Second-year Book and Paper MFA Kathi Beste was recently been one of the 2012 P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) scholarships. The organization, which was founded in 1869 at Iowa Wesleyan College, is a philanthropic organization whose mission is to promote the educational goals of women through scholarships, grants, awards, loans, and stewardship of Cottey College. The Maryland-based chapter that sponsored Kathi’s application felt the story of her journey into and through Columbia’s MFA program was a perfect fit for their Continuing Education Program criteria.
“Working with the Maryland P.E.O. chapter members on my application showed me how my artistic practice has expanded since being in the Book and Paper program,” says Beste. “Talking about my process, and describing my work to the committee helped me see the successes of my artistic experimentation within the program.”
Work from the Language of the Fan series, cyanotype on handmade paper, 2012
This past summer Kathi’s work was featured in Chicago’s Artwalk Lakeview, and her 2011 artists’ book Quick Sketch has been included in the Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection (SAIC), the Cofrin Library Artists’ Book Collection (University of Wisconsin Green Bay), and the ACA Library Artists’ Book Collection at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
