Kathleen Royster received her BFA (1990) and MFA (1995) from the University of Utah where she was awarded the Ethel Rolapp Award.  She is a former Art professor at the Metropolitan State University of Denver and Scripps College, Claremont CA; a former board member for the National Council on Education for the Ceramics Arts. Her teaching and research interests include historical and contemporary Ceramic history, 20th Century Design history and the place of design in culture.

Her work appears in significant museums, private collections and cited in many publications. Noteworthy, are the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Renwick Gallery of the Museum of American Art, Smithsonian located in Washington, D.C. and recently, the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA and has been cited in the critical discussion of contemporary Ceramics literature. Such references include: Jo Lauria, Color and Fire: Defining Moments in Contemporary Ceramics, 1950-2000, (2000); Garth Clark, The Artful Teapot (2002); Marvin Sweet’s, Yixing Effect: Echos of the Chinese Scholar (2006); and Dr. Judith Schwartz, Confrontational Ceramics (2008).  

Today she lives in a small artist community in historic Helper, UT where she maintains a studio. After the Great Recession, she left her academic career to become a potter and make porcelain dinnerware using a 12th century Korean decorating technique called Mishima. She combines a deep passion for modern design and simplicity to create beautifully balanced and unique dinnerware that seamlessly blend tradition and innovation.