What’s this?
Occasionally, I’ll throw some musings on this page to share what I’m thinking about. Hope you enjoy!
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2019
My Art Studio
My studio is my happy place. In any other room, the chaos would drive me crazy—but somehow, being amongst ten different projects all in various stages of completion makes me happy. I love seeing colors and textures and ideas germinating all over the place.
I’ve always tried to have a space carved out for creating, for doing artwork (or should I say artplay?). It was actually my son who taught me the importance of having a space for works in progress. When he was about 4 years old, he spent many days, maybe weeks, working on a kingdom of combined materials: legos, Lincoln logs, matchbox cars, miniature animals, and more. It was an amazing creation. It took up a large portion of our family room and was magnificent. I wish I had taken a photo. I kept stepping over it as I walked through the family room numerous times a day. But my spouse was not very supportive of messes, so one day, while Nick was at school, I decided it was time I cleaned it up. Oh, how I wish I hadn’t! He looked at me with such a heartbroken and betrayed look. I felt like the worst mother in the world. I promised myself: never again. So we built huge, child-level creation tables covered in tile and put them in the basement. I promised my kids that anything on those tables would remain untouched. It was a dedicated space to create.
When we moved and set up house again, I was conscious of having creation spaces for each of us. For myself, I first had a little corner in the family room and played alongside my kids. As my crafts grew, I moved to a larger corner in the basement. In my next house, half of my garage became my studio, though at the time, I was afraid to use the word “studio.” It sounded too formal, and it gave me a bad case of imposter syndrome. I was just playing around and having fun.
When I renovated my summer home in Maine to become my year-round home, I knew I needed an even bigger dedicated space for my artplay. I was lucky to be able to design a space exactly how and where I wanted it. It’s separate from my house so that I’m not distracted by household chores or phone calls, and so that when I can’t sleep, I can escape there in the middle of the night without disturbing anyone.
My studio is where I go to feel good, to work out difficult emotions, to feel like I’m doing important work, to feed my soul… to find myself.
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2018
My Art Style
While I was visiting with friends and family, someone asked me, “How would you define your style? I was trying to explain it to someone but I couldn’t think of how.” My quick response was, “Chaotic, colorful, fun?”. It was the first time that I thought about defining and articulating my style.
Colorful is definitely part of my style. Once, in a painting course I was taking, the teacher asked each student to explain the meaning behind their work. I sat listening to some deep and powerful responses. Responses like, ‘my work is about unplugging from society, that is why I always include a hidden outlet or plug in each painting.’ By the time it was my turn to speak, all I could think of was, “I like color.” Lame answer, but true! I like seeing color, mixing colors, looking at colors in nature and trying to figure out how I can create them with paint. One of my favorite, if unexpected, side effects of taking art classes was I started seeing—especially colors. I started really looking at everything to see how it could be recreated in art.
Chaotic is also part of my style. I don’t like reading directions or following too many rules; it puts a road block in my way and I have trouble beginning. When I feel confined by too many rules, I feel like I’m going to make a mistake and do something “wrong,” which stops me from doing anything at all. I need to let go of those restraints to really create.
Hodge-podge. I have taken many different art classes: drawing, painting, pottery, sculpture, color theory, etc. I wasn’t that great at any one of them, but I loved the process, which was enough for me. I hadn’t thought of combining all these different elements and studying mixed media. Loving the process is enough, and I think it shows in my work. Creating pieces I truly love is powerful.
Fun. I don’t take my art too seriously. I am always trying to have fun with it. My studio is my play place. I’m game for challenges and have at times felt like what I was working on was becoming a chore, but I’m happy to push through the chore of it when I feel like I am learning something. But now, if the chore outweighs the lesson and I don’t feel forward movement, I just walk away and start something new. I keep art fun and joyful.
Personal. I love to personalize things. When I’m talking with someone, I get really excited to hear how they can think about their life and self and to find ways express that on a canvas. I like to make art about places, spaces, people, and moments. I want it to have a personal meaning for the person I am giving it to.
Just like defining a music style: rock, country, folk; art has defined styles: contemporary, abstract, pop. I don’t think I fit in any predefined category—and I don’t want to. I understand the importance of labels, but I don’t really like them.
I think, for now, I’m going to go with “Kateful” as my style.