January 27th 2012 | a poem by Greta Taxis

Katie Duane is one of my favorite contemporary American artists — she paints, writes, and photographs with senses alive and mind awake.  I had the honor to ask her a few questions about art, life, and animals.

ARTIST INTERVIEW | Katie Duane

1.) When did it all begin for you (creating art, writing, making, etc.)?

I have always created things. I suppose drawing began when I was littler, and usually followed whatever I was obsessed with at the time (I drew and painted a lot of ice skaters, horses, interiors of houses, and portraits of Helen Keller in my youth!) Writing began when I was ten, when I wrote a 113 page story about a girl and her horse. Upon finishing, I was dissatisfied, and burned it. I’ve written a lot since, but never anything as long!

2.) Who’s been your earliest creative and/or personal supporter?

It’s hard to say, as I’ve been so lucky to have family and friends who are generally supportive of the arts… but I think the first person that encouraged me to take my art more seriously and really pursue it was an art teacher I had in the tenth grade. Her presence in my life changed in everything.

3.) What locations have inspired you most?

That’s another difficult one. I’m not sure locations inspire as much as the experiences that occur in such locations, or the memories I have of them. I love the sea, I love dense forests, open fields, and I love equally places that are seedy or are in disrepair (and not in the glamorous way) and are easily overlooked.  I hope I’ve answered this question correctly!

4.) What is your most treasured object?

I don’t think I have one. I treasure all kinds of objects… shells, photographs, ceramic cups, books… but I suppose the one thing I really ever need is a place to record my thoughts and observations. So that would make my most treasured object whatever journal/sketchbook I am using at that time.

5.) Do you have any creative disciplines that have helped you grow as an artist?

Practice! For the longest time, I hated practicing. I wanted to sit down and create a masterpiece every time. Recently I’ve had to get over that and come terms to the fact that some of the things I make will be pointless and ugly…and that’s the only way to getting to where I want to be as an artist. I try to always have a sketchbook/journal on me so I can write down ideas or thoughts that occur to me, or observations that inspire me. That is absolutely necessary.

6.) If you opened your own business, what would it be about?

I think about this all the time, because that is what I one day hope to do! I would open two simultaneous businesses, separate but intrinsically linked. One half of my building would be a small arts studio that functions as an after-school creative program for children, and even their families, whose access to the arts is limited. The other half would be a cafe that would exhibit work created by both the students at the studio, and by local artists. It would be locally based, supportive of the community and hopefully also supported by the community. A place for everyone and anyone who needs it.

7.) If you decided to choose a different first, middle and last name – what would you choose?

I have  ever thought about this. I don’t think I’d ever change my name, but sometimes I wish I could adopt the name “Helen” somehow, not as a first name, but perhaps another middle name. Helen Keller was my childhood hero and I think she very much helped to shape the person I became.

8.) What animal inspires you most?

The deer. They are quiet, graceful, and beautiful… the forests mysterious shadows. Plus I’m pretty certain they are fairly wise.

9.) How would you define wisdom?

Being open, understanding, and accepting. Which is applying personal experience to your present-day life, and when you can’t, to instead apply the knowledge that you have not experienced something to your every-day life. I don’t know if this makes sense, but what I am trying to say is wisdom is knowing when you know something, and also knowing when you don’t, and especially refraining from judging somebody by something you know nothing about. Also! Knowing that you have an effect on people, everyday…so developing self-awareness is an essential element in wisdom. These are things I think about everyday, somedays I excel, somedays I really struggle.

10.) What do you believe your art communicates about yourself and about the world?

I kind of hope my art doesn’t communicate much about me, except maybe that I am always looking, that I am present and listening and that I am motivated by sharing messages that might otherwise become lost. But if my work does what it is supposed to do, well my paintings/photographs anyway, the viewer shouldn’t learn anything about me. My work, I hope, helps viewers learn something about the subject matter, and perhaps even about themselves. I desire to paint people, places and things that are easily over-looked or forgotten, and to capture moments of beauty that are so fleeting that they are often missed! I hope that in looking my paintings, the viewers respond emotively or thoughtfully, and I hope that my work serves to bring viewers together, rather than separate or isolate them. I am fascinated by the delicate nature of the human experience, and I hope my work communicates that.

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Visit Katie’s website: http://katied.virb.com/

Purchase her book: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2660117