Courtesy With ‘you belong (here),’ Pell wanted to frame the viewer and inspire them to think about nature.

WHO: Katie Pell, 42

MEDIA: Ceramics, paint, photography, mixed-media sculpture, comic books

BEST KNOWN FOR: “This kind of celebration of the everyday and of an assumed acceptance of all kinds of people,” Pell said. American consumer culture “encourages people to buy s**t so they can win. It's this endless creation of desire. What I want to do is kind of celebrate what's there and release that creation of desire. It's celebrating those who have not achieved conventional consumer success.”

CURRENTLY: “you belong (here)” at Galeria Ortiz Contemporary consists of intricate paintings that resemble picture frames. Borders made with flowers, animals, candy, butterflies and cherubs surround an oblong of empty sky. They're meant to frame the viewer, whom Pell wants to “feel the love of all the forest critters and all the beautiful plants of nature.” Her ceramic flowers are on display at the Botanical Garden. They're influenced by the garden in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas and the plants in the 1971 movie “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”

WHY SHE'S COOL: During her 2006 residency at Artpace, Pell created “Bitchen,” an installation of household appliances tricked out like lowriders. She equipped a stove with hydraulics that made it bounce; she painted a clothes dryer with multicolored stripes. “I think what I was thinking about was disposable income and also recreational culture,” Pell said. “If women made all the money, what would we be investing it in?” Pell has also been featured demonstrating her clay work on the HGTV show “Crafters Coast to Coast.” She organized the Automatic Downtown Studio Tour for five years.

BACKGROUND: A Delaware native, Pell earned her BFA in painting from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. She moved to San Antonio in 1995, attracted by the burgeoning arts scene. She shares a studio in Southtown with her husband, Peter Zubiate, a furniture artist; they have a 7-year-old daughter named Bygoe.

CHECK HER OUT: “Art in the Garden” is on display at the Botanical Garden, 555 Funston Place, through June 2008. “you belong (here)” is on display at Galeria Ortiz Contemporary, 4026 McCullough Ave., through Dec. 22. Pell will speak about her work there at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, and hold a reception from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15. Or view her work at odinaempire.com/katie.

Jessica Belasco | 210SA Contributor