Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kate Bascio. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Kate thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I’ve actually had this thought quite a few times recently as I’ve fully begun to work towards being an artist full time and realized the difficulties that come with that. I’m still pretty fresh out of college so I’m still very new to the professional art scene, and it’s not exactly paying off just yet. I still live with my parents, who thankfully are helping to support me financially, and I have a part-time job as well to make some sort of income for myself in between selling at vendor events. Between balancing all of that and also trying to market my work on social media, it can be a lot, which is why I start to wonder about a different career path. Especially when I see my friends who have more practical degrees getting jobs in their field already and really starting their adult lives and I’m just making art.

But of course every time I have these thoughts of getting a “regular” job or maybe even going back to school to study something more practical, I always come back to my love of art. I think instead of the beautiful life I could have as a full-time artist and of all the things I could create should I continue down this path. I can’t ever imagine actually putting down the brush and just walking away from it all because I simply have to create.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve always known I wanted to do something with art. As a child I would draw on everything, even the walls- which, of course, didn’t go over well. I ended up taking advanced art classes in high school and graduated from Webster University with a BFA in Illustration and a Certificate of Entrepreneurship in 2023. It wasn’t until my last year of college that I even realized what direction I wanted to go with my art. My senior exhibition was what inspired me to experiment with color in the way that I do today. My piece was an acrylic still life painting that explored women’s autonomy and femininity and it was the most fulfilling piece I’d ever made. I had so much drive to create that piece, I worked in the studio just about every day, coming up with new ideas for the piece and for my next project, even. It was like something opened inside of me and I had a drive to create like I had never had before.

That piece is what made me fall in love with painting. So, despite graduating with an illustration emphasis, I continued to paint. My work is very vibrant and colorful as I continue to play with color theory and I have since explored other mediums such as watercolor, gouache, marker, and digital, even mixing media sometimes. My style can be described as pop art or surrealism and it’s still very pink!

I officially launched my business Kebbles Creations in the fall of 2023 and did my first art fair shortly after. Since then, I’ve been to a handful of shows and vendor events, selling everything from original paintings to bookmarks and stickers. I also had the pleasure of painting an outdoor table for The Gallery Pub, a local pub that features local artists in St. Louis, two years in a row. And they have also displayed some of my work in a couple of their art exhibitions. I love being able to connect with people in the community and seeing them react to my work is so fulfilling.

This year, I submitted my senior piece into my first gallery show The Female Gaze, which was hosted at Artisans in the Loop with the St. Louis Lady’s Art Guild. My piece received a Certificate of Artistic Excellence and lots of praise, once again. I am so grateful to have been a part of the show and even moreso to have met the wonderful ladies in SLLAG. They’re such an amazing group of talented and supportive artists, always sharing resources for local events, calls for art, technique tips, and plenty of feminine rage. SLLAG has really helped me grow and find confidence in myself and my work since graduating from college.

I’m really proud of myself for all the growth I’ve done and for sticking to what I believe in. There were so many opportunities for me to give up, but I’m so glad I didn’t. Being an artist is not easy, especially with owning my own business, but it is so worth it when I see firsthand that my art really matters to people.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’m still working on unlearning to compare myself to others. I was guilty of it back at the time of my senior exhibition and I’m guilty of it still today. It’s hard when you’re surrounded by other great artists, especially with social media being so prevalent too. It’s so easy to see what others are doing and think “Oh they’re so much better than me” or “I’m not doing enough” or “I’ll never be that good”, but what we often fail to realize is that we’re all thinking that or have thought that at one point or another and it’s holding us back from our greatest potential. I’m currently working on reframing those thoughts of comparison as fuel for my creative fire. Instead of thinking “I’m not as good as them” and giving up, changing the mindset to “How can I improve?”

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Support small businesses! Buy art! Donate to museums and galleries! Go to local vendor events and farmers markets!

Seriously, support your local creatives and small businesses, and donating is great too. But even just showing up to show support at markets, gallery events, museum exhibitions. Sharing and engaging with a post from an artist you follow on social media, shopping on Etsy for gifts instead of Amazon, paying a human to paint you a picture instead of asking AI to do it, or spreading the word about your coworker who paints. As long as there is imagination, there is art to be made, but only if we continue to share it and talk about it (and buy it).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kebblescreations.com
• Instagram: @kebblescreations
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kebblescreations/
• Other: TikTok: @kebblescreations