Short Answer Sunday: Katherine Knight

Welcome to Short Answer Sunday, an interview series where I ask artists, art adjacent individuals, and other interesting, creative people the same set of questions. With the intent of getting to know the person behind the artwork as well generating new avenues to artistic discovery, participants respond with a few words or an artist’s name, always with the opportunity to elaborate if they wish!

Guys, say hello to Katherine Knight. Katherine is a delightful human, a long-time friend and an artist + professor that I truly look up to. Longstanding readers (aka the real heads) will know that she is also a co-founder of the Art Habit blog and a member of my artist support group (remember that thing you need that you don’t think you need?).

Katherine’s figurative paintings and drawings are exquisite and she is always pushing the boundaries of what is possible, with scale, material and installation. I love hearing about her material research—how to manipulate fabric to look like snake skin, how to find the perfect fabric to simulate pool water, how to unify hand-knit elements with drawing on paper, how to work with horse hair, etc., etc. It is mesmerizingly cool and a good reminder that an artist’s research takes many forms and usually starts with a question and lots and lots of experimentation in the studio. As you soon will see, she’s also a great storyteller and had me laughing to the point of tears many times during her Short Answer Sunday.

It’s the first Sunday of Virgo season and Short Answer Sunday drew its first breath on the first Sunday of Pisces season. For my readers not versed in astrology, this means that we now have a half a year of Short Answer Sundays under our belts. Tomorrow is the start of Fall semester and my first day of classes. This year (ahem), I have taken on some new responsibilities at work and I’ve just found out I’ll likely have another solo show next year (won’t say more at this juncture for fear of jinxing, but more soon, I promise). All this is to say that Short Answer Sunday will be moving into freewheeling mode with a more intermittent schedule for a while, and a big break at the beginning of the semester.

Anyways, Short Answer Sunday partially owes her existence to Katherine Knight and Nikki Painter, because it was through my conversations with them that I realized how interesting this project could be (our answers were all so different)! Ginormously grateful to Katherine and everyone who has participated thus far.

For more about Katherine and her work, go to her website and follow her on Instagram.
xo, Lauren

Name: Katherine Knight
Occupation: Associate Professor of Art
Astrological data: Pices. Picees? How do you even spell it? Pieces?
Hometown: Columbia, SC
Current location: Washington, DC

Other than Instagram, how do you find new-to-you artists?

From my friends!

An artwork that makes you laugh?

My students make me laugh all the time. They’re very good at being witty in their work. A recent midterm featured a portrait of Frida Kahlo, and her eyes were very intense. There was also a coffee mug with intense eyes, and a pair of glasses, which even though they didn’t have eyes, were still definitely staring at you. You felt under the microscope and scrutinized by these ridiculous items. It was so funny.

An artwork that makes you cry?

Soooo many paintings have made me cry! The first one I really remember was ‘Nude’ by Euan Uglow at the Tate in London. It’s a painting of a seated nude pushing herself up from a chair. It was hung so you’d see it first from the end of a long gallery, and I don’t know, something about it got me. I remember practically running towards it (like the slow motion run in a rom-com), and then standing in front of it crying. Her effort and physicality are just so REAL, and yet it’s very much a painting. Years later, I got special permission to visit it in storage, and it made me cry again, even though it was hung sideways to save space.

Most underrated artist?

Paula Rego.

An artwork that you’d like to live inside for a week?

Liza Lou’s beaded kitchen. I kinda want to live in her hyper version of reality for a while. Not forever, but for a bit.

Liza Lou, “Kitchen” (1991-1996) (detail), glass beads, wood, wire, plaster, and artist’s used appliances, 96 x 132 x 168 inches
image source

An artist whose work you can’t stop thinking about?

In highschool I developed an intense crush on a painting of David with Goliath’s head after seeing it IRL. Like, I would have passed him notes in class, and I daydreamed about him for YEARS. This was pre-internet, as I am old, so he mostly lived in my head. Recently, I realized I COULD look him up, so I did, and I was totally underwhelmed, like ‘what was I THINKING?’, much like running into an old (and disappointing) boyfriend. I’m not going to tell you which painting, because I don’t want you to judge me.

An artwork that feels like a warm hug?

Interiors by Bonnard. But not the bathrooms, those are sad.

What’s your favorite characteristic in an artwork?

I like it when the colors, or some other feature, transport you to a different place, like a specific time of day, or type of weather. I like it when you feel like you can smell the air there. I’m especially impressed if an artist is able to do this within the confines of a rectangle, vs an installation or other 3D format, because it seems harder to make a 2D space that swallows you up.

Erotic artwork? (Ed. note: this is a multiple choice question)

Other: Meh - not for me.

What’s an artwork that doesn’t look like art?

One time I was on an escalator, and I heard this delightful chiming noise. It wasn’t a melody, but it was musical. When I got to the bottom, I saw a handful of those fruit-shaped candies (are they runts?). They’d ride down the escalator, hit that thingie on the bottom, then bounce up a few feet and repeat the ride, ping-ponging all the way. Because they were all different shapes, they made different tones when they hit. It kept going and going and going. I thought ‘how marvelous! I wonder if it’s Art?’ I’m still not sure. Was it intentional? Does it matter? Can it still be Art if it’s unintentional? I choose to believe that it is.

What’s an artwork that you suspect that you shouldn’t like, but you do (guilty pleasure)?

Thomas Kincaid. JUST KIDDING. Though I do have more respect for him (or the arbiters of his estate) after they pushed back on his imagery being used for MAGA ads.

Ummm.... I think I’m not supposed to like ‘For the Love of God’ (the diamond skull) by Damien Hirst because it’s crass. And controversial, because he cast a real human skull. But you know what? That many diamonds is cool. They’re so sparkly.

Damien Hirst, For the Love of God, platinum, diamond, human teeth, 2007, image source

What’s an artwork that you secretly hate?

Fragonard. Blegh.

Most insane art piece?

Heard*NY by Nick Cave. I wish I’d seen it! Oh, that reminds me. Puppets ALWAYS make me cry. Last summer I ugly-cried in the 20 minute stage performance of ‘How to Train your Dragon’ at Universal Studios because the dragon puppets were so moving. Dragons! In the real world! Gah! Sob!

Fav monograph or art book?

I’m currently reading ‘How Painting Happens (and why it matters)’ by Martin Gayford. A student recommended it, and it’s SO GOOD.

Fav museum or gallery in your current location?

The National Gallery. I’m such a huge fan.

Last exhibition you saw irl?

Women Artists of the Dutch Golden Age at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. I cried there, too - several times. They had TWO self portraits by Judith Leyster - the one everyone knows, and a recently discovered NEW one where she’s middle aged. Uggghhhh so good. 

Judith Leyster, Self Portrait, ca.1630, image source

I wanted to see the Amy Sherald exhibition at the BMA, but it sold out and I missed my chance! I will have to chase it to Atlanta! (Ed. note: Happy ending because I know for a fact she made it to the High Museum in Atlanta)

Amy Sherald, Planes, Rockets, and the Spaces in Between, 2018, oil on canvas, 100 x 67 in., image source

An artwork that packs a spiritual punch?

ummmmmm. Is mentioning a cathedral too on-the-nose? The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudi. I’ve been twice, and both times I’ve thought, I’d go to church every week if I could just sit in this space regularly. I don’t practice any sort of religion, but I feel at my most expansive when out in nature. The Sagrada Familia’s pillars are giant tree trunks, and the windows evoke light streaming through jewel toned leaves. It perfectly captures the grandeur of nature, filtered through the genius of one person’s vision, actualized by the thousands of artists who have worked on it for the past 140+ years. ooo, I’m getting chills just thinking about it.

An artwork that you’d like to see before you die?

the Slav Epic, a cycle of 20 ENORMOUS paintings by Alphonse Mucha, chronicling the history of the Slavic people. They’re so big and fragile, they don’t travel much. I’ll have to go to Prague to Czech(ia) it out.

What art material do you love to nerd out on?

Oil Paint!

What was the last thing that you listened to in the studio?

KEXP!

What’s a book that changed your life?

Art Book: Secret Knowledge, by David Hockney.

Non Art Book - Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

What song, book, podcast or film do you think everyone should know about?

Wellll, discovering KEXP changed my life.

Also ‘The Run-through’ Figure Skating podcast is my current obsession. You don’t even have to like Figure Skating to enjoy it- they’re so funny. The first episode of the ‘Ice Dance Lore’ is the funniest thing I’ve heard in a looooong time. I was incoherent while listening. It’s a long listen, but the payoff is SO worth it.

❤

Katherine Knight grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. She received a BA in Studio Art from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and an MFA in Painting from American University in Washington, DC. She has completed additional studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Slade School of Fine Art in London. Her work has been exhibited at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, VisArts in Rockville, MD, the OU Gallery on Vancouver Island Canada, Gallaudet University in Washington DC, Shrine NYC’s virtual Group Show (room 5), and the Indie Grits Film Festival, where her short film Sunday Mornings won the Southern Lens Award. International artist residencies include the OU Gallery on Vancouver Island, Canada, and the Burren College of Art in County Clare, Ireland. She is associate professor of painting at Montgomery College in Silver Spring, Maryland, and splits her time between Washington, DC and rural Appalachia.

What Sustained Me in 2023

When Lauren first suggested that we write a post about ‘What Sustained Us in 2023’, my first reaction was to think that for me, 2023 was not a year in which I needed a lot of sustaining. Certainly not compared to the last several years, where I depended heavily on my cat, texting my friends, lots of time outdoors, obsessive knitting, my studio, and quality time with my family to get me through the twin demons of monotony and uncertainty that characterized the Covid years. 

In contrast, 2023 seemed like a year in which lots of chickens came home to roost. Many, many wishes, projects, and schemes (many of which I’d been dreaming about for decades and took years worth of work) came to fruition in 2023. Most significantly for me professionally, I earned a year-long Sabbatical from my teaching job, and a solo exhibition; my first in the DC area where I live. Both of these have looming deadlines in August, 2024. My family and I also took advantage of the relative flexibility of Sabbatical schedule to travel around Europe for 6 weeks. My husband took time off work, we homeschooled our third-grader (with the support of his school), and tried our best to take in every museum, park, and cultural experience available along our route. 

So while, yes, I do feel a tremendous amount of gratitude and pride for all the planning, hard work, support, and luck that went into achieving these long hoped-for goals, 2023 for me was characterized by a deep desire to not blow it. And since the academic year re-starts in August, the fun continues. 

I’m loving it - it’s exhilarating, and I’m constantly pinching myself thinking, ‘Do I really get to do all this?’, but at the same time, the pace feels unreasonable long-term. I have been sustained by the joy, gratitude, and satisfaction that these opportunities have brought, and also by the knowledge that there’s an end-date. When September 1st 2024 rolls around, I hope I’ll be able to look back on this period with the satisfaction of a job well done. 

The Artist's Way: A Group Book Review

 

Katherine's copy of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron with her journals full of Morning Pages

*How did we decide to do The Artist’s Way as a group?

Lauren: My memory is that I may have brought it up during one of our meetings. I noticed several groups of artists on Instagram working through the book together during the early Covid era in 2020-2021. I had also read about it in Carol Bove’s essay The Four-Hour Art Week: Read Carol Bove’s Self Help Guide for Artists from Akademie X. If Carol Bove was into it, how bad could it be? I may be wrong, but I think we started discussing it before Brian and I moved into our new house. Nikki you mentioned you had done it in the past. I think it took us a while to start, because we were in the new house when we began (November 2021?). We were all a little reluctant, I think.

Katherine: Yes - I agree with Lauren! I remember someone bringing it up in one of our monthly Zoom’s. I can’t remember if it was Nikki or Lauren, but I know that I was the only one who had never heard of it before.

Nikki: This is how I remember it too, and I think I was slightly pro- reading it, because I had also recently noticed some people posting about it on Instagram. But I also felt reluctant because I wasn’t sure I was ready to tackle Morning Pages again. But I thought it would be fun to read it with Lauren and Katherine! 

*What were your expectations or hopes going into reading the book?

N: I had read the book before, and actually felt like it led to my decision to quit a public school teaching job and apply to grad school… In some ways it feels like I owe my whole career to The Artist’s Way, so I definitely felt like big things could happen from re-reading it. I was also apprehensive, because I had tried to re-read it a second time previously and just couldn’t deal with the Morning Pages, so I felt worried I might have to (or might want to) tap out at some point.

L: I have no idea what I was expecting! I had the impression that I didn’t need the book, that it was all about being blocked as an artist. As an artist who rarely has been blocked, I doubted that it would be helpful at all. I did think that it might be helpful to share with students in the future, so I initially conceived of it as a teaching tool.

K: Lauren’s recollection about us being reluctant to start the book is spot-on. I had MANY reservations about this endeavor - it just felt like such a huge undertaking. I’m not a morning person, and I’d sworn off journaling in my early 20’s after realizing that I was just wallowing in my misery, and it made my life worse, not better. BUT - I trust Nikki and Lauren, and in the 2020 mindset I was really looking forward to doing something together as a group. My only hope was to just get through the book. I secretly gave myself permission to quit the morning journaling if it started bumming me out (sorry guys!). Spoiler alert: I’m SO GLAD I did it. The experience was every bit as transformative as everyone says it is, and I was definitely a skeptical/tough customer.

  Lauren's copy of The Artist's Way

*How would you describe The Artist’s Way to someone who hasn’t heard of it?

L: A guidebook for cultivating and supporting creativity. Full of lots of practical guidance, tactics, questions, observations and rules! But it’s more than that. It’s a spiritual experience. I just noticed that Julia Cameron refers to it as a “sourcebook”! That works!

K: I would say that The Artist’s Way is a program that helps you discover, confront, and ultimately dispel whatever biases you have about yourself and your artwork. It’ll help you clear the air in your own head, so you can get down to the business of practicing your art.

N: The Artist’s Way is a book that contains exercises focused on creativity. It’s not just like ‘let’s make something’, though. It's more meta in the way it approaches creativity, because it asks you to consider certain attitudes that affect how you approach creativity and how you can remove roadblocks in order to freely create. It directs you to think about how you think about creativity.

*What did you like most about reading the book (and why)?

L: It pushed me out of my element! I liked this, but it wasn’t always comfortable!

Prior to starting the book, my studio practice already felt expansive. With The Artist’s Way as a guide, I opened up to other art-adjacent areas that I have been interested in but never really wholeheartedly pursued. For instance, writing about art. Not only did I not feel particularly confident about my writing, I felt that pursuing writing would be a distraction from my so-called “real” work in the studio. The Artist’s Way helped me to see that both are intertwined and do not have to be mutually exclusive. At the risk of sounding like a really slow learner, I finally realized that I do not need anyone’s permission to write about art, that I could write how I wanted, I could write about anything I wanted and I could be inconsistent, silly, weird, and so on. 

Another important focus was the process of defining “success” for myself. Similar to my earlier thoughts on writing, I think my initial definition of “success” revolved around other artists, curators, critics, gallerists, etc. responses to my work. The book helped me to find the edges of my own, personal definition. Finishing the book actually felt like the beginning of the path–doing the book was kind of this odd, intermediary metamorphosis phase where lots of new ideas were just beginning to bubble to the surface.  I am still working on a personal definition of success, but this process has been pretty profound and reinvigorating for my artistic practice and my outlook on life as a whole.

K: I was surprised to find that I loved writing the morning pages, and am still doing them (almost) daily! I’ve written more about my experience with morning pages here.

N: Each time I have read the book, Julia Cameron’s compassion towards creatives has stood out, and so has the way she encourages us to be kinder to ourselves. The first time I read it, I was struck by the section about the ‘Inner Critic’, and how (according to Cameron) this mean monster way of treating ourselves and our work didn’t have to be something we keep doing. The information is just as poignant now, as I still have to work on separating from my Inner Critic, and I probably always will. 

Lauren's The Artist's Way and her Morning Pages journals

*What did you like least about reading the book (and why)?

L: One of the hardest parts for me were the affirmations. I didn’t feel like I got much out of them, but I think I may not be taking them seriously enough. I thought that writing every morning would be the hardest component, but I really got into the morning pages. In fact, I still write three pages every morning.

If I’m being honest, artist dates were also a major challenge for me. I love the idea of artist dates, but found them really hard to fit into my schedule between teaching, the studio, parenting and having a life. It was really challenging to give myself that time! I did do the artist dates every week, but they were pretty tame.  If I did the book again, I would push the adventurousness of my artist dates.

K: I agree with Lauren - the affirmations were tough for me. I really tried hard, but they just felt silly, and like I was trying to affirm things that were ultimately out of my control. I quit doing them.

N: Morning Pages were/are a tough commitment for me, because I often feel impatient and like I am wasting time while writing them. The second time I tried to read/do the book, I quit because I didn’t want to do Morning Pages, and I didn’t feel right about reading the book without also doing the exercises. I’ve gotten around that this time by being more flexible with my expectations for the writing (instead of doing 3 pages, I do one, I usually don't write on weekends, I don’t always write in the morning, etc.). I know I’m not getting some of the intended value by not writing the full 3 pages, but I am still getting something important from them by developing a strong relationship with my inner voice. 

Artist Dates are also tough, but for some reason I’m not as hard on myself about not getting those in each week as I am about the writing. Maybe because since they seem fun, I don’t feel guilty when I miss them. This definitely says something about internalized ideals and expectations around “work” versus “play”... something to think about.

*How did the book change the way you think about your work or yourself?

L: I think it changed the way I think about myself, more so than my work. That’s really what I needed, a way to feel more confident in myself even if I was not getting outside reinforcement. It helped me to develop a more nurturing inner voice, as well as develop more constructive relationships to success, work and time.

K: The book really changed the way I view my artistic practice in relation to other parts of my life. I have a lot of other responsibilities and interests, and I used to feel guilty about not spending enough time in the studio, especially whenever I was ‘indulging’ in something for fun, vs work or family obligations. Completing The Artist’s Way helped me find peace around all of this. Not only do I feel a lot less guilty about pursuing these other interests, but I’ve come to view my wide ranging skill set as something of a super power, and am now looking for ways of folding these skills and interests into my studio practice. The Artist’s Way helped me feel like a whole person, instead of feeling like my attention was constantly being pulled in different directions.

N: Detaching from my Inner Critic, was (and is) a really big deal for me. 

Acknowledging the importance of play in the creative process via Artist Dates has also helped me follow different routes in the studio and take time to consider ideas that might otherwise have seemed like sidetracks. 

The Artist’s Way was the first authoritative voice for me that said it was good to embrace the things you love and that bring pleasure and joy (in making your work), and that it’s okay to enjoy these things without having to rationalize and verbalize the meaning of it all. 

Looking for synchronicities every week and every day has also become important thanks to The Artist’s Way. It feels like a different, more magical take on a gratitude practice.

Nikki's copy

*Who would you recommend this book to? What do they need to know before they start?

L: I’d recommend this book to art students, people who think that they’re not creative, all artists/creatives, even people that think they don’t need it. Maybe everyone needs this book?!

 

Follow the rules! Do the hard questions/tasks (I’m 100% talking to myself here, as I bent a lot of the rules and tried to avoid some questions and prompts that I didn’t want to answer).

K: Honestly, I think this book would be perfect for anyone with big goals, whether or not they’re art related. The book’s real power is helping the reader create structure and discipline that are tailored to their life, and therefore easier to maintain long-term, but it takes work. I would advise anyone considering this book to be sure to give it enough time - at least 30 minutes to an hour of writing each day (sometimes more), and several more hours each week for reading and Artist Dates. I was really grateful to have started it over Winter Break, so I could get used to the routine before my spring classes started.

N: I would recommend the book to any artist, and anyone who engages thoughtfully with the creative act. You will get out of it in direct proportion to the effort you put in. AND if you can go through it with a small group of creative people who are serious about it, and who will do the weekly check-ins, your experience will be enriched, because learning how The Artist’s Way is working for others will help you see better the ways it’s working for you too. It is great to do the book by yourself, it’s incredibly valuable either way, but if you can read and share about it with people you trust, the experience will be richer. 

I am not being hyperbolic in saying the book has changed my life each of the times I have read it, and I am so grateful to Lauren and Katherine for being part of that this time around.

*Will you read/do The Artist’s Way again? Why/why not? If yes, when?

N: I will do The Artist’s Way again, but I don’t know when. I’ve (mostly- I took a break for 2 weeks) continued the practice of the Morning Pages since completing it this last time, but I allow myself to do a daily (on weekdays) abbreviated version (about a page) in order to keep it going. It’s been a useful practice to check in with myself and get grounded. Every time I’ve undertaken The Artist’s Way (except for the first time when I didn’t know what to expect), I’ve felt apprehension and dread about committing to the Morning Pages all over again, and I think I would still feel this way coming back to it for a fourth time. I don’t know why they feel like such a hurdle, BUT I also feel excited about when it will seem like the right time to do the book again. 

L: I will definitely do it again. I’ve also continued to write morning pages and check-in weekly with Nikki and Katherine. I have also periodically looked back through the book, when I’ve felt like I needed a reminder.

I don’t know when, but I have a feeling that I will go through the entire book again, at some point!

K: The Artist’s Way still feels so present, it’s hard to imagine doing it again! But I could see myself doing it the next time I feel stuck.  I’m currently working towards a show next year. It’ll be my biggest solo show so far(!!) and I definitely would not have landed without doing The Artist’s Way, and Nikki and Lauren’s support! The last time I completed a big project, I felt stuck and directionless for about a year. I would definitely consider doing The Artist’s Way if that happens again, but then again, the morning pages are helping to generate so many ideas that it may not happen this time. We’ll see!

Have you completed The Artist's Way? How was your experience? We would like to hear about it! Please share in the comments.

Question: Do you have a Morning Routine?

 

Recently, I’ve had a rash of thoughtful conversations about Morning Routines. The other day at work my friend and colleague Racquel Keller, with whom I share the painting classroom, rushed in somewhat flustered as I was packing up to leave, and she was setting up for her class.  ‘I’m feeling a little frazzled today - I didn’t get through my morning routine.’

OMG… me TOO!

Just that morning my OWN morning routine had been interrupted several times. I’d overslept. Then the kid (understandably) needed breakfast, an unexpected logistics decision had to be made, a specific shirt could not be located, the cat may or may not have contributed to some mess on the floor. Each interruption made me grumpier and grumpier, until finally I gave up in a huff, and went (begrudgingly) about my day. 

Having a morning routine is still a relatively new phenomenon for me, and as I drove to school I wondered - why do I care so much about something I’ve existed happily without for so long? Is it worth it, if I wind up dissatisfied and grumpy about an otherwise normal morning? I posed these questions to Racquel.

“I think it’s because of the pandemic. Now that things are getting back to normal, I think we feel the need to reclaim something (time? balance?) that we had when we were working from home.”

Bingo. 

I mentioned this to our Illustration teacher, Carrie Rennolds, when the subject or Morning Routines came up again a few days later. Carrie said “I don’t want to go back to deprioritizing my own needs.”

(aside: I feel very lucky to work with such insightful humans!)

I began my Morning Routine when Nikki, Lauren, and I did Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way together. Julia’s program mandates three full pages of long-hand, no agenda writing first thing every morning, and to be honest, I was not excited about it. I’ve never been much of a journaler, and I hate getting up early, so I was surprised by how quickly I came to depend on those few quiet moments at the start of my day. Life being what it is, I’m continually having to reevaluate, hone, and tweak the morning routine (helloooo Daylight Saving’s time). I’m also getting better at not becoming a grouch when things don’t go to plan. 

Anyway, the basic elements of my Morning Routine have emerged: 

• Wake up before I absolutely have to

• warm tea (ideally in a sunny chair)

• quiet reflection time for writing (10-30 minutes)

• a little walk outside (No bad weather, only inappropriate clothing!)

Tons of research confirms that a dose of exercise and morning sunshine does wonders for the quality of our sleep and mood, but it’s taken me a while to figure out what I get out of the writing. Back in highschool and college, I would often write, or at least refine, the thesis statement  for my papers last, which is backwards of course, but I found that I needed to blather for a while to discover what I was really trying to say. I think the morning writing does something like that for my day. I have to blather, in full sentences, about my grocery and to-do lists, and all yesterday’s minor comings and goings, before I can noodle out what I want out of today. With the morning pages completed, I find that I move through my day in a more focused way - I’m making dozens of tiny decisions that move me incrementally closer to completing  projects, and are more aligned with my core values. I’m better able to prioritize things I care about, like exercise and family time, instead of ‘saving’ those for the end of the day, when more often than not they get rushed or short-changed. It’s also a way to keep the conversations and ideas I’m exploring in the studio front of mind, even on days when I don’t make it there in person. The morning pages help me identify and accomplish teeny studio-related tasks on my off-days, which means I can be more productive when I’m actually there. 

It’s possible that I’m crossing items off my lists of goals and to-do’s at a slightly faster rate, but even if this is all in my head, I feel more satisfied with my day when I start with the Morning Routine, and to me, that makes it well worth the trouble.

So I ask you - do you  have a morning routine? And if so, what does it do for you? I’d love to hear!

Art Habit Introductions: Katherine Knight

Hello all, and welcome to Art Habit – a blog about art and life. My name is Katherine, and I’m one of your co-hosts here. I met my fellow contributors Nikki and Lauren in graduate school, and will be forever grateful to them for inviting me to join their monthly Zoom chats. It has been one of the most unexpected and fulfilling experiences of my life.

My brief bio reads Painter, Professor, Mom… in no particular order, but I have other interests as well… a lot of other interests (knitting, foraging, hiking, gardening (or rather, attempting not to kill my plants), sewing, swimming, yoga, paddle-boarding, treehouses… I could keep going). For years I felt guilty whenever these other interests pulled me away from the studio, but over time I’ve come to view them as a vital part of me, and my studio practice as well. After all, if I didn’t pursue these other interests, what on earth would I paint about? (This was an actual. problem. in grad school. I was ONLY in the studio for 2 years, and essentially made paintings about… nothing. Things in the studio are slower, but better now.)

As artists, we retreat into our studios, or sometimes our own thoughts, and make our work. Occasionally we poke our heads out to discuss the work, and while I’m thrilled to discuss artwork, what I really want to know is how you make your life work. I am actually asking this… of you… who are reading this right now.  How do you find time for your job, your family, your friends, your many interests and obligations, and your artwork as well? How do you continually show up for creativity and ideas? How do you make your art a habit?

 

If you’ve ever met me IRL, you’ll know that I love to start conversations and build community, and this is exactly what I’m hoping to do with this blog. I’ll share the things I’m pondering, and I hope to hear from you readers as well. Whether you’ve had 10 museum exhibitions (hashtag goals), or are contemplating picking up sketching for the first time, we all have the same 24 hours in our day. Let’s talk about how we spend them. 

You can read more about me, and view some of my artwork, on my website.