Station 8 presents Cortni King

Artist Biography - Cortni Janelle King

Encouraged and inspired by her family Cortni King started her endeavor to communicate visually at the ripe age of four, some say even earlier if you include avante garde expressionism in split peas and squash. This innate drive to create continued to inspire her throughout her educational career receiving her BFA from Arizona State University in 1993. She then vacillated between accepting a position as a high school art educator in Yuma, Arizona or to continue on at ASU for a masters degree in sculpture. She opted to take the teaching position and began working on her masters in secondary education with an emphasis in art through Northern Arizona University, which she completed in 1996 while teaching art and ceramics at Vista High School. Continuing her passion for the arts and arts education Cortni became an active member of the Arizona Art Education Association, even winning an award as secondary art teacher of the year in 2000, and started teaching evening art history courses for the local community college in addition to her daytime duties as a high school art specialist. All of this did not impede her desire to continue to create, show and sell her own work. In 2005, along with a group of other local artists, she began an artist cooperative establishing collaboration with the municipal art center for space and advertising. In addition to her involvement with the artist co-op, Cortni also showed her work in a variety of juried exhibitions throughout the state, bid private commissions and completed collaborative public art pieces for the municipality of Yuma. In 2008, after a twenty plus year hiatus, Cortni made the leap of faith to leave Arizona and return to Flathead where she and her extended family hail from. Cortni is one of those oddities that can claim both maternal and paternal roots in the valley dating back to the turn of the century. In Arizona she left behind a vibrant artist community, several public art works as well as large scale private murals, and throngs of students inspired by her passion. Cortni currently lives and works in West Glacier, which she loves, and although inspired by the beauty of the place she lives you will not find an elk among her subjects. She loves the patina of aged metals, weathered wood and worked canvas and often incorporates these surfaces into her work. Although she loves color and the tactile experience of the brush, she also loves to construct and often incorporates the two into her non-traditional wall pieces. As a privately commissioned muralist, Cortni specializes in children’s murals creating inviting, vibrant spaces for youth, quite different from her studio
work.
A full portfolio of her work is available for viewing by contacting Cortni at 406-260-6532 or via email at vh_king@hotmail.com. She would like to thank Station 8 and Betsy Paugh for providing her the opportunity to share her studio work with the public.