Kat Hernden is a self-taught artist. She studied Semiotics, Media Analysis and Communications, English and Education at the University of Toronto. She is a member of Art$Pay and Button Factory Arts. Kat currently lives, mothers, teaches and creates in Downtown Kitchener. As Guest Curator at Minds Eye Studio Art Gallery and Yoga Studio, I am pleased to present Kat’s work at the gallery this month. Keep reading to find out more about Kat before the artist reception. Artist reception info here.
You describe yourself as a closeted artist who finally “came out” later in life. Did you feel supported when you made this decision?
More than I ever could have imagined, yes. It sounds stupid to me now, but I was SO scared to make art, to share art, to call myself an artist. I thought people would laugh at me, or judge me, or think I was a crazy person. Who was I, at forty years old, without any formal training, to all of a sudden become an artist??? But, as it turns out the only real criteria you need to make art, is to make art! I was humbled and overwhelmed, and continue to be, by the support and encouragement I received from my friends, and family, and now even strangers. It’s as though they all knew and were just waiting for me to find my lane.
What has been the highlight of your artistic career so far?
There have been a number of very exciting highlights for me as an artist so far. The first time I was accepted into the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair was a huge deal for me because I used to visit there every year when I lived in Toronto and felt such an overwhelming sense of awe and respect for all of those artists. I never dreamt that I would be setting up a booth beside them one day. Having a piece accepted into the Fibreworks 2020 exhibition at Idea Exchange also felt very surreal. Honestly though, the biggest accomplishment, and my most favourite thing about making art, is showing up everyday and creating something new. Putting something into the world that wasn’t there when I woke up that morning always fills me with a sense of pride and excitement unparalleled by any one show or accolade.
How did the pause brought on by COVID affect your art practice?
Truthfully, It didn’t. Everyday, regardless of life’s circumstances, I try to carve out a little space to create. I have a small studio space at Globe Studios in Downtown Kitchener and I spend as much time there as that day will allow.
Of course, shows I was in went online, or were postponed, or took into consideration social distancing. However, I rarely make art for specific, singular purposes. Usually it’s just to scratch some internal itch; call it a compulsion. Making art is my way of connecting to something larger than myself and make sense of this crazy world. I guess in that sense, COVID fueled that compulsion a little more than normal…
Who or what inspires you?
Patterns. They’re everywhere: in nature, in architecture, on bathroom floors. They make sense to me. They imbue this seemingly chaotic and mad world with structure and order and I adore them. They provide endless inspiration. Originally I was obsessed with Arabic tile patterns, then sacred geometry, and now I’m taking inspiration from less celebrated, more discrete patterns smattered all about our city. My last mural was inspired by a plastic patio chair at McCabes.
When you are creating a piece do you always plan it out ahead of time or do you ever create without a plan?
I always plan my pieces out ahead of time. Always. It’s one of my favourite parts of the process. I have numerous pads of graph and isometric dot paper filled with plans, drawings, colour palettes and measurements. It’s problem solving and putting pieces of a puzzle together. My process includes some swearing and frustration trying to get things to work, but the end result is usually worth the struggle! I can always visualize exactly what I want the finished piece to look like and the goal is to minimize the gap between the final product and the imagined piece as much as possible. That’s why I’m so grateful I rediscovered my love for making visual art. I’ve tried my hand at writing and playing guitar and all sorts of other creative outlets, but could never get near as close to what I was trying to convey as I can with painting and sewing.
Do you feel more comfortable working in colour or in black and white?
Oh god. This is a Sophie’s Choice question right here. Right alongside Ramen or Shawarma. I love working in black and white. I haven’t discovered any other way to get such dramatic results and sharp lines and crisp edges and to mess with your rods and cones as you can with black and white. Black and white may be quick, stark, and direct, but colour offers limitless possibilities. You know, I used to be more afraid of colour. Not, of colour exactly, but of trusting my instincts with using it. So I borrowed from Peter Saville, the graphic artist from Manchester that did all the Factory Records sleeves (Joy Division, New Order, etc.). He came up with a colour code, where each letter of the alphabet is designated a colour or two, and I would use that to randomly generate colours for my pieces. I would think of a poem I love, or a song lyric, and spell it out on the canvas and then just plop in the colours that corresponded with each letter based on his wheel. The results never disappointed me. In fact, that’s what I did for Quail and Dumplings, one of the pieces in this ColourPOP! show. Now, I’m more confident with experimenting and exploring my own colour palettes. I’m not sure if any of this answered your question… LOL!
A lot of your pieces have playful, cheeky titles. One of my personal favourites is “Give All the Fucks”. How do you come up with names for your pieces?
I don’t have a systematic way to come up with names for my pieces. Sometimes I just hear someone say something interesting, like the time I was walking behind two women kvetching on King Street East in Downtown Kitchener and the one woman said to the other, “You know… between the methadone and the menopause…” and I’ll be like WOW, what a great painting title! Other times they’re very personal, like “I’ll Always Be Wherever You Are”, which is something my daughter used to say to us when she was little and we tucked her in at night. One is just a punchline to one of my favourite jokes: “The Cold Shoulder”. (What did the cannibal wife feed to her cannibal husband after he was late for dinner three nights in a row?).
“Give All the Fucks” came from an Instagram line Anthony Bourdain wrote about his girlfriend before he died. He bragged that, “This woman gives no fucks”. At the time I was like, wow, I wish I gave no fucks. And then I thought about it a little more and was like, wait a minute, it’s important to give fucks. When making art I think it’s especially important to give fucks, all the fucks. I care deeply and intensely about what I’m making and how I make it. At the same time, there’s something to be said about not giving any fucks when making art - especially when it comes to worrying about what other people will think about it. So in that sense you can give all the fucks too. But just give them away. So, the title worked to capture all those thoughts for me.
What do you hope people will take away from your exhibition?
I love making art. And now I love sharing it as well. If people experience some sort of feeling or have any kind of connection or response to my work - whatever it may be - then I am thrilled.
I hope to see some local readers at Kat’s artist reception on Friday, September 18th. The exhibition is up all month long and private viewings are available. You can also see her work in the Fibreworks exhibition in Cambridge until October 31st, and online until the end of the year at Toronto Outdoor Art Fair.
Interview by Glodeane Brown
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