Kathleen Cox

Kathleen Cox (2 July 1904 – September 1972) was an Irish artist, sculptor, and mystic. Cox is considered a pioneer of contemporary Irish pottery.

Early life and education Christina Mary Kathleen Cox was born in Wo-Sung, China, on 2, July 1904. She was the eldest daughter of Dr R. H. Cox, who was from Dundalk. Dr Cox was the port health officer in Shanghai, who was also an amateur geologist and modelled in clay. In his retirement, he invented a periscope later used during World War I by the Royal Navy.

Mysticism It was during the 1920s that Cox began to question mainstream religion, and became a vegetarian. Finding that her personal philosophy was similar to that of theosophy, she joined the movement and spoke at meetings. She was heavily influenced by the founder of the Order of the Great Companions, the Rev. William Hayes, who was living in Dublin in the 1930s. Cox wrote and illustrated a children's book on world religions, A story of stories, which she published under the pseudonym C.M. Kay in 1970.