Mrs. Katy Garry ’95 graduated from Sacred Heart Greenwich, and she continues to cherish her education in all aspects of her life. Mrs. Garry was a dedicated art student throughout her time at Sacred Heart. She pursued her passion for the arts after graduation and now works as an artist, designer, and “merchandising aficionado,” according to katygarry.com. Mrs. Garry credits her experience at Sacred Heart with inspiring her work ethic and dedication.
While attending Sacred Heart, Mrs. Garry was highly involved in the art program, participating in painting and photography. She believes her classes and teachers influenced her creativity and motivated her to start her own art company. One teacher specifically, Mrs. Vivian Pomex, retired Chair of the Arts Department, influenced Mrs. Garry and encouraged her to develop her art further than she ever thought possible while still in high school.
“[Painting] was always a passion of mine,” Mrs. Garry said. “[Mrs. Pomex] was a really motivating, energetic art teacher in the Upper School who inspired me.”
After graduating from Sacred Heart, Mrs. Garry studied at the College of the Holy Cross, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art and Art History. She later studied at the Whitney Museum in New York City, New York, and Fairfield University’s art program in Florence, Italy. Before launching her own company, Mrs. Garry worked in merchandising, design, and production for popular brands such as Brooks Brothers, Coach, Inc., Vineyard Vines, and Victoria’s Secret, according to katygarry.com.
“After I graduated from [high] school, [I] wanted to understand the larger scale application of something made creatively. I really spent most of my career in accessories. I was very interested in the creative process of coming up with something and then how it is mass-produced in the retail environment,” Mrs. Garry said.
Mrs. Garry now creates her own prints, murals, encaustics, and paintings on canvas and on paper for her company Katy Garry Fine Art. In addition to selling her artwork online at katygarry.com and in ten shops around New York and Connecticut, Mrs. Garry also offers custom commissions for clients and interior decorators.
“It is a fun way to collaborate with people and help create something for their home that makes them really happy,” Mrs. Garry said. “I always like to think of art as the icing on the cake [when decorating a home] because a lot of decorators come in, or people do their own furniture and fabrics, and the art comes in at the end and makes everything come together.”
Mrs. Garry’s daily inspiration is her children, but she believes the authentic optimism in her art develops from the environment she was immersed in throughout her years at Sacred Heart.
“I feel that I use my Sacred Heart education every single day of my life and have since I left. I think that Sacred Heart taught me how to be confident and how to lead,” Mrs. Garry said. “The Sacred Heart education really supported independent thinking, and I feel that throughout my careers […] it was very applicable to me being a leader and taking on leadership roles.”
-Morgan Smith, Staff Writer