Katie Thompson is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, advocate and instructor based outside of Charleston, SC.
Katie works in new media, wood, watercolor, photography, and others, and is an internationally exhibited digital artist. Her work explores abstractions of space and self as a modern disabled woman. She combines traditional techniques and natural influences with the inclusive power of technology surrounding themes of femininity, independence, and challenging ideas of typical social constructs.
She is a lifelong believer in the power of stories and the hope they can create. She is also the host and creator of the Chronicles of Dreamworker podcast.
Katie is the creator of the exclusive Cistern Oak collection for the College of Charleston Alumni Association, with proceeds benefitting alumni programs and student scholarships. Her independent artwork is released under her design studio, Black Swamp. It is through her work Katie also explores her love of history and making, and how they contribute to our stories as well.
Katie is also the creator of the Women of Woodworking volunteer project, and serves on the Board of Trustees for The Furniture Society.
She is the author of Little Beaver Builds a Bed, a children’s woodworking book, and also was a creative consultant for Bo-Peep is My Name, a children’s book on abuse and trauma. She is also a frequent freelance contributor to publications such as Hunker, Popular Woodworking, and others.
Katie also works as a Design Partner with her husband and fine furniture maker Joseph Thompson. Their work has been featured in publications such as Furniture & Cabinetmaking and Charleston Magazine, and has been exhibited at the American Craft Council, the Torpedo Factory Arts Center, the One of a Kind Show, the South Carolina State Museum and others. Katie and Joseph are also instructors at the Charleston Woodworking School where she teaches marketing and social media for creatives, as well as at other craft schools across the nation such as North Bennet Street School and the Florida School of Woodwork.
Katie graduated from the College of Charleston in 2009 with a B.A. in Communications. She is a public speaker and advocate sharing her story on living with a spinal cord injury and as a meningitis survivor.
Katie and Joseph live and work out of their home and shop in the swamps of the Lowcountry with their two children. They enjoy creating, spending time outdoors and taking on new adventures together.
