bio.
Katie is a collage and mixed media artist living Crestwood, Kentucky. In addition to collage, she has experience in painting, drawing, cyanotype and fiber arts and experiments incorporating these into her work. Inspiration for her art comes from both the chaos of life and the peaceful beauty of the natural world, and how these interact, contrast and merge with one another. She lives in Kentucky with her husband, two young girls and their dog, Fern. You can find her creating in her sunny, bedroom studio at home or outside in nature.
artist statement.
Making art is what makes me feel most connected with myself and grounded in the world. This comes from a deep need to engage with and process my experiences, giving them a space to live outside of myself so I can then let them go. The inspiration for my art comes from both the chaos of life as a human and the peaceful beauty of the natural world.
I work mostly in analog collage but also have experience in cyanotype, painting, drawing and fiber arts and frequently experiment with incorporating these into my work. Collage allows me to express dichotomies and juxtapositions in a way that feels absolutely perfect to me. Cyanotype offers a lack of control that I thrive on and adding paint, charcoal, or fibers to my pieces allows me to communicate ideas in even more meaningful ways.
A big part of my process is finding. Whether it be an image from a vintage magazine or wildflowers from the forest, I collect things that inspire me. I then slowly and intuitively combine, edit, and layer, all the while asking questions of myself and the work. Themes that have emerged in my work include femininity, motherhood, loss, hope, chronic illness, immigration, and memories. Sometimes I feel these questions are eventually resolved and sometimes they seemingly stay hanging in the air in the final piece.