Rising Stars: Meet Kate Maggart

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Maggart.  

Hi Kate, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I have been destined to work as an artist for as long as I can remember. As a teen, I was heavily involved in my town’s theatre programs, as well as any vocal performance opportunities available. Initially when auditioning to colleges, I was rejected by several vocal performance programs. I didn’t let this stop me, however, and was eventually accepted to MSU’s acting conservatory. There I received a BFA in acting and a specialization in costume design. This would be my first spark of interest in the visual arts. Post-graduation, I moved to Chicago, where I enrolled in the Second City Sketch Comedy school. While moving through their program, I participated in several other musical sketch comedy classes, improv programs, black box theatre shows, and comedy clubhouse shows. While in Chicago, I was also lucky enough to have an on-camera agent. While performing comedy throughout the city, I was also hired for small roles in commercials, television shows, and the occasional web series. Near the end of my time in Chicago, I was also producing and designing costumes for several comedy shows in the city. After about three years, I was ready for greener pastures and decided to move to Los Angeles. But as they say, the grass is always greener on the other side. I’d like to say that everything went smoothly when I arrived and that I had a happy ending in LA, but I did not. Not only did I have no friends, no money, no car, and no representation, but I was falling out of love with the reason I moved there in the first place. This was a turning point for me. I stepped back from acting and began entertaining a dormant yet stirring interest of mine. The visual arts. When I eventually ran out of money completely, and my day job was only allowing me to live paycheck to paycheck, by partner offered to let me move in with them in sunny Las Vegas. I jumped at this chance for a new beginning. This marked the birth of a new passion pursuit, and I haven’t looked back since. While in Las Vegas, I dove headfirst into the visual arts. I practiced every day for hours. I read technique textbooks, listened to art history podcasts, and reached within to remember all the skills I had learned in college. During the four years I spent on the west coast, I built an art business where I made and sold custom art, prints, and commissions. I experimented with and developed skills for any type of medium available; colored pencil, ink, acrylic paint, oil paint, spray paint, graphite, watercolor, charcoal, etc. About a year ago, I returned to my hometown in Michigan to be closer to family and continue my art practice where it all began. Although the visual arts were not my first calling, I have grown to love the life I have created around it. Being near a growing and bustling city such as Detroit inspires me every day to create art that adds to the conversation and is unique to my voice. Many winding and twisting roads have led me here, and I couldn’t be happier or more fulfilled! 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As I mentioned, I wish I could write that my life has been filled with happy endings. But that wouldn’t be very truthful! I am eternally grateful for the path my life has taken, but there have been plenty of struggles, and there will be plenty ahead as well. The biggest struggle I had was essentially switching career paths. Not only was it a difficult and long transition, but it manifested itself in other ugly ways too. The year I was honest with myself about not wanting to pursue acting any longer, I felt very empty and experienced a serious loss of identity. This led to an inevitable phase of depression and anxiety. To accept that it’s time to make a change is difficult for any human brain to wrap its head around, and I was no exception. I am lucky enough to have a supportive partner and family who cheered me on through the whole transition, inevitably making the experience more bearable. However, I feel for those artists who are ready to make a change but don’t necessarily have the support or recourses to do so. For them, I suggest the endless artist communities and discords online. There are plenty of groups waiting with open arms to support your artistic journey. It is never too late to let your creativity out! 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in surreal and pop-surreal art. I use varying mediums including graphite, ink, watercolor, and oil paint. Most of my work involves strong feminine concepts, floral or nature aesthetics, and the use of object juxtaposition. What am I most proud of? I’d have to say a serious of graphite drawings I did recently. Not only were they technically good, but I was working with a new concept I hadn’t considered before. Each drawing was of a “character” I developed to represent a certain emotion or energy that I resonated with. The series was successful because I made it mean something to me. I am proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and moving away from creating detached artwork. 

I think what sets me apart from others is my imagination. I love creating otherworldly places and people in my art. I think my audience relates to the childlike instinct to escape to the new exciting world I put on canvas. 

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
“Great art happens when skill meets taste.” This was said to me when I was first starting out, and it still resonates with me today. When you first decide to make art professionally, chances are your skill and taste are not going to be at the same level. Some will have great natural talent at first but will be confused as to what should even go on the paper. They may struggle to create from the heart, even though their line quality is impressive. Others will have endless amazing ideas of what to put on the canvas, but when they sit down to paint, their hand won’t agree, and the painting will end up looking like mud instead of the fantastical idea that was in their head. I struggled with the later. One or both of these roads are inevitable to the new artist, which is why I suggest starting simple. Small things to work on both your skill and your voice. It won’t come fast, and it won’t come easy, but in a controlled environment like this you will learn about your taste, and you’re will learn about technique. Once you have a better understanding of yourself as an artist, you will feel more confident to create from the heart or to accurately paint that surreal landscape that has been living in your head for the past month. This is when your taste and skill will meet. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ktdidart.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/katemaggart.art/

Image Credits
@lauracadwellchall