A Michiana Life in the Spotlight: Kathy Reddy White

Creating art is more than a simple passion for Kathy Reddy White. It’s a lifestyle that she’s always had a pleasurable experience with.

White grew up in the Michiana area during her educational journey. This included St. Mary’s College, followed by the University of Notre Dame for graduate school. Once she finished school, she got into graphic design for many years. White had always been an artist in school, but she still needed to focus on her jobs. Things would start to change in 1999, as she became the founder and owner of CircaArts Gallery in South Bend.

“I started the gallery on a really casual basis back then,” White said. “I worked in marketing in a couple of bigger companies, including ad agencies, but I wasn’t very good at it. I started up a gallery, surrounding myself with artwork, and eventually got to the point where I felt like I could jump off and try it since we owned the building.”

In the beginning, White compared the process of bringing in work from various artists to herding cats, with as many as 60 featured in the gallery. The biggest reason for White to start up the gallery was to platform local artists.

“You had the Snite Museum of Art and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art which were regional to national, plus the South Bend Museum of Art which was more regional,” White said. “I thought to myself, ‘Who is taking care of the local artists?’ That’s why I started it. I love the Arts and Crafts movement, and I started concentrating on tiles and architecture.”

White, who does custom tiles herself, believed that this style of art fit right into what she wanted the gallery to become. Whether someone is walking into CircaArts Gallery for the first time or the 100th time, White notes that they can expect to see a whole flavor of the Arts and Crafts movement.

“It feels cohesive because everything works together to a certain style,” White said. “I call it ‘Tile Central’ because I have about five different tile companies. You get that warm feeling of having a whole architectural style. People might want to work on a backsplash or buy a new vase, and they can put those things in their homes. You can buy a clock and stare at it, or you can give it to someone as a gift. It’s not just an abstract painting on the wall, but it’s decor for the whole house.”

Coming from a family of artists, White has always had a knack for artistry. She has an identical twin sister, and both of them have been drawing since almost before they could talk. She also credits her parents for supporting her dreams.

“My parents are always supportive, and they’ve always told me to go for it,” White said. “My sister and I both went to St. Mary’s for fine art, then both got into jobs to make some money. It was a bummer because it was busy and hard to do much artwork. After a while, a friend of mine wanted to take a pottery class with me in Elkhart. That’s what got me back into doing clay work.”

Eventually, White realized that the artwork that depicted South Bend was thin and few. As a result, she started doing images of South Bend and making them into postcards to sell all day long. As a painter and tile maker, the gallery inspires her to maintain a constant passion for art.

Between working with art and learning about the nuances of running a business, White encourages all who want to follow in her footsteps to truly love the work they’re doing.

“It’s a great, fulfilling way to make a living,” White said. “You’ll also need to wear four or five hats. It takes a little bit of accounting, working with numbers, sales, and people skills. It’s not just about sitting around staring at the artwork all day; it’s also about running the business and being savvy. I had to figure a lot of those things out when I first started up, and I’ve been able to keep it going strong for a while now.”

Outside of working with the arts, White has always loved the water. She has a spot on Eagle Lake in Michigan, along with a pontoon boat. While she’s not much of a swimmer, she enjoys spending time on the water and making tiles when free time presents itself. She also loves spending time with her husband. Artistry runs in the family, as her husband also has a large warehouse of antiques.