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

Katie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve always been creative, but when I went to Auburn, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I thought, perhaps, it might be something in teaching. I was in the College of Education for about two quarters when I realized that was not where I needed to be. Then, I started to dabble in all the things. Somehow I landed in an accounting class, and to my surprise, I was good at it. The teacher was a female. and out of a class with 250 students, she pulled me aside, and told me to consider majoring in accounting, as the field needed more women. Well, being 19 and easily persuaded, I agreed.

Fast foward a year and half, and when I had to take tax, I realized I had made a mistake. Well, now it was too late to completely change my major, and the only thing I could major in at that point and not lose all of my credits was finance.

Somewhere during that time, I felt a pull to start drawing again. I hadn’t drawn or made anything in years, but I remember going to the university bookstore and picking up some pastels, pencils, and papers. I sat in my apartment drawing. It was too late to dive deeper into that from an academic perspective, but I really enjoyed it.

After I graduated in finance, I worked for an insurance company. I took insurance in college, and I loved it. In practice, I did not. I knew I had to do something more creative. I waited tables for two years, and sold furniture for two years, and I really did enjoy both of those jobs. But all the while I really wanted to create something of my own.

I finally took a drawing class at the Birmingham Museum of Art when I was about 28. That was the turn-around point. My instructor, Svetlana Belotserkovskaya, was instrumental in helping me as a technical artist. At 46, I still talk to her regularly, and she has taught our younger son as well.

When our kids where small, I took pencil portraiture commissions and pet portrait commissions in oil. I did that for years until our kids were old enough to where I could branch out and do my own body of work. In 2016, I did my first show. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I liked it. With time and practice, I’ve definitely found my own way. I am where I need to be, and where I needed to be all along.

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?

Since, 2016, I have dabbled in all the things. I worked in oil for years, but I always loved drawing. In 2019, I started to draw a bit more. In 2020, what with the abundance of time, I was drawing and painting and by 2021 I was floating two completely different bodies of work, one in oil, and one in graphite. Now, that is a difficult thing to maintain, especially when you have kids at home. I had too many irons in the fire. So, in 2022, I ditched painting, and began to exclusively draw. I have not painted since then.

I have really enjoyed adding the mixed media element to my work in using the papers and gold leaf. I am in a good place right now, and that is a peaceful feeling. I might paint again one day, but that day is not now. Such is the beauty of art.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I knew earlier about the importance of cohesion. When you go to a festival, your work needs to look tight. Really tight. Much tighter that I thought. Think of it as variety in sameness. It not only helps identify you, but it quickly gives the viewer a glimpse of what you’re about.

Had I had some formal training, I feel like I would have know that. But it took me a couple of years to realize just how tight a body of work needed to be.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I love birds and animals. My goal is to offer the viewer the opportunity to view the animal in a fresh light. Think of it as a creative way to present the animal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.3gingersart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3gingersart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3gingersart