Anahata Katkin, Art Journals, Mixed Media Art, Paintings, PAPAYA, Creative abandon, wallpaper panels, art studio, art etreats, art workshops, bali art retreat, greeting card designs, illustration, graphic design, fantasy funky, hand made, gallery,
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I don't know why cutting things apart to reassemble them has made the world right side up for me- but at times it has literally done just that. My artwork is often born out of necessity and continues to emerge through a series of impulses, triumphs and challenges. My artwork is gritty and often unripe. And I like it this way. I like that what I want to do feels just out of reach. That there isn't a pressure to preform and yet there is great satisfaction in the making of things...and the sharing of things. I like to play with a images and forms as a kind of symbolic alphabet. A language that can speak for me in ways I never could. I believe my artwork is versatile in it's meaning and I try and do that intentionally. I want people to overlay their own experiences and personal story to the meanings within the images, particularily with my illustrations. I guess that's my own little irony. I try very hard to create artwork for myself and nothing more. And when I succeed in getting out of my own way- I share it with the rest of the world. That's my formula.
BIO:
Anahata Katkin has developed her passion for the arts by trial-and-error discovery. Her work is a synergy between graphic design, painting and hand made, mixed media pieces. Anahata has woven a heart centered landscape of off-beat icons and illustrations that has comprised the prolific offering's of her co-founded arts company, PAPAYA! inc. since it's beginning in 2003. Her undeniable style is easily recognized. Heavily influenced by antique ephemera, Asian traditions and an emerging global culture; still Anahata's creative perspective remains progressive while absorbing gems from the past.
Anahata has been sharing her relaxed, hands on approach to artwork , design, workshops, inspirations and the pursuit of creative nectar through a celebrated & personal online journal, www.anahata.typepad.com.
Anahata is also Artistic Director of PAPAYA! inc. and is a regular contributor to the PAPAYA- LIVING BLOG (coming soon).
In 2003 my mother (Gina Katkin) and I launched a card line from 20 designs derived from my original journal pages. With my mom's super woman business savvy and her ability to dream big enough for the both of us, and my obsession with mixed media a and emerging design skills, off we went.
Our goal was to produce lively, inspirational images that would touch people on instinctive levels and enhance the greeting card market. We also wanted to follow no other business model we knew of. We decided to be bold, unpredictable and impulsive about how we grew and formed our business and it's contents.
We started- and still offer a unique visual perspective. With illustrations that challenge the current trends and offer an alternative to what is generally a predictable gift industry. We love to offer art, play and beauty in heaping spoonfuls of color & character.
Six years later PAPAYA! now boasts distribution in seven countries and thousands of dynamic retailers in the United States. We have been lucky enough to continue to pursue creative projects and ideas in our own ways and in our own timing. And now make far more than just greeting cards.
AT HOME:
On a personal level I have been able to enjoy the freedom to make art both for myself and for others. I continue to revel in new experience, places and artwork. I give thanks everyday for the many blessings that have mysteriously come to fruit in my life. (How cool is this!!!)
I currently just returned from living in Belize, Central America for a year. I'm still missing it and settling back in to life here again. Places like that don't let go of you easily. Now my heart lives in two places.
Ashland, Oregon is home base in the states for now. But a gypsy at heart, staying put is hard for me to do. My sweet nine-year-old boy, Rowan and I are staying busy in the studio with movies and paint and our cat named Bonzo...
To hang out please visit my blog and drop me your link in the comments if you have one too.
Because it takes one to know one!
A Grain of Salt:
My little theory about creative productivity...
*THE CREATIVE PROCESS:
Working with 5 stages to overcome Creative Resistance
I believe the resistance is part of the natural creative expansion. Creative expansion is the juicy stuff artwork is made of. Some artists display a faster process and can work more fluidly. I believe this is due to how they react when they hit the edge of a creative expansion.
Artwork is made up of steps and mental landscapes. Like a good music soundtrack there are moods and different stages of fluidity and tone. Learning to navigate our creative process is about how our individual minds & emotions operate. The good news is it doesn't require any mental activity as much as a gentle awareness while working.
Stage One: BLOOM
When you're just damn inspired.
I generally have a BlOOM stage where I can easily get engaged and enjoy the process immensely. I feel impulsive and guided to an extent and at this point my mind gets excited and interested in the project. It’s a time of gathering, contemplating, enjoyment and play. Materails come easily and there is a general wellbeing about the propect of the artwork.
Try the best you can to stay with this segment as long as possible. I try and ride this wave in one sitting. When I begin a project I like to have enough time thaqt I can stay in this groove if I have stayed inspired...otherwise...
Stage Two RESISTANCE:
Then suddenly I hit a place where I have maximized that stage and I hit that RESISTANCE.
Resistance will occur naturally in the first third of the project! Almost every time! Learn to expect it.
Do not be surprised when you suddenly hit the edge of your honeymoon phase. It is Real for everyone. The voice of reason is loud, convincing and intense. It can show up in the form of boredom, disinterest, frustration, tiredness comparing & exaggerated mental chatter about your artwork. Now I have recognized the value and realize that I have to work in
spite of that voice. It is crucial during the resistance phase that you keep on working!
The more you pause and stop working the more power and habit you establish with resistance. Most people stop right here and don’t usually push further. This defines an artist from everybody else. Artists will work through this nagging stage and move into he sweetness of creating in time.
They have learned to expect this irritating part and they trust that it's TEMPORARY. At this point try your best
to observe the critic without reacting to it.
Your critic will have some good ideas if you ask yourself questions like: How can I solve this visual question? What is it I don’t like and
what flashes into my mind as solutions? That should be the extent of the power you offer
your resistance. The resistance only signals that you have hit the edge of your creative
breath. And when this happens it simply shows you that it is time for a new strategy or
another creative inhalation.
SOLUTION TO PHASE TWO...
Stage Three PING PONG:
And that's when I like to PING PONG between materials. Being that I am focusing on mixed
media artwork and that is primarily how I like to create we have an added advantage.
When I reach my resistance phase or in a sense a place of critical mass, I bounce to a new
material and a new perspective. Drop your current medium and pick up a new one. Stop painting and start drawing on the same piece Change colors. Use yoru hands instead of a brush. Do something unpredictable to get the energy moving again. The
trick seems to be to move even more quickly and impulsively at this point. Remember your
critic will b e trying to grow but by using your impulsive instincts you learn to tame the critic
faster. With Ping Ponging you can gain a real momentum in the artwork and trick your brain
into a new place. You can get yoru mind to come along for the ride by doing this rather than letting yoru mind dominate what your up to. Change your focus from the main image perhaps to the broader. Lay
down some charcoal in border areas, switch to fine pointed pen details or doodling for a
little bit. Anything that will hone your intuitive creative eye and switch your perspective.
Practice step two and step three EVERY TIME you create anything. It is a lifelong skill that will serve your creativity every time.
Stage Four FULL EXPRESSION:
My high school art teacher told me once that the moments when you return to a
piece of artwork after a period of struggle is the most supreme moment in the
creative process. I have never forgotten that and it has been a great discovery
every day. During the resistance part of your process I believe it creates a kind
of artistic vacuum. A puddle of skill and life force builds up behind all of that
resistance. Because while you are resisting you are also asking from within yourself
to be able to fully express yourself. And once the resistance is released all of that
good stuff comes shooting in with a rocket of ability and artistic expression. And
this place generally feels good and easy. Music sounds sweeter, the project
seems to be coming together. Your body is able to move along with the brush.
It? the cream of the process and it? what we all look for as artists.
Stage Five COMPLETION:
I often find that I might experience the first couple stages again before I am
ready for completion. Depending on the scope of the project this can happen
many times. But at some point there will be a refining, a detail time. I find at this
point I have an pen dialogue between myself and the artwork. I understand the
piece more and the direction of it. I work on the details of colors and patterns.
Pen designs and finishing touches. I generally know I am there by the slowing
down quality. The desire to fuss over it like a christmas tree and fresh tinsel. I keep
wanting to see the piece through fresh eyes. That's when I know it's finished.
*********************************************************************************************
SYMBOLIC ALPHABETS:
Each of us is drawn impulsively to concepts, colors, symbols and moods. When
something is used in repetition the artist anchors a new piece in their "Symbolic
Alphabet". I call it an alphabet because it is the components of a language. And
all languages have an alphabet. For artists it is simply a Symbolic Alphabet and is
communicated not in words but through images and energy. Our Alphabet is always
changing. Certain themes and things will be predominant for a period of time and
then move out of heavy rotation. But they will always remain a part of you. One
could identify and really define those symbols individually, but it is primarily an
evolving thing.
Piece by piece the artist communicates a visual signature. Their repetitive use of
certain symbols, colors, styles becomes an intuitive pulse that anyone can recognize,
and feel on an emotional level. We do not have to understand an artist or even like it.
But if they have been following an authentic impulse their work will have a magnetic
quality and a voice of it's own. A dialogue between the viewer and the artwork. This
voice is literally the language of the artists Symbolic Alphabet. To me it's more of a
frequency. Something we perceive from the gut rather than with our mind. And that
is how the Alphabet is built. By following one impulse to another and integrating visual
impulses step by step without hesitation or editing.
© Anahata Katkin 2006
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