by Lee Kieseling
Special Contributor

Over the past few years there has been a great influx of people settling in South Carolina, coming for retirement, a slower pace, or seeking to avoid yet another harsh winter. Many are drawn to the quaintness of Summerville for its winning combination of old world charm and modern amenities. This recent melting pot of taste, fashion and traditions in Summerville has created an eclectic sense of style throughout the town.

Kate Lallement has the entrepreneurial spirit that calls to many people who settle in the Summerville area but has one advantage when it comes to what she offers in her artistic wares. Even amidst the diversity of the changing Summerville, Kate Lallement brings with her a designing flair that is unique and fresh. Originally a resident of the south, Kate traveled abroad to expand her knowledge base and to study Impressionism as done by the masters. After 6 years in Paris, where she utilized her BA in French, Lallement came home with her suitcases filled with paintbrushes and her head filled with character and culture from another country; but as a daughter of the South, her work carries a natural softness that is at home here in the Carolinas. Kate combines the influences of galleries and lifestyle of Paris with the gentility of the old south to create a new facet to the awakening artistic awareness evident in myriad Charleston galleries, during the Piccolo Speleto Festival, and more recently, blossoming in Summerville with a panache all its own.

Lallement is a gifted artist who displays her abilities on oversized canvases primarily in a medium using the combination of flat acrylic paints in the background and oils in the foreground to accent the texture of her images and bring a strategic sense of grace and movement to the work. While in Paris she was drawn to working with the fluid beauty in charcoal nudes, particularly feminine nudes. "Regardless of size or shape, the female anatomy in itself is a work of art. I just love rendering a moment of feminine expression with the supple lines of charcoal." Says Lallement. "It's another facet of nature." In addition to being drawn to working with the soft lines in charcoal nudes, Kate developed a unique skill in creating mandalas, a circular design containing concentric geometric forms, and symbols encompassing a personal theological meaning. Lallement found herself particularly drawn to the Asian style works as she studied the many collections displayed in the museums in Paris. This Asian influence, apparent in Lallement's work, is supported by her affinity for beauty found in nature.

While Lallement uses her experience abroad and her training from earning a BA in Studio Arts from College of Charleston to craft her paintings and feminine nudes as an outlet for her creative designs, she also uses her degree in Horticulture to bring her esthetic eye and expertise in plant propagation to landscape design assisting home and business owners in creating a serene environment for a private garden or curbside showpiece. "My artwork contains the subtle magnificence found in nature," Lallement says. "So it was an obvious step for me to combine my love of fine art and my knowledge of growing things to cultivate art utilizing the living greenery and flowers I love to paint."

In addition, because she feels natural talent and technique must be directed and developed, Kate Lallement is a dedicated teacher of the arts, sharing her know-how and abilities with children who are fortunate enough to attend her classes at a local private school. "The next step," Lallement says, "is to complete my studio space so I can begin to hold private classes in studio art, and personal creation of mandalas in order to bring a wider audience to discover their artistic center. I envision a studio/gallery of sorts. I see the space as a place to display my canvases and for my future students to come and feed their artistic souls."

This studio, currently under construction at Lallement's home, will eventually serve as a classroom and gallery but until its completion, samples of Lallement's canvases, nudes, mandalas, and landscape designs can be found on her newly launched web site where she can be contacted at (katelallement.com). Appointments can also be made with Lallement to discuss landscape designs through Ward's Nursery in Summerville.

It's really no surprise that Lallement found herself settled here in Summerville after her travels. Kate's unique and diverse combination of French Impressionism, Modern Asian, Eastern Spiritual, and charcoal nudes, mirrors the spiritual and ethnic variety of people and styles that can be found the developing town of Summerville itself. When one sees the simplicity of a leaf drifting on the wind in one of Lallement's giant canvases, is drawn into the symbolism of a mandala or follows the muted lines on one of her nudes, he or she can almost feel the serenity of motion in every stroke and all the ingredients come together to create a sumptuous recipe for a feast for the eyes.

(Lee Kieseling can be reached for questions or comments at lkieseling@aol.com)