Kay Vinson

Artist Bio

Kay Vinson grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. As a teenager she dreamed about going to exotic places and meeting interesting new people. In order to fulfill her dream of travel and adventure Kay got a job with Trans World Airlines as soon as she turned twenty-one. Her job as an international flight attendant took her first to Chicago and then to the San Francisco area where she lived for the next twenty-seven years. While living in California Kay traveled a great deal, of course, especially to Europe and Asia. She graduated from San Jose State University and made lots of art. She studied painting and ceramics with the amazingly talented faculty at Cabrillo College and she took private classes with such well known artists as Coeleen Kiebert and Michele Cassou. Cassou was particularly influential on Kay's art and philosophy.

Her years of exposure to different places and clutures, as well as a struggle with a life-threatening illness, caused Kay to re-evaluate her priorities. In 2003 she returned to Birmingham to begin a whole new life in an old familiar setting. The most significant step was her decision to turn her interest in art from a hobby into a career. Kay set up a studio and began to paint there seven days a week. For the past six years every day has started out with a cup of coffee and a trip to the studio.

Since making such a strong commitment to her creative process Kay has been rewarded with a great deal of professional success. Her work can be found in collections across the United States and Canada. She has won numerous awards and she has twice been voted one of Birmingham's favorite local artists.