Welcome to my webpage! My name is Kathy Wise, and I am an animal sculptor and intarsia artist. I would love to share a little about my artistic journey and how I found my passion for intarsia. I have been sculpting dogs and animals professionally for over 45 years.

My love of art began with my mother Dolores Wise, an artist herself, who encouraged me to explore every medium I showed interest in. She introduced me to museums, galleries, and countless art classes, nurturing both my creativity and confidence. Even as a child, I was deeply drawn to animals; I sketched horses and wildlife every chance I could.

My first sculpture was carved from a bar of ivory soap at the age of six and by seven I was carving wooden horses. In high school, I created our wildcat mascot and a zebra in ceramic art class, confirming that sculpture was my true calling. I grew up in a suburb of Detroit before moving at age 16 to the rural town of Yale, Michigan. Though it was a big change, my parents made sure I got the horse I had always dreamed of, and I quickly fell in love with country life.

I graduated with honors with an Associate Degree in Commercial Art. Although I didn’t pursue a commercial art career, the skills I gained have been invaluable in designing my website, catalogs, book layouts and marketing materials. During college, I especially loved drawing, relief work, painting, and ceramics. In one ceramics class, I began adding small, sculpted clay animals to my pots — and that simple idea led to an entire collection of ceramic animal sculptures. Soon, fellow students were asking me to create pieces for them, and I was able to earn a bit of money for college expenses.

After college, I founded my own company, WiseCrackers, selling hand-built ceramic animal sculptures at art shows. I specialized in dog breeds and wildlife, working from my parents’ home with my mother by my side, glazing each piece. Before long, store owners began carrying my figurines. I eventually supplied over 70 stores, including The Mole Hole, a nationwide chain of collectible gift shops. I learned how to sculpt very fast as I had hundreds of orders to fill! (And yes, I even sculpted the raccoon topper for my own wedding cake)!

In 1983, Gene Freedman, then President of Enesco Corporation and the visionary behind Precious Moments, discovered my work in a Seattle Mole Hole gift shop. He saw potential in my art, and I began designing giftware for Enesco. “Raccoon Rascals” was the first of many animal and dog product lines I created. I sculpted the original master pieces, from which molds were created to allow my animal designs to be reproduced for larger-scale production — a significant step forward from crafting each sculpture entirely by hand.

Over the years, I have designed for several companies, including Simson, Westland, United Design, and Encore Group. Altogether, I have sculpted more than 2,000 product designs across over 60 product lines that have been sold worldwide. In the early 1990s, I began sculpting realistic wildlife pieces cast in bronze. I studied the entire bronze casting process at Detroit’s Center for the Creative Arts; from mold making and wax pouring to bronze casting, grinding, and patina finishes. My bronze sculptures were displayed in galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Michigan.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked in both two- and three-dimensional media, including clay, stone, and wood. One of my most special projects was designing and carving a full-size carousel rocking horse for my daughter, Sarah.

I began designing intarsia patterns for my father-in-law, Phil MacDonald, over 30 years ago. Phil was a passionate Intarsia woodworker who sold his pieces at local art and craft fairs. When his customers requested rare dog breeds or custom intarsia portraits of their pets, I would create the patterns for him. The response was overwhelmingly positive — people loved having these one-of-a-kind, personalized pieces. 

A bulldog was one of my first custom patterns. I soon discovered that intarsia artists truly connected with my designs. Over time, I had designed more than 60 patterns and realized there was a real demand for unique, hard-to-find designs. That’s when I placed an ad in Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts to sell my dog patterns — and my intarsia pattern business was born.

In 2004, I submitted a Boston Terrier intarsia pattern and accompanying article to Scroll Saw Workshop magazine. The editors immediately invited me to write a four-part series. After receiving an overwhelmingly positive response, I went on to publish more than 67 Intarsia articles, along with two carving articles in Woodcarving Illustrated.  

I truly enjoy creating large-scale commissioned intarsia pieces — especially those filled with intricate detail, complex construction, and meaningful stories woven into the design. My largest work, Wild Horses, measures an impressive 22 feet wide by 6 feet high. It was exhibited at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids in 2014. The piece took eleven months to complete and was engineered in four seamless, interlocking sections to allow for safe transport and installation. It included a motion activated sound of galloping horses that grew louder and then faded away. 

Three Sisters Mountain, measuring 12' x 6', was constructed in three large sections and carefully shipped to its home in the mountains of Bend, Oregon. Tucked within the landscape is a special personal touch — the very home where the piece is displayed, along with the owners’ beloved St. Bernard, quietly hidden among the scenery. Details like these make each commission deeply meaningful, turning the artwork into both a landscape and a personal story. 

One of my absolute favorite pieces is Jaguar Jungle. It’s an incredibly detailed work made up of more than 2,000 individually cut pieces from 20 different species of wood. The jaguar alone contains 667 pieces, cut from beautiful Australian Cypress, with each wenge spot carefully inlaid to give him life, depth, and personality. What makes this piece especially fun is that it holds a secret — hidden within the thick jungle foliage are more than 25 South American animals. I love watching people step closer, slow down, and suddenly spot a new creature tucked into the leaves. It turns the artwork into a bit of an adventure, and that sense of discovery is exactly what I hoped to create. I invite you to explore my gallery and commission pages to experience these large-scale intarsia works and the stories behind them.

My journey has been guided by a lifelong love of animals and an enduring passion for sculpture. Whether in clay, bronze, or wood, my goal has always been the same: to capture the spirit and personality of the animals that inspire me.