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

Hi Kate, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I always knew I wanted to pursue a career in the arts. From a young age, it seemed the only logical path to take. There is simply no other industry that would and has brought me lifelong happiness and fulfillment. However, the world of art is vast and unexplored. There are many paths one could take. but which is the right one for you? This is a question I have explored for my 15+ years pursuing a creative career. My path has been anything but linear thus far. As I said, the world of art is vast and growing exponentially. I have spent many years exploring corners of this world that from the outside looking in, may have appeared as pursuing a dead end. I have spent time opening doors for the sake of personal inquiry, that I would eventually gently close to continue seeking fulfillment in this wide industry. For this reason, I have often felt late to the party when it comes to my path as a visual artist, which I began professionally less than five years ago.
My passion for the arts first appeared as seeking a career in the performing arts, beginning in my early adolescent years. After participating in vocal competitions and theatre shows throughout high school, I was accepted into Michigan State’s acting conservatory. There I graduated with a BFA in acting, with a specialization in Musical Theatre, and Minor in Costume Design. My interest and education in costume rendering and design is what first sparked my interest in the visual arts, but I would not actively pursue this interest for another 8 years.
From college, I took a slight turn in my artistic journey from traditional theatre to musical comedy and sketch. I promptly moved to Chicago to explore the Second City comedy conservatory, among several other comedy schools there. I also pursued film and television while in Chicago, and worked with an agent for the three years I lived there, This was a wonderful time filled with growth, exploration, and creative freedom. However, at this point I still had not considered pursing the visual arts. I was 27 by the time I left Chicago.
My next stop was Los Angelos, where I moved with an ambition to chase a more professional career in television and film. This was a very pinnacle and transitional time for me because I discovered something very important about myself and my artistic journey. I no longer had any interest in pursuing a career in the performing arts. Although this may seem like a loss and a waste of years of training to most, and certainly was confusing to those that were close to me at the time, I am immensely proud of this decision. It is easy to continue down an unfulfilling career path that brings you contentment and comfortability. It is hard to be honest with yourself and let go of a career that no longer makes you happy. It is hard to look into the unknown. And yet, it is exactly what I did. After my short stint in Los Angelos, I moved to Las Vegas. Shortly after this, I finally officially began my journey as a visual artist.
At this point, I was 28 years old. I had spent the past ten years pursing a career in the arts, but not necessarily the career I had grown to want.
As I ventured down my path as a visual artist, I began to feel embarrassed or ashamed that I had not begun sooner. I was soon surrounded by artists who had been in the game for their entire lives. Artists who had gone to proper art school, had art shows, and patrons, and agents. All while I was pursuing a completely different career in the arts. I got down on myself, and wondered if I would be ahead if I had not been so stubborn in continuing to pursue the performing arts.
But this, of course is an empty criticism. It is wildly unhelpful and distracting to imagine that you should be anywhere but exactly where you are as an artist. So do I wish I would have started my career as a visual artist sooner? Even if I did, there’s no point in contemplating a reality other than the one right in front of me. My reality is, from my years in the performing arts, ranging from theatre, to vocal performance, to comedy, to film and television, I have developed specific skills that make me a unique artist. Everything happens for a reason, and life events occur in a particular order for a particular purpose. I have chosen to believe that I started my career as a visual artist at just the right time, not a moment to soon or too late. Everything I pursued and experienced in the arts leading up to this has only made me more ready to be the artist I’ve always wanted to be.
My advice for any would-be artists out there who feel they can’t make a career change because its “too late” or “everyone would be way ahead of me anyway”, know that you are right where you should be and anything is possible.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a native Michigander currently working in Detroit, Michigan. I began my professional art career about 5 years ago while I was living in Las Vegas. I specialize in surreal and pop-surreal art. I use varying mediums including graphite, ink, watercolor, and oil paint. Most of my work involves strong feminine concepts, stark or jarring imagery, floral or nature aesthetics, and the use of object juxtaposition. Most recently I have been working on a new oil painting series of 12 paintings. These will be involved in my first art show in Detroit!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I was once told by a book, or by an artist or an art teacher that certain art mediums are more difficult to work with than others, and therefor makes the art more valuable or the artist more impressive. I have discovered through my journey as an artist that this is a myth. For example, oil paintings are more impressive and valuable than acrylic paintings because working with oils is more difficult and more expensive than working with acrylics. Wrong! Not only is this simply untrue, I find dialogue that pits art mediums or artists against each other to be regressive and unhelpful to the art community as a whole. All art has a place in the art industry no matter what medium is was created in. One medium is not better than the other, and it certainly doesn’t make an artist more talented or impressive if they exclusively use a medium that is more expensive or viewed as more difficult to work with.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

As an artist, I am a huge believer in learning and understanding art history. History repeats itself, and I have personally found learning the stories of artists that have lived and worked before me very informative in how I live and work as an artist. I am always reading artist and art movement biographies to effectively understand my industry, but my favorite art history resource is a Podcast called, ArtCurious by Jennifer Dasal. Not only are the stories she picks entertaining, but wildly informative and interesting as an artist. As Jennifer says in many of her episodes, art history is often presented as dry and boring, but it doesn’t have to be!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.katemaggartart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katemaggart.art/