A Wisconsin native, Kathy Maves first started work in clay on Madeleine Island while serving as the postal clerk in La Pointe over the winter of 2020-21. During the height of the pre-vaccine pandemic, the spirit of the place and the community here captured her imagination and brought new inspiration to her work. She has been making functional pottery since 1999. She completed a B.S. in English Literature at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 2007 and an M.F.A. in Art at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 2015.

Rooted in the strong folk pottery traditions of Minnesota and Wisconsin, her work centers on themes of the natural world. Often decorated and thrown, the forms spontaneously reflect on nature, history, and culture. Her studio is located in the rural Knapp Hills, south of Boyceville, Wisconsin.