exhibit her work.  Kathy has won many awards for her simplistic oil paintings and her intricate detailed watercolor paintings.  She has won awards exhibiting her work in shows sponsored by the Wabash Art Guild, Lakeland Art Association and Heartland Artists, Inc. Her work hangs in private collections throughout many states.

Recently, Kathy earned the honor of being “Artist in Residence” for the Convention Centre of South Padre Island, TX.  Several of her paintings hang in the main office area of the Centre.  These pieces exhibit her intricately bordered watercolor paintings of sea turtles and brown pelicans.  Sea turtles, pelicans and island fare are familiar themes used in many of Kathy’s water color paintings.  Abstract floral, usually succulents found in the tropical environment of the island are subjects in Kathy’s oil paintings.  Kathy and Don have a home on South Padre Island, TX.  Being a part time sea side resident has influenced Kathy’s style of painting.

Kathy enjoys painting and bringing commonly seen subjects to life.  The joy that she gains from seeing the thrill and enjoyment of people viewing her work makes all the creative process and work a labor of love.  Please enjoy her paintings and drawings as much as she loves making them.