Southeast art professor moves to Wyoming

When Southeast Missouri art professor Amy Kephart hits the road to head to her new home in Casper, Wyo., today, it will be with a heavy heart.

"This is the longest I've ever lived in any one place," said Kephart, who has been teaching ceramics at the university since 1997. "I grew up in the service, so even as a kid I moved a lot. I really invested a lot of time and energy and talents into the community and college, and it's harder to walk away than I thought it was going to be."

Kephart has taught a variety of classes at the university in the area of ceramics since she came to Cape Girardeau, teaching students both the basics and more advanced techniques of the art. She has also been actively involved with the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, where she has been a featured artist at several of the council's exhibitions.

The professor decided to move to Wyoming in March and has been busy preparing for the move. The main reason she's moving is to marry her fiancé, who lives in Wyoming. But there are other benefits to the change of scenery.

"For one thing, it totally contrasts Cape Girardeau in that it's dry and has big open spaces and a big blue sky," Kephart said. Southeast Missouri's humidity has contributed to health problems like asthma; she hopes the move will help eliminate those difficulties.

Even though the terrain and climate are different than that found here, Kephart is used to it. She previously lived in Colorado, so the harsh winters won't bother her.

"I love snow," she said. "I'd rather be cold than hot."

Markets there are also more favorable for ceramics artists, she said, with demand from tourists.

Kephart said she will take a break from teaching for at least a year when she moves and plans to open her own ceramics studio while in Wyoming.

But she has made plenty of local ties in Southeast Missouri she'll miss, leaving behind family and friends.

And Kephart said she thinks she has left a lasting mark on some people, inspiring them to take up pottery and giving her students the desire to start their own pottery guild -- things that have contributed to the growing art community in the area.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182