Friday Finds... creationsbykathryn

Friday Finds... Creationsbykathryn


This is my 14th interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy!

Hello! Happy Friday everyone! Wow I've had a busy week... trying to be productive n' all! I've been one busy bee on Link Referral doing my daily clicks which I admit is starting to get a little tedious now I'm into my 3rd week LOL! But!!! still... I can't complain about the results. I'm seeing great one's regarding traffic in alsorts of places because of it! If you have no idea what I'm on about check out the post on Link Referral on my blog!
Righty! Creationsbykathryn! Kat is the seller I'd like to introduce you to this week. Another that I found on Link Referral recently, and I just adore her fibre arts, painting and pottery! Vibrant, well made, unusual and made with love! It was hard not to have a good look through her store when I found her. I do love textiles and I'm always fascinated by artists that are able to felt together masterpieces with various wools and materials. The results are always amazing to me! I see it like sculpting, just without the clay! It's amazing what you can do with fibres by simply just knitting or crocheting them, so i have a lot of respect for anyone that can be more creative with them. Her other artwork is just as unique and one of a kind! Gorgeous abstract paintings that remind me of a melting collage, colors intertwining with the array of media included in the piece. Then there's her pottery... just beautiful, like a finished painting in themselves! I wanted to interview her this week as I was intrigued to hear more about her work so here we go!


(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)







-- Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) My name is Kat Johnston, I am 30 years old, living in Philadelphia. I moved here from Rochester, NY where I grew up and did my undergrad art degree at Nazareth College. Most people never heard of Nazareth, it was a small school but I got a lot of individual attention. It also allowed me to take a variety of studio courses so I could explore the media that I still work with to this day. I came to Philadelphia to get my Masters in Art Therapy, since for me art has always been an effective emotional outlet I wanted to share it with others.

-- What is your business about then? Creations by kat is a collection of work that includes a variety of media that range from fiber art and pottery to original paintings and mixed media. I started Creations by kat in 2005 because I felt ready for the world to see my work. For many years I kept my art very private, as if it were pages of my journal.


--How did Etsy come into your life? I posted some photos of my recent felted wall hangings on facebook and a friend of mine recommended that I put my work on Etsy, so that she could buy it. I had occasionally come across it but never really looked into how it worked, now that I’ve set up a shop --- I love it and sometimes wonder why I hadn’t joined sooner.

-- Are you working a day job too? Currently, I am officially “unemployed” and have been for the last 5 months, which of course allows me more time to devote to online sales and website development. Prior to my unemployment, I have been working as an art therapist at a hospital. I still run workshops doing art therapy in the community a couple times a month to keep me sharp and continuing to practice as a therapist.

-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? I have been making art for as long as I can remember, I did my very first painting when I was 7years old. My uncle was an artist and he taught me how to hold a brush and to use acrylics. I still have that painting, it was of black-eyed susans and a butterfly.

-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? It has always been a dream of mine to support myself as an artist. To have my own business with my art, means to me that during my waking hours I am doing the thing I love the most! I have seen other artists do it and that gives me hope and inspiration!
If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me?
Expressive, organic texture, lively ( I know that second one was 2 words-oops)

-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? First thing I do is I make coffee (very important), then I take photos of any new items, list them on etsy, visit other online art websites (artfire, 1000 markets, votehandmade, etc) add items and update or respond to emails if need be, networking online, responding to forums. Work on new projects at home –collages, felting or go to my pottery studio. In the evening, I check my etsy shop and other online website for any new messages and to see how many hits my site got for the day. I am hoping that very soon I will be making visits to the post office, mailing out items and collecting sales from my etsy shop, since I have yet to do this. I am looking forward to my first sale! It will be very exciting moment for creations by kat!!!


-- What's your favorite material and techniques to work with? I really enjoy mixed media/ collage. I love texture, exploring the qualities of media, adding more to the piece in layers until it “feels” complete. I enjoy allowing my work to evolve right before my eyes. Most of the time I don’t know what the end product will look like, I let my art emerge and take on a life of its own. The feltings are like this as well, the initial pattern of colors and way things fit together changes as you felt the wool and the end product ends up looks nothing like what you thought it was going to. I like that, I respect that the art has its own energy and existence, I’m just a vessel to allow it to come into existence initially and help it find its true shape and form.

-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? I am thinking about specializing in custom albums, for weddings and other special occasions, that would be hand-crafted and unique. Each album would have an original collage/mixed media artwork on the cover and other unique flavors of creations by kat. I would also like to take my pottery to bigger and better places!

-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I enjoy networking online with other artists, playing online games on facebook (I am totally guilty of Farmville addiction), going to the gym, clocking in hours at local coffee shops, knitting, playing and cuddling with my cat, watching my man play X-box for hours (like watching a live movie and he’s the main star!)

-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? Handmade books, journals, collage and mixed media artwork- to see what other people are making.

--Any last words? Thanks for taking the time to get to know me a little bit, II look forward to sharing my artwork with you and many others. Check out my blog - http://kat-johnston.blogspot.com/ for all the lastest and greatest random thoughts and ramblings. :)