Cre8ive Klatch Interview

The Cre8ive Klatch creativity group asked me some questions on my art journey and process… Here's the interview: 

Getting To Know The Cre8ive Crew: Catherine Athena Louise

Please give a warm welcome to Catherine Athena Louise!

She is from Auckland, New Zealand originally, and has been living 
in England for the past 13 years.... yes, she is a dual citizen! 

What kind of art is your passion? 

I’m very eclectic (continually restless and love to change things up
 often) -- I have noticed that Photography lights me up, as does the
 fluid and bright marks only watercolor can make, and I’m crazy 
about collage and mixed media too!

How does it make you feel when you're creating 
something? 

I feel alive and connected to something far greater than myself. I 
also experience a sense of peace and timelessness (transcendence)
 as I go into the ‘zone’

Describe your personality in three words. 

Sensitive, Instinctual, Passionate

When/how did you realize your life had to have art in it? 

I realised it very early on as a child, and when I was spending all my
 lunch breaks in college in the art room creating fervently, it became very apparent!

Has being artistic changed your life or outlook in any way? 

Yes, I notice the tiny little details, textures and subtle nuances around me and I often smile at how things play themselves out, the irony of how life truly does imitate art. Artists often think they are creating something outside of themselves, but it’s all self-portraits. All of it. They are expressing what is inside of themselves. I find it very intimate and revealing.

Would you say your entire way of life is creative? 

Yes, it feeds into every area of my life. I feel it when I pick up a camera, arrange items on an altar, strike a stick of incense alight... the kinds of meals I cook, the bicycle I ride, the crazy way I stack dishes in Dr.Seuss-like piles for washing up, the kind of jewellery I wear. 

Whats your superpower? 

Intuition is my superpower. I’ve been told that by too many people now to ignore.

If you could hang out with any artist dead or alive who would it be and why? 

Oh my goodness, that would be incredible and naturally I’m struggling to name just one... Pablo Picasso would be a total firecracker to spend time with -- he has such a wildly eclectic range of styles I could never be bored. He seemed very self-assured and confident in his approach. I’d also love to hang out with Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and his Die Brücke German Expressionist friends...I love their wild frenetic mark-making and fauvist colors. I’s be equally happy hanging with Annie Leibovitz in her studio and learning about her hyper-honest style of portraiture photography... Or navigating Andy Warhol’s ‘Factory’ amid the film-making, stencil cutting and screen printing. Bliss! 

Which side of the bed do you sleep on? Can you sleep if forced to change sides? 

The Left side and yes I do struggle to fall to sleep (at least for a few nights till I adjust) if I ever have to change sides.

Are you an introvert or extrovert? How do you feel about that? 

I’m a perfect hybrid. I land right down the centre of the intro/extro spectrum...and that’s very true. I can be extremely zany and wildly expressive in how I communicate and also incredibly quiet, private and observant and need to be left alone...it all depends on my mood at the time and the company I am in as to which way that coin will fall. 

 Whats your most embarrassing moment? 

Oh there have been so many! One that immediately comes to mind was turning up for a job interview to find the front reception desk completely unattended, and only a sign on the wall, placed near a switch, saying ‘ring for attention’. Well I could see no bell to ring so clicked the switch (placed beside the sign) and suddenly..... all the lights in the building went off! Blimey, talk about instantly getting everyone’s attention...you should have seen them running out to find out what had happened! 

Pick two celebrities to be your parents...who and why. 

I think my inner-artist child would be in perfect company with Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter as my celebrity parents....I think creativity and self-expression would be encouraged in every possible way and from every angle in that household! Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer I reckon would also be awesome.

If we all came to your house for dinner what would you make for us?

Vegetarian Spaghetti Bolognese followed by an Indian rice pudding flavoured with cardamon pods and rose-water... It’s the rice pudding equivalent of turkish delight! Incredible. 

Those are great answers!

For more of Catherine Athena and her artwork please click on the links below:

Website:     http://www.catherineathenalouise.com Blog:          http://www.catherineathenalouise.com Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/catathenalouisestudio  Instagram:  http://instagram.com/catherineathenalouise  Shop:         http://www.catherineathenalouise.com

Pinterest:   http://pinterest.com/catherineathenalouise/ LinkedIn:   http://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineathenalouise/

Till next time….Blessings of beauty,
Catherine Athena xo