We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cat Wondergem. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cat below.
Cat, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Both my maternal grandparents were creative. My grandmother was a painter, and my grandfather was a jazz musician, so my mother always saw the benefit of encouraging creativity in her 3 daughters. When I entered junior high school and got the ability to choose electives, it was no surprise that art was always my choice. Enter Grace Fruit. She was THAT teacher for me (in VA) – the one that set me on the path of knowing that creative work was going to be my life. I was an awkward, reserved child. and Mrs. Fruit really went above and beyond to bolster an appreciation of different techniques and the ability to see with a different set of eyes. She also bolstered the confidence I had in my abilities, with regards to creating. It’s a formative, weighty thing to have someone believe in you in those confusing tween/early teen years – besides your mother =) She was my teacher 7-9th grades, so there was no specific moment, just a slowly developing belief that creating is what I had to do. She and I kept in touch through my high school years and a little through college. I lost touch with her for several decades but found her through social media in 2013 or 2014. I wrote her a gratitude email letting her know the influence she had on my life. It turns out we lived only 20 minutes away from each other (in SC). We started meeting for lunch, and I had the honor of becoming her friend until she passed away in 2016.
Cat, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have been creating my whole life, it’s a compulsion of sorts, so making a living as a self-employed artist was a natural choice for me. I am drawn to other creative folks, so opportunities to participate in art were always around, if one was paying attention. Perhaps the biggest step for me into the world of self-employment was meeting my partner, Rick. He had been a successful furniture maker and was the owner of a small business that did custom pewter work for churches and historical societies. Working with him to grow the pewter business was critical to me for developing business skills and adding a bit more structure to the creative world, not just treating art as a muse.
I am currently working as a printmaker focusing on relief printing that I then enhance with watercolor. In the past 2 decades I have worked with glass, fine metal jewelry, leather, and silk dyeing. I spend a lot of time on the road, so I started looking for something that I could bring along. Printmaking fit the bill. The simplicity and the mobility of the tools used in relief printing are perfect. So often in the past I have wondered if I was on the right creative path. I don’t wonder anymore. I have found my voice through my linocuts that focus on snapshots on the range of human emotions.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
We live in a world that can leave humans so disconnected from one another, in terms of in-person interaction. That creates loneliness, isolation, apathy, feelings of invisibility. My mission is to make those that are particularly vulnerable to those emotions have a feeling of being seen when they are looking at my work. I was an especially sensitive child and finding empathy and recognition in others could be such a salve. Don’t we all do better with connection? My mom has always said that I should have been an art therapist. Maybe this is my attempt at that, minus a lot of clinical training.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Part of my living comes from doing outdoor art shows, so I get to interact with my customers in person. I love being a part of that moment when someone is feeling seen by me and my work. That moment is usually accompanied with a story of something personal that has been going on in their lives. What a gift it is to have complete strangers trust you enough to share their struggles or joys and commiserate about the quirkiness of living.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.catwondergemart.com
- Instagram: @catwondergemart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catwondergemart
Image Credits
Sarah Stewart – Rattlesnakes and Rainbows