We were lucky to catch up with Emma Katka recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Emma thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I’ve been making art in one way or another for as long as I can remember. I am grateful and very lucky to have always been supported and encouraged by both of my parents in my creativity and self expression.

Whether piecing together a new collage, painting, freehand drawing expressive abstract forms in ink, or shooting photography through country explorations, self-portraits, or conceptual photo shoots with my muses and friends, it’s always been a safe space for me to express myself and channel my emotions through. It’s a practice that calms my busy brain.

One of my first profound experiences I can recall learning about the idea of expressing my emotions within art was around the time I had my first experiences with the death of a loved one as a child. I remember sitting at the kitchen table with blank sheets of paper, crayons and markers, and told my mom that I wanted to draw something but I didn’t know what I wanted to draw and asked her for ideas. She responded to me with a shrug and said, “draw what you feel”. I sat perplexed for a moment, really thinking about what she said. I then picked up a black marker and proceeded to color an entire piece of paper black.

This lesson in channeling my emotions through creating was essential in my journey. Having dealt with bouts of clinical depression, and anxiety for most of my life, my art, my photography, has always been a place for me to channel my emotions in a way that is productive, rather than destructive.

Emma, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been passionate about art all my life; photography, analog collages, drawing, painting, music. Exploring and photographing the open prairieland of my home state North Dakota is something very special to me. In my early teenage years I discovered my safe haven within the walls of my bedroom, and later in life within the walls of my own apartment, while I work on a collage, draw, paint, or take self-portraits; but the other safe haven that I discovered for myself has big skies, golden hour sunsets, and fields of crops and open land that you can see down for miles.

I channel a lot of my own emotion into the work I create. When someone can connect emotionally through my art & photography is where I find the most reward in sharing my work. The emotions I once channeled into a piece of my artwork isn’t always what a viewer takes away from it, and I love to hear about it. The beautiful thing about art is it all means something different to everyone in relation to their own life story and experiences.

Nostalgia is a feeling often embedded into the core of my art. With the combination of greek words nostos and algos, meaning “return home” and “pain”, the word gives voice to feelings of homesickness and sentimental longing. Nostalgia is also described by some as returning to the past with a feeling of melancholy. A sense of sadness mixed with happiness. And it’s not always returning to a physical place, but rather, to feelings that were once felt but are no longer, like core memories or dreams. The emotions I channel through what I create are familiar to the human experience and the viewer in some way, shape or form, as I believe the full spectrum of emotions exists in one way or another in the many different realms of my body of work, and why so many have often told me my work evokes a sense of nostalgia for them.

My first solo exhibition, titled “Glimmers Of Nostalgia For A Place You’ve Never Been”, just wrapped up at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, ND after showing for 3 months over the summer. The exhibition showcased some of my original analog collages and digital photography from abandoned homes taken across the North Dakota prairie. I’m very grateful for the opportunity and experience.

I started turning my art work into prints, stickers, and other miscellaneous products and signing myself up for vendor art & craft shows in the last decade. I think having art be accessible to people for reasonable prices and not kept exclusive/limited is really important. Some folks in the art world would perhaps argue that it takes away the worth of something, but I don’t see it that way. I keep all of my original collages, as it’s too hard for me to part with them, so having technology that makes me able to keep those pieces close, while still being able to be purchased and displayed in someone’s home or office, is really special. My goal is to get an online store up and running this winter so I am not limited to only selling my prints/merchandise at local & regional vendor shows.

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

When I first started my art journey beyond my own safe spaces, I participated in large/well established art fairs, and joined online social media groups to connect with artists I admired and looked up to. I wasn’t always met with kindness and inclusivity by my peers. Early on, this taught me a lot of the WRONG ways in which to behave and present myself and respond to other artists. I was shown by example and negative experiences that others are competition, to gatekeep, to be prideful. Without realizing it for many years, I adapted to this mindset and this behavior as a defense mechanism as a result of my disappointment and hurt that I carried with me so deeply that jaded me.

Being a part of vendor shows in the last 5/6 years that were smaller and more intimate gave me new lessons and perspective. The shows I participated in, and talking with and becoming acquainted with the fellow artists/small business owners there, was a really encouraging way for me to gain confidence in the small business side of my art that is often very intimidating or daunting. I was also able to learn to trust others again and their intentions. My peers shared space and ideas with me freely and without hesitation. Feeling safe to ask questions knowing I wouldn’t be met with exclusion was integral in my own growth, and taught me the importance of also doing my best to be that person to others. I didn’t want the same person from my story, in someone else’s story, that discouraged a young and impressionable artist ever again. I now believe in the power of community. Supporting other artists, whether local, regional, or in online communities, and providing opportunities to connect and share ideas between others. It is powerful and important. Success in others does take success away from me.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Buying products and art from the source and supporting small businesses locally, regionally, and online. Connect people to one another by word of mouth or sharing online. Interact with social media posts of or favorite artists/small businesses to aid in the algorithm that feels to be constantly working against us and not with us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emmakatka.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/emmakatka
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/emmakatkaphotography
• Other: Tiktok: @emmakatka