We were lucky to catch up with Katie Groth recently and have shared our conversation below.

Katie , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

When I first came up with my painting technique I was actually only painting and drawing commissioned pet portraits. I needed a break from it and I wanted to try experimenting with texture.

When I first experimented with texture I used oil paint to create a 3D effect with my paintings. Unfortunately oil paint is very pricey and can take weeks to dry. So, I knew I had to try other methods!

I knew acrylic paint was cheap and dried quickly, but it also held no form. That’s when I discovered modeling paste. I mixed the acrylic with modeling paste and immediately loved the consistency. It also only took hours to dry compared to weeks.

Later on I wanted to achieve a very thick textured look. I was always amused with how thick and smooth frosting was and I knew I wanted to achieve a similar look. I figured why not pipe paint the same way frosting is piped? I immediately fell in love with the way it turned out and I’ve been using this method ever since.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am currently a full time artist who specializes in textured art! Even though I currently specialize in textured art, I have experimented with a lot of different art forms throughout my artistic journey.

When I first started selling my art after I graduated high school, I mostly sold custom pieces or pet portraits. I continued to do this on the side throughout college and well into my career in veterinary medicine.

Eventually I realized that I no longer wanted to be a vet tech. So, I decided to leave my career and start pursuing art full time. After some time I started to make art for myself and experimented with what my personal style was.

After awhile I found my way into making textured art. So far, this medium has been the most fun for me to work with and I really enjoy the creative process. I think a lot of other people find the creative process fascinating as well because this is when my following/client base really took off!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I think a lesson I had to unlearn was, sticking to what is safe and predictable. For the longest time I let others and the society around me influence my career choices. I ignored my own instinct of pursuing art. I instead picked a career that was deemed to be more practical.

If I had continued to keep that mindset, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I also wouldn’t be as happy or fulfilled!

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I had just launched one of my first textured art collections. I sold a few pieces, but not nearly enough to pay the bills. I knew I needed to advertise it more so I turned to social media. I saw this cool trend on TikTok where you show off how you took a risk pursuing your dream and then show how it’s paid off.

I put together the video. I posted it and I wasn’t expecting too much from it. Eventually the views just started to climb to insane numbers. Some sales started to roll in and before I knew it, all of my pieces were sold out within a half hour. I remember being at the gym and looking down at my phone to see it being flooded with notifications. It was such a surreal moment and I’m so thankful for it!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.katiescollective.store
• Instagram: katie.collective
• Facebook: Katie’s Collective
• Other: TikTok: katieart