We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kate Hooray Osmond. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kate Hooray below.
Kate Hooray, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
In October, I am traveling north to the Arctic Circle by ship to collaborate with an international panel of scientists and artists. We will study the sea ice and glaciers. I am bringing messages of welcome and acceptance to the melting ice from my home of Charleston. I have always lived on the coast at sea-level. My cultural experience and history is not one that my grandchildren will know. Their ecology will look different then mine and I practice acceptance and acknowledgement of my place in changing climate, my place in pollution. I cannot fight it, I must work with it. This is a difficult personal project for me and one of which I am very proud.
Kate Hooray, 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?
My work has evolved a great deal from when I started as a painter. I have always been attracted to human development and the industrial landscapes that surround my everyday life. Over time, as I practice non-judgement, I find that my work has become more bright and colorful, almost optimistic. I like this juxtaposition of buildings and factories and ships with golds and brilliant hues. These artifacts of industry and progress are not apart from our environment, they are our environment. I am proud that I am finding peace with myself in my world through art-practice and I hope the viewer will navigate through my peaces in a way that serves them also.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The label of “artist” has always been a precarious one. My parents were certainly worried for my career, long-term. However, the “artist” label is so very freeing. I have the agency to name my world through an aesthetic lens and connect the innermost caverns of my heart with strangers in a way that is safe, fruitful, and regenerative. This result outweighs any concerns I may have had because my motivation to connect and discover is renewed each day. Pursue your passion and keep your eyes open. Learn from others and learn from yourself.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
If I had given up when my work had been rejected, I would have put down my paintbrush a long time ago. Rejection is a tremendous teacher of perspective and its good for the ego. I have been rejected far more times than I have ever succeeded, and that is completely fine- it’s natural. Not everything is supposed to work out. When I fail, I cry, then I work harder. It is so so good for the career and for the soul.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.katehoorayosmond.com
- Instagram: @katehoorayosmond
Image Credits
all images by Kate Hooray Osmond