Bio
Kakota Shippee was raised in Scituate, Rhode Island and came in contact with blacksmithing at a small fair in Foster, Rhode Island when the man was sizing horse shoes. During high school Kakota only had woodshop class and never learned any form of metalsmithing until freshman year of college at Maine College of Art, studying under Sharon Portelance and Kyle Patenaude.
Now Kakota’s artwork is based on a series that they are writing which is called Terminal Pack which has a bewitching atmosphere, weaving magic, shape-shifting wolves, corrupt power, and time-bending together to create a rich story. The artwork itself is made up of merging cloisonné enameling and bladesmithing to create a compelling narrative. Kakota’s knives are ceremonial objects; they are in between the illustration and third dimensional world for the character to use. The knives themselves are fragments of the character's soul that you can touch and hold. Holding a part of the soul of a person from a book, it's quite compelling. Kakota wants the viewer to be able to hold part of the character within the piece, to feel that specific character.
Artist Statement
The blades that are here in front of you are a manifested version of the soul weapons from my book Terminal Pack: Beginning. I tell a story through these pieces where the characters are a center point in each piece. I want to try to show that the colors are not just some pretty addition, for example red is almost swallowing this wolf. Just as I see the human race swallowing the wildlife of the world. I am using knives and swords because it is a weapon of power, violence and destruction. Hence the destruction of the wolf. But on the other side I want the viewer to see this wolf and how the blade is coming out of this enamel, as if the blade was protecting the wolf. Just as I want these blades to impact people to protect wildlife.
I'm using enamel because of the historic values that connect with the knives. Enamel was used on knives historically while making ceremonial knives. I also use enamel as if I'm painting, like if I was writing my story, I'm just using enamel instead of the computer. While the brass and copper are merely materials to hold everything together like the book's binding, with the steel is there to deal the damage of the potent words that make you think. The pieces are heavy to hold, just like their meanings are heavy. I want the viewer to have an emotional engagement while looking at the pieces.
CV
Education
2017-2021 BFA (Pending) Metalsmithing & Jewelry - Maine College of Art - Portland, ME
Exhibitations
2020 BFA Show Honorable Mention - Maine College of Art - Portland, ME
2019 BFA Show - Maine College of Art - Portland, ME
2018 BFA Show - Maine College of Art - Portland, ME
Professional Experience
2021 Jeweler - Tiffany and Company- Cumberland, RI
2020 Student Ambassador - Maine College of Art - Portland, ME
- Responsible for social media content for the Metals department.
Gallery Assistant - Fore River Gallery - Portland, ME
- Responsible for client interactions, sales, and packaging items.
2019-2021
Assistant Studio Technician - Metalsmithing and Jewelry - Maine College of Art - Portland, ME
- Responsible for maintaining the studio and upkeep of the tools.
- Assisting elective students with technical questions and safety protocols.
2017-2019
Shop Assistant, Mottshaws Farm - Foster, RI
- Responsible for studio organization, and building storage shelves in the studio.
Workshops
2019 Student - Keum-Boo Workshop - Taught by Jayne Redman
- Basic keum-boo techniques.
Commissions
2020 Private Commissions: Knives - Scituate, RI
- Paring, Santoku Damascus knives
Skills
Metalsmithing and jewelry techniques: sawing, finishing, forming, forging, die forming, keum-boo, stone setting, sand casting, polishing, and powder coating.
Basic enameling techniques: cloisonne, champleve, image transfer on enamel.
Basic bladesmithing: Basic damascus patterns, forging.
Basic Woodworking techniques: mortensen and tenon joint, dovetail joint, wood carving, wood finishing, using routers.