Born in New York City on Christmas Eve 1951, and raised on Long Island, Cathy always longed to spread her wings. As a freshman, Cathy attended Moore College of Art in Philadelphia but found it to be too structured. However, that summer she was inspired after traveling overseas. Since that time, traveling has always stimulated Cathy and she has logged time in England, France, Italy, Greece, Israel, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Belize, Costa Rica, Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, and Canada. That Fall of 1971, rather than return to Philly, Cathy decided to join her older sister in Boston, instead.

Cathy enrolled in the Museum of Fine Arts School and also double majored in education at Tufts University in nearby Medford. After receiving a working scholarship from the Museum School, Cathy moved into a loft/studio in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, where she created ceramic sculpture, pottery and custom tiles. With her studio and scholarship in place, Cathy worked so hard that she graduated in two and a half years. Sadly, in 1976 Cathy lost her home and her business when a conflagration destroyed the six-story factory building in JP where her studio and home were located. A new era began.

One of Cathy's first large commissions was to design and make a tile floor for fellow artist Khalil Gibran and his stately brownstone in Boston's South End. This gas-fired ceramic tile floor, in natural earth tones, was installed in 1975 and is more than 30 feet long.

Cathy also became drawn into a more commercial side of ceramics and she began a production pottery line that is both practical for everyday use but also very displayable as art. "gersonware" was formed as a business that produces pottery for stores and galleries all over the country. Her gersonware is known for the new colors that are formulated each year, and for the fanciful pottery items that are explored and marketed.

Commissions, whether pottery or tile, are exciting departures from the steady pottery work supplied by gersonware. From extremely large urns decorating corporate hallways, to intimate custom tile art installations, Cathy Gerson willingly explores the freedom that clay allows.

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