I am fascinated by pieces of things," says artist Kathy Manthei. And her work is testimony to her preoccupation with the components of a whole — a whole temple wall, a whole statue, a whole painting, a whole human being.

"I was fascinated when I would see a pile of rubble, and there'd be, like, an arm there, a head there. For me, it's like putting it back together again."

Art has always been an essential part of Phuket-based Kathy's life. "I always wanted to study art, from a very young age I had a vision of it, though I was not encouraged to go in that direction at all. I was afraid of this thing inside me that had to come out, wanted to come out, and I didn't know how to let it out." By the time Kathy reached university this "thing" inside her was demanding attention.

At the University of California-Davis, she took a degree in Community Development with an emphasis on art therapy. More importantly she interned as an art teacher with the Wisdom Project — a non-profit arts program for homeless/low income women. It was here that she began her journey of self-discovery.

During the internship she learned the technique of papier-maché, as she helped the women in the programme shape masks — the masks behind which we all hide. Away from the programme she experimented with sculpture using papier-maché, a technique consisting of layering paper to construct shapes and define dimensions, something that would come to characterize her work. Her final piece was entitled "Females Breaking Free".

In 1996, at the age of 26, Kathy broke free, leaving the US to begin a journey to find herself as a woman and as an artist. To do this would require discovering the pieces of her self — her mind, body and soul — and creating her whole person.

She began her journey in Korea, teaching art in a middle school in Seoul for a year. She spent the next year travelling throughout China, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Nepal and India, with a five-month detour to Greece. She returned to Thailand in 1998 and took a job teaching art at Phuket International School (the predecessor of Quality Schools International).

During her year travelling through Southeast Asia, Kathy spent as much time as possible within the temple ruins of Angkor (Cambodia), Ayutthaya (Thailand), Hampi (India), Pagan (Myanmar), Borobodor and Prambanan (Indonesia). She spent long afternoons in the peaceful surrounds of the temples, absorbing their ancient wisdom and magic and making piles of sketches.

As she copied the carved reliefs and symbols, she became captivated by their pieces: "When you go to the temples and you see the temple blocks, you see how they could only do it so big, so they always did them in parts. And a lot of times the statues are in pieces."

This concern with pieces is evident in all aspects of her work. From a grouping of tiny painted squares reminiscent of temple blocks to side-by-side canvases to hanging triptychs, Kathy's work is defined by pieces — pieces layered over other pieces. The layering is another important component. "I like that there's something under it. It gives it this richness that you could never just do. When you do layers, then some parts really come out underneath. And some don't, some you have to bring out." Others remain hidden.

As Kathy pursued her art she branched into mixed media. Metal, especially copper, has always held a strong attraction for her. "I don't know why I like it so much," she says. "Copper just changes by itself, always evolving, always changing, so much going on there you can't control it." Once exposed to the air, copper develops a blue-green patina through oxidation. The process can't be controlled or halted. But if you rub the patina away, the copper's warm, burnished essence is revealed. Again, the layering effect.

Colours have also played an important role in Kathy's work. She has spent the last few years working primarily in blue-green hues with copper highlights, the metallic patina richly adding another dimension to the work. Her more recent works show a shift to yellow, rose and purple with added gold layering — once again, the rich yellow of the metal complementing the painted colours. A spectacular example is a recent work entitled "Bliss". The large, predominantly yellow painting extends over two side-by-side canvases with Buddha as the subject. "Bliss" includes over 450 pieces of gold leaf painted over, layered, and placed with great care for symbolism.

No matter what the subject of her work — whether it's Buddha, the Bodhisattvas, the Hindu Shiva, or a teapot — Kathy's style is full of symbolism. And each work has come into being through the same process. It begins as an "absolute vivid visual" of the completed work. This can occur in a dream or while driving down the road. Then comes the hard part: getting from the vision to its actualization. "Sometimes I struggle. I don't know how to get from this to that. And sometimes there are 85 layers, so sometimes it does change; but there's always the initial component of the drawing."

She can spend months researching the Chinese character that stands for compassion, and turning that under-standing into drawings and finally into a completed work. But with all the layering that goes on, just how does she know that she's finished? She admits that can be a problem sometimes, but at other times she just knows when it's done.

As Kathy continues growing and evolving in her work, she continues to share her knowledge both of art and the process of self-discovery with others. Art gives everyone a voice, even those who may not otherwise be heard, as in the case of the women at the Life Home Project where Kathy performs volunteer services. She loves working with kids, helping them develop their creative side, offering to others what she never received. And kids aren't so scared of art. They're more willing to try anything.

"We need to approach things with the wild abandon of children," she says. "Our senses get dulled as we get older, and children can help re-awaken that enthusiasm, that passion for life, because that's what they're all about. I'm not so much a teacher as a shower, a demonstrator. I'm just sort of a gentle guide."