Kate Ratliff

Kate Ratliff

Kate began her love for pottery in college, taking courses in ceramics along with her required courses for her education degree.  Clay was her path of expression in creativity to balance her life.  She began collecting beads when she taught in Bangkok in the late seventies and was the first to import Thai hill tribe beads.   She returns to Thailand annually to add to her worldly bead collection.  She includes her own handmade and wheel thrown clay pieces and her Thai hill tribe beads in her bracelets, earrings, and necklaces.

She believes all who stay connected throughout their lives to creativity live a more balanced and peaceful life.  Knowing that this value of creativity and the arts is far too often left out of our education systems, she began two pre schools, one in Bangkok in 1981 which evolved into The Early Learning Center, www.elc-bangkok.com and the other in 1997 in Franklin Tennessee, www.springhollowschool.com . These schools were founded on the consciousness to hold the social emotional well being and self expression at the core of our learning and being.  Staying connected to our creativity creates "Nothing Without Joy" in our lives.  You can read more about Kate's "musings about education" at kate-Ratliff.blogspot.com