We were lucky to catch up with Katia Meisinger recently and have shared our conversation below.
Katia, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Hmm… Good question. I suppose I keep my creativity alive by simply allowing myself time to work. That is easier said than done, but when I wasn’t allowing myself time, I was miserable. I was very depressed, my energy was low, and I had terrible creative block because I was so focused on trying to force something onto the canvas or into a sketchbook. Now, when I give myself time all my emotions have somewhere to go. I will start with one color and let that one color inspire me, or even use my body as the tool instead. My fingers or lips make marks or even my whole body to spread and make prints on a sheet of fabric. It’s almost like allowing your inner child to take control for a moment.
Sometimes when I set aside time to create I don’t create at all, and that’s okay too maybe you just need to relax, but the mind needs something to keep the wheels turning.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I became an artist later in life rather than starting young. My mom was a huge reason for that, she pushed my into art. This is her biggest, “I told you so” moment. I’ve always been interested in color and subject matter but really found my love for art when it came to sculpture. I could dive right in, get my hands dirty, and take what as in my mind and make it 3-Dimensional. But I never called myself an artist until everyone else did. I had this thought that “real” artists were like the old masters where everything was clean and realistic. I had a hard time viewing myself as an artist because I was never into realistic depictions of landscape or the body, I was always drawn to abstraction or surrealism because that was more visually and psychologically appealing.
I don’t sell my work, I mean if someone wants to buy something I won’t stop them, but my aim isn’t to make money or be a famous artist. My goal is to create and be happy with what I create. I found that by not being held by the thought of, “I must sell this work.” I was able to make whatever I wanted. I could make work about being a fat body, or create paintings of fragmented landscapes of my dreams. I felt free! This then caused me to branch out into other methods beyond sculpture and started dipping my toes into performance art.
At the moment my performance work is what I am most proud of. Last year I did a piece called “I’m Not Invisible” where I took up space within a gallery, undressed, used my body as a tool and printed my body onto the gallery walls. My whole life I grew up as a invisible body, a plus size body, functioning in the same time and space as everyone else but never get noticed. You walk down the street and no one stares at you, no one buys you the drink at the bar, or you simple exist but to almost no one. It played with the idea of a few things. One, what it takes to become visible to others. Two, how leaving marks behind as a plus size body in a public space can function as a literal mark of invisibility. And Three, challenging the audience to accept my presence and watch or prove my point that I am invisible by looking away.
My artwork and methods are changing and evolving every year. If it catches my eye I want to try it, collaborate, and explore as much as I can. Currently I am working on a performance piece about vulnerability and how sharing vulnerability is an empowering, and freeing, action. I’m blindfolded with a sign instructing people to tell me either a Darkest Secret, Deepest Shame, Worst Fear, or Profound Regret. With each utterance of a vulnerability I transcribe it onto a white dress that I would wear out in my day to day life. I did seven days of this performance that required audience participation and not even I knew how it was going to go. Mostly children wanted to speak to me, someone left me juice so I won’t get dehydrated, and the piece cause conversations and debates on the themes. In the end it made me realize how little I understood about my own vulnerabilities.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The first is confidence. Always have confidence in what you do! People will see it and be drawn to it, you’ll feel better about your artwork, and that energy will carry you through the bad days.
The second is having thick skin. In the art world you must have thick skin because you are going to meet people, or have critiques, where they will try to drag you through the mud. Not everyone will like what you do and if you aren’t ready for that feedback it will be harder to want to keep making art.
The third would have to be learn as much as you can! Really go out and try whatever you want. You want to learn to weld metal? Find a workshop! You see your friend is an oil painter. Ask them to teach you a few tricks! You’re never too old to learn anything and by expanding your knowledge you are expanding your talents.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
My biggest area of growth is learning to let go. For me this was a huge step! Letting go of damaged artwork, ideas, if I didn’t like where an artwork was going I wouldn’t hold on it and hope I would finish one day I would let go and move on. Sometimes it is better for our creativity to let other ideas hold space in our minds. If the idea isn’t becoming clear, move on to another thing! That doesn’t mean you can’t come back to the first idea, but you need to come back with fresh eyes and new thoughts. Maybe you don’t come back to it, that’s okay too. Learning to listen to that artist instinct is what will save you grief, time, and money. God knows how many canvases I ruined because I wouldn’t move on from a painting.
Contact Info:
- Website: ktmeisinger.com
- Instagram: katiatmeisinger
