Interview With Miz Katie

I got to know Miz Katie a little bit from my convos with her about my Treasury about clotheslines. That has lead to our exchange of features about each other's Etsy shops. The following are questions I posed to her and her answers to my questions.

I notice that you are in Kansas and wondered how long you have lived there?
Almost ten years, minus 2. It's actually a very long story, so I'll try to keep it short. I moved to KS in 1999 from Maine. Ended up moving to West Virginia in 2005. I LOVE West Virginia. But, I came back to Kansas in 2007 to be near family. I will never regret that choice, but honestly, I miss my friends in WV.

Are you in a rural area or closer to KC?
I am in extremely rural Kansas, three plus hours away from KC, and about 40-45 minutes away from Wichita. Except for the 932 people and all the barking dogs, it's a bit like a ghost town here. The grocery store, two restaurants and barber shop were closed when we moved here. There is absolutely nothing to do. It is about a 20-25 minute drive to the nearest little city. But, we have a liquor store, which just opened. I heard it is doing very well. Wine is a top seller.

What do you like about it, and what do you dislike?
I love being near family.
I love my house.
I love the flat land.
I love the hot, arid summers.
I dislike/disagree with the majority of political views.
I dislike people not caring for their animals, and leaving them out all night, barking, no matter what the weather.
I wish the neighborhood kids weren't so loud, disrespectful and rude.
I miss my WV "hillbilly" friends.

Are you involved in any art groups or do you show in a gallery?
Only online. I belong to so many art groups, it would take days to list them all.
I don't think my art fits in a typical gallery.

How long have you been painting?
Oh, gosh! Well, hm..my obsession for painting started soon after I moved to Kansas in 1999..I was very lonely, depressed, and unhappy. I began to paint for that reason. Painting made me come alive. It gave me reason to get out of bed each morning. I couldn't wait to paint..still can't. It's something I look forward to doing every day. Before that, I was more into collage, writing, and photography. I've been published a few times in magazines/newspapers, and several times online.

What time of day do you find is best for you to paint?
Anytime is fine with me. I'm not one who has to sit around and wait for inspiration. I HAVE to paint. It isn't a choice. I usually paint from around 1pm to 7pm, though. That time works for me. I have the morning to get the boring stuff done, and I can play all afternoon. Sometimes, I can't wait for 1pm, though, and I head to the studio as soon as my first cup of coffee is brewed.

What do you like about your work space, and what do you dislike?
I have a pretty big room, which I call my studio. I love everything about it, except that it's freezing cold. I can't seem to get it above 60F in that room, no matter how high I crank the furnace. brr!!! I have to use a space heater the whole time I'm working.

Do you listen to any music while painting, and if you do what kind of music?
Sure, sometimes. I like Alternative. I usually go to Pandora.com and listen to the Foo Fighters station. That gives me non-stop music with no commercials the whole time I paint.

How did your "style" evolve?
Oh, there are so many ways! The most important is that I stopped taking myself and art seriously years ago. I used to be so anal retentive. It was incredibly boring and painful to make art back then. I was so careful. Ugh! The day I learned there are no mistakes in art was the greatest day I've ever lived. I know now that no matter what I do, I can NOT mess up. It's impossible. That's why gesso was created! All I have to do is paint over it if I don't like it, and try again. What a relief! Whew! The pressure is OFF.

I am much happier these days, so I insert humor into my artwork more often than I used to. I like to take something ordinary and twist it until it's humorous. Sometimes, absurdly so. I'm from New England; therefore, I am sarcastic. ;) Most everything I make comes from my imagination, made up stories, exaggeration, half-truths, and complete and utter lies! Oh, there is a pinch of reality thrown in from time to time, but eh.. I like to keep it as unreal as possible.

I hope you have enjoyed this feature on Miz Katie and will check out her Etsy shop, MizKatie!
I think her art is very fresh and lots of fun! Enjoy!

Crazy Days and Crazy Nights

I have been soooo busy since we got back to Florida. It has always been a fact that summer is a slower, more restful season, and most groups I've been involved with don't have either meetings or shows. So when I arrive on the scene two months late, I feel like the world is spinning extra fast, because there is just so much getting caught up to be done.

I've checked on and updated inventory in shops and galleries, helped hang a group show, participated in a reception for the group show, gone to meetings and board meetings, gallery sat, helped hang my month-long show in a local boutique, designed and had Christmas cards printed and distributed them to various outlets where they are being sold, and even put together a membership database for another group and layed out the membership book and had that printed. I've been to two holiday parties for two groups already, taken a one-day workshop and done a Treasury for Etsy. And this is only the "art-related" activities. All this, just since the first of November!!!

I am looking forward to having TIME, sometime in the future. I wonder what it feels like to actually finish reading a book??? Maybe I could even PAINT!!!! I love being busy, but this feels like crazy busy.

My New Etsy Treasury "Just hanging out"

As you can see, I've named this treasury on Etsy, "Just hanging out." I love plays on words, and I think this one works. This is my most successful treasury to date. Just looking at it I found it on page 5, and it's not even a day old yet. Just an infant!

I had been looking for subjects for a treasury, and somehow I started thinking about how much fun I had photographing clotheslines in Italy and how much fun I've had painting the two Italian clotheslines that I've painted. So I decided this would be my subject.

I had so much fun seeing what was on Etsy with search words "art" and "clothesline." I found some wonderful things, and I was excited to snag a treasury. Well it's taken me awhile to do that. One time the magic number was down to 336 or something, and I went into the kitchen to work on something - like dinner or something silly like that. I had one eye on the computer and saw the screen flash, but by the time I got to it, the treasuries had already been filled. So this time, the magic number was 347 when I started to stalk the treasury page and wait for the screen to "open, open, open."

Many thanks to MizKatie who offered me access to her blog photo, where she has featured my treasury. Screen shot declined to work for me tonight. She's a fabulously expressive artist so go check out her world at MizKatie .

Please do go look at MizKatie's blog, Miz Katie , and be sure to check out my treasury which can be found on Etsy.com in Treasury under "Just hanging out" . It will expire in two days on December 8th around noon, so look fast.