We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Catelyn Perkins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Catelyn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I’m definitely very happy working as a creative. I had plenty of experience with regular jobs through high school and college. Of course I have watched some close friends go and work for big design companies and I always think it sounds really cool, especially because I love working with people, but being a creative and working in my own studio has been so wonderful.
I think the last time I really desired a stable, regular job was right after college. I had no money, I was living with a family that I knew from church, I could barely even afford a few groceries a week and my studio had flooded earlier that year leaving me with a lot of damaged work and supplies. Plus I had no more studio. It felt like I might be foolish for trying to pursue a creative career so I actually stopped making anything. I got a full time job in the children’s ministry at my church and took a break for over a year. I did love this job and that break I took was full of things keeping me busy! I got married, bought a house, and slowly started taking out my art supplies again.
My husband has been the biggest encourager of my work and he pushed me to get back into my practice full time. I was so scared at first, but here I am a year and a half later and it is has been one of the most wonderful things. And spending days in my studio with our baby boy playing by my side – I can’t think of anything better. Being a creative has allowed me to be at home with my baby while also doing a job that I love. I do look back and miss some of the jobs I had, but this one is by far the best.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a wife, mom, and multimedia artist working mainly in oil paints and fibers.

When I was just 6 years old I told my parents I wanted to go to the Savannah College of Art and Design and be a designer. They told me anything was possible. By the time I was in high school I fell in love with drawing and painting and loved to sew a little bit on the side. At 17 years old, I moved to Savannah, began classes at SCAD and the next four years unfolded as I studied oil painting and fell in love with weaving. In June 2022, I graduated with my BFA in Painting and a minor in Fibers.

My work has been an exploration of the world around me and the precious memories in my life. I really believe that as humans we are made in the image of a great Creator and are given the command to go forth and create, to care about beautiful things, and pay attention to tiny details. What a sweet opportunity as His image bearer to imitate Him by making new things that reflect the beauty He has already made.

Currently, I work on large scale oil paintings, often landscapes, and fine art handwoven pieces. My recent work displays the struggles of life and death through woven fibers, decaying flowers, and other multimedia studies. Occasionally I like to experiment with making dyes from plants and using them in my work as well.

I would say the thing I am most proud of is the way I have grown in the last 8 years as an artist to be authentic to myself. This was something I really struggled with when I was young. I love the Lord Jesus, I love nature and the beauty of the world around us, and I am seeking out ways to use more natural materials in my practice in order to care for the world around me while continuing to make new things.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As I mentioned before, I really do believe we are made in the image of a Creator and all things were made to glorify God. With each painting or weaving, or whatever I make, I want to explore the creation that we have the privilege to live among. I look at flowers and their tiny details, I study the colors of the landscape, I use fibers that came from creatures in creation and I’m amazed. For me, to create helps me to meditate on the things of God, so in everything I do my mission is to give Him glory. And what a gift that this gets to be what I do as a full time job.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

First, I think it is so important to shop small. Go to local artist markets, Buy at local small businesses. I think even as artists we can look to get our supplies from smaller, local businesses.
Second, I think we cannot emphasize enough the importance of investing in real art. When we see crafted things, we should be willing to pay the money that that item is worth, not turn to cheaper, mass produced items or even things resulting from AI.
Support your local artists by buying from them or even promoting their work on social media. Show your artist friends to other people that might be interested in their work. And especially as artists, buy other peoples’ art!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.catelynperkins.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catelynperkins/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@catelynperkins