Returning to KO to teach in 2008, Katherine is a printmaker and a book artist.  She earned her master’s of fine art in printmaking at Arizona State University and her bachelor’s degree in sculpture and printmaking at Washington University in St. Louis.  As an educator, she has taught fine art courses at numerous institutions and arts centers around the country, including Arizona State University.

Katherine’s own creative work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Her previous work made in the deserts of Arizona centered on her relationship with the desert landscape and its complex ecosystem.  Her work ultimately focused on the evidence that was left behind or the traces that marked the time and place where beings have traveled. Through the gathering of evidence, her images were transformed into momentary landscapes that reveal intimate relationships with the desert.  

A recent college graduate, Phillips studied global studies and French. She enjoys working with students and is inspired by their continual growth each day which she says pays massive dividends by the end of the year. In addition to being a Francophile, Phillips is an expert in using outdoor education as a way to teach social-emotional learning. She served as a French teacher at Canoe Island French Camp as well as a rope and rock wall instructor in Maine.