KAT ALYST
You showed up like you’ve been around forever, but before we get to how you found ShockBoxx, we want to know where you come from. So, Hey Kat…where do you come from?
I think it’s easier to just say I’m from Texas. I moved 11x, maybe more, in high school alone. I haven’t been in one spot too long, ever. They were all small, rural towns with one stoplight and a lot of cows. Over the years I used to omit that part of my life, but lately I have been embracing what little roots I have. Regardless, they shaped my inner workings of a barefoot, tree-climbing, hillbilly, that feels my best day isn’t a good hair day, rather when all my black clothes match in the perfect shade, and my black eyeliner wings are tack sharp. With all that said, I believe the start of art meeting photography for me started at a garage sale in 10th grade. Someone was selling a busted, point-and-shoot Vivitar camera that had to have a guitar pick jammed in the battery lid to keep it shut. With batteries from the tv remote, I crossed my fingers, and found out that the thing actually worked! I was bored. Super bored. Very uncool in school. I was an only child mainly just with my mom, and distant from family. Long story short, I just started using this camera to record the things around me. The photos were terrible. Then I started experimenting with the self-timer in cemeteries, in the woods, and I guess building a storyline for “art.” This planted a seed, but I never had a lot of confidence. I always felt like I was the outsider. East Texas and everybody considered me, “weird”, or “goth.” My whole plan was to run away as soon as I could: so that’s what I did. Fast-forward to present day, and a lot of unbelievable stories later, and you can find me working between Los Angeles, Austin (TX), and New York.
Ok, so how did all that lead to the decision to head into a formal art school?
I had no plans to attend school beyond high school. At that time, I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as going to college and majoring in Fine Art. I think it was a serendipitous combination of a really sweet school counselor pulling me out of class one day to ask me my future plans. This counselor, along with my new best friend (also the odd man out in his school) combined to encourage, slash, tell me I had to go focus on my “talent”. I quote talent, because again, my photos and artwork were really just flat out bad. When I told the counselor that I didn’t have any money for something like college, she helped me figure out financial aid and applying to scholarships. Along with her continuing to call my house phone (I did not have a cell phone), even after I moved schools just one month after her initial question, she continued to help me find a school that worked for me. It is people like her that change the world. I appreciate her at least every other week to this day. She didn’t have to do that for me at all, but she did.
How is it that ShockBoxx got onto your radar?
Because of saying “yes” to art school, I learned about Call for Entry (.com), and “wah-lah!” Shockboxx was sitting there waiting for me. I was half finished with a long project, and dying to submit something from the work. The name “Shockboxx Gallery” stood out among the others, and I loved the immediate imagery I got from it, did some research, and was just like… ok yes… let’s give this a shot. Now here we are. :)
You have a series, the one with, “Caught Pink Handed.” Where does this series come from, and what are you working on right now?
The series is called, “someone is trying to tell you something.” I decided to keep the title lowercase, because it’s not fully being said with confidence. I wanted to focus on a self-portrait series that shares personal stories and vulnerabilities regarding the subject of mental-health and illness. We are living in a time where we are beginning to be so, “open,” and there is a movement that has been supportive to speak on taboo subjects like depression (and more), but I still find myself (and hear from so many others) too scared to discuss these issues, even with a therapist. I had been spiraling for three years. Those three years started off bad and became worse than terrible. Looking back, I realized that I should have said something, or reached out for help, sooner. One day I had so little energy, I couldn’t even raise my arms. I had been in bed for 2 days and couldn’t go into work. I thought, if I can get up and over this, I’m going share my stories and try to prevent anyone from waiting too long like I have. I didn’t truly believe that burnout and debilitating depression could really happen, and it forced me to face my darkest parts and the events that brought me to that exact moment. I want to create a space, real-life or digital, that reminds people that they are never alone.
Right now, I’m sketching daily for a minimum of 10 minutes and excited to focus on a new body of work that will focus more specifically on where I come from. Like I said earlier, it’s time to embrace my roots.
We admired your hustle from the day you showed up. It’s a hustle that new artists need to see. What’s the secret to how you stay motivated with the business side of being creative?
Thank you… I just had a thought one day, that you really do just have to jump in the deep end and start doing what you love. There isn’t a perfect time, or a perfect plan, with art at least. Just, “do.” Go for it. Take breaks, but don’t quit. I just pace myself and keep a running list of goals. The list re-prioritizes over and over, but I keep a visual of ideas, sketch daily (minimum 10 minutes), and it all just helps me stay motivated. Whatever system you can make work for you is a good key to maintaining motivation, and somehow this combination has been working for me.
