Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Kirby
Hi Katie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in Albany New York, born to two Grateful Dead-loving lawyer parents, and the oldest of three daughters.
I started drawing when I was 11 months old, and started lessons shortly after. I had an amazing teacher. Her name was Miss Jill and she had a purple studio in the center of my town. We studied and learned about famous artists, and mimicked their painting styles and content. I knew who Frida Kahlo was at 3 years old. By 4 I was painting Klimt.
My love for art continued to grow but, as I got older, I started playing sports. It’s what all the other kids were doing in middle school and I wanted to fit in and be with my friends. I started swimming, and playing lacrosse, and field hockey.
The sports were time consuming and, by high school, I had absolutely no extra time for art. It took a backseat for many years. I pushed away what I truly loved and was good at.
While I never went D1 for lacrosse, when I applied to college, I ended up choosing the hardest most “prestigious” school I got accepted to-my dad’s alma mater. I wanted to follow in his footsteps and live out his undergraduate legacy.
When I got to college, I wasn’t happy. The few times I felt like I actually fit in were in my art classes in the school’s very underdeveloped art department. After two miserable years, I knew if I didn’t make a radical change, I might end up feeling this way forever.
And so I dropped out. Without a real plan, I just knew I wanted to study art. I applied to SCAD, and came in as a transfer Painting student. I’m grateful to be here now, because every day I create art, is a day I feel closer to my true self, to the person I lost touch with trying to be someone I wasn’t for so long. Every assignment I have done at SCAD has brought me closer to my inner child. As I look towards graduation in the Spring, I am so deeply thankful for my time here in Savannah, and proud of myself for how far I have come these past few years.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It most certainly has not been a smooth road, but that’s what makes it even more rewarding now. As I mentioned before, I transferred out of my first college. Without going into too much detail, my experience there was a nightmare. Growing up in such a liberal and accepting home environment left me woefully unprepared for the culture shock that living in the Confederate capital of the United States during the 2020 election AND COVID-19, would bring.
As one of the most segregated colleges in the United States, the culture on our campus in particular was even harder to accept. Greek life fostered a toxic community where students not only knew they could get away with breaking the rules, and laws, without consequences, and used fear to silence and control each other. Speaking out against injustices that took place in these spaces would quickly turn you into a social pariah, and the administration does an excellent job at sweeping everything under the rug. It was safe to say I did not fit in here and it was a really tough experience, but ultimately it shaped me into the person I am today- someone who is not scared to stand up for what I believe in and doesn’t shy away from what I know is wrong.
It also made me very grateful for my experience and the community I have found here at SCAD. Being surrounded by such talented, kind and accepting students has really restored my faith in humanity, and inspires me to continue staying true to myself.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My primary discipline is painting- it has always been my first love. Recently I have been interested in incorporating fabric and found objects.
My memories are full of holes, and my work revolves around my desire to preserve them while trying to make my audience feel seen and represented. As someone who struggles with remembering everything and has grown up not necessarily feeling understood by the people around me, my work functions as a habitual practice that responds to my life experiences. It is important to me to honor my relationships with people and the world around me, which I accomplish through memories of my own that may be universally understood.
I reference my own photographs, taken in passing, and vague enough to form a nostalgic memory that could even be recognized by my audience as one of their own. The most recognizable part of my work is that I paint on patterned fabrics. As an aesthetic choice and a desire to further preserve and immortalize the past, I source these fabrics from my old clothes, pillow cases, curtains and thrift stores. Through this process, I react to my surroundings and experiences, cementing significant memories, or otherwise, into a tangible timeline of my life with the main goal of making others feel acknowledged and seen. No matter your age, it is all of our first time experiencing life, and no one should have to navigate it alone.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Tenacity and work ethic. I strive to reach my goals no matter what obstacles I face because it’s in my nature to persevere.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.katiekirbystudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katiekirbystudio/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-kirby-5ba1232b7/
