Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kat Warwick. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Kat thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?
I believe one of the kindest things one human can do for another human is to provide opportunity. This can be done in so many different ways. When opportunity is provided, a person can then use their own energy, talent, and knowledge to be successful and in turn, provide opportunities for others. It is a beautiful chain reaction. While a hand out can help get someone through a rough patch, it is honest opportunity that makes the most impactful and life changing difference. Every time someone purchases a work of art from me, they are providing an opportunity for me to continue creating, continue providing for my family, continue using my success to help others.
One of the biggest opportunities provided to me recently was a commission to create a tribute sculpture for Virginia Savage McAlester. The final sculpture is 6 feet of pure white marble from Carrara Italy atop a 2 foot base becoming 8 feet of sculptural story telling, permanently installed at the Aldridge aHouse Museum on Swiss Avenue. It will provide the opportunity for others to learn about and be inspired by Virginia’s life.
This opportunity resulted from another opportunity; when a local neighborhood magazine wrote a story about my efforts to provide entertainment and education to my neighbors by carving stone in my front yard during the 2020 Covid-19 shelter in place order. My ability to provide that opportunity was the result of a lifetime of opportunities given and received.
I can follow this weaving tapestry of opportunities provided to and for family, friends and strangers for a lifetime, leading up to today. When you think about it, I’ll bet you can trace the magical opportunity path in your own life.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hello, I’m Kat Warwick. Through carving stone and welding steel, I create stories for you to discover, discuss and reflect on. I also create beauty through art and dance. When I’m not creating and dancing myself, I’m teaching those skills to others giving them the opportunity to experience an artistic life. Apparently I have a teacher’s soul, as I have always been compelled to share my knowledge with others.
One thing leads to another and when I left corporate America in 2008 (as many folks did) I found my hobby of dance could sustain me. Teaching dance left time on my hands and with a barter agreement from a great friend and a thumbs up from family, I pursued my other passion, sculpture. By trading art not yet created for tuition I was able to started taking sculpture classes at The Creative Arts Center of Dallas. The opportunity to barter for tuition was instrumental in my journey… I had my first collector/patron.
When creating sculpture, sometimes stone dictates what the sculpture becomes and sometimes the stone allows me to create what is in my imagination. Sculpting with metal is a new journey and I’m learning what it will and will not tolerate. This journey of working cooperatively with materials, designs, students, clients and my ever changing knowledge keeps each day new and exciting.
Over time I have developed a unique style in both what my creations look like as well as the stories they carry within. I continually seek opportunity to create, teach and bring joy into the world.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
We are not all the same. We walk different paths because of a thousand different reasons. Some of us walk in the shoes of fine artists. We who create fine art, music, theater are not machines that can produce hundreds or thousands of the same thing. Each work of art takes time, takes resources, takes space to be created and a passionate person to bring it to fruition. It is an uncertain journey for the artist. Each work of art, music, theater, poem, book, and performance is unique, there is no other one exactly like it. Each one is perfected by a human rather than a machine. The creation of art through body, hands, voice, thought is as ancient as humanity itself. It is part of us in a profound way.
One of the best ways the community can support the ancient creatives in this modern world is to value their work, Buy art directly from local artists or from galleries and art festivals. Go to musicals, comedy shows, and poetry readings. Go to the symphony, piano bars, concerts and dive bar music jams. Tip the band. Hire an artist to create a sculpture or painting for you. Hire a musician to play live music at your next party. Walk away from technology for a while and enjoy your local creatives.
You will never regret owning amazing artwork that spoke to you the moment you saw it. You will never regret hearing an impassioned artist talk about the inspiration for the art you fell in love with. You will never regret the great memories you build while enjoying live performances. When you support your local creatives you gain more than what you purchased.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Joy. I do my best to bring joy into the world through art and dance. When a person is filled with joy they are better prepared to handle the challenges of life. When one of my sculptures creates the opportunity for people to discuss opposing viewpoints, those people get the chance to understand someone else’s point of view. I know we will never all agree all the time, however when we learn more about each other’s viewpoints we can sometimes find a peaceful middle ground.
Sometimes I create art that is simply beautiful and fun. Sometimes I create art that opens an opportunity for reflection, conversation, growth and new understandings. In all instances my style of contrasting textures, representing animals and humans in simplified and flowing form; creating the illusion of movement as highlights and shadows dance across the surface of stone and steel … takes a viewer on a visual and inspirational journey.
There is enough ugliness in the world. I choose to create beauty and hopefully this will bring some amount of joy into the world.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartlifeway/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theartlifeway
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwarwick
Image Credits
Michael Scoggin Stephen James