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

Katie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

When I first started dabbling with resin as an artistic medium, there weren’t many resources and not many artists willing to share secrets or knowledge about using resin artistically. It was still a pretty untapped medium. It was a long journey and a lot of money spent just experimenting on things that didn’t always turn out how I wanted them to. I eventually set it aside in frustration for a few years. Around the time of the pandemic I decided to get back into working with resin, having so much time on my hands! What I found was that resin-as an artistic medium-had truly exploded in popularity. Now there were many companies making archival resins catered to artists, companies producing materials specific for resin use, and so many artists sharing their processes. All of this really reignited my passion for the medium and it was fun again to explore resin. I gained confidence in the medium and really developed a style and way of working. At this point, I decided to brand myself and create a website and instagram to help make my work easier to be seen by potential clients. I started getting steady commissions and eventually decided to also create courses to help teach others what I’ve learned.

Katie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have always loved art, I am a visual artist-I have loved drawing and painting for most of my life with traditional mediums and also digital. I went to college for Graphic Design and have been working as a graphic designer for about 12 years. I love to create art in my spare time, which I think helps eliminate most of the stress full time artists can feel when you have to turn a passion into a career (not that design isn’t a passion of mine!) Since switching my focus from fine art painting/drawing etc. to resin, I have noticed how calming working with resin is. I can really get into the zone in my studio when I’m working on a resin piece and I love how i’m constantly learning new techniques, and still get surprised by the outcomes sometimes!

It has been such a joy getting to work with clients all over the world, collaborating and really bringing their visions to life, creating one-of-a-kind pieces for their homes. It has also been a learning experience, having to create contracts and develop a pricing structure that evolves with the skill level of my art. Troubleshooting when things don’t go as planned, and dealing with all the back-end isn’t always fun, but I’m grateful that I’m able to learn as I go.

Creating abstractly with resin can be hard to set yourself apart from other artists, but your style is something that evolves naturally. I Love when clients seek me out specifically to create a piece for them because they appreciate and connect with the style I have. It seems like each commission I work on keeps getting larger and larger! I recently created a triptych for a client in Hawaii, each panel was about the size of a door! Creating on such a large scale is daunting at first, but I have a process of sketching the full design first and having a solid plan of action before I start which helps my confidence. As soon as I begin, the excitement soon follows-seeing how the pieces evolve into my vision and adding all those fine details at the end that really make each piece look so intricate and interesting up close as well as from a distance. You can really achieve such a depth with resin, It’s captivating in person!

I love creating abstract wall art with resin, my work is heavily influenced an inspired by natural stone like agate and geodes. I incorporate glass chips and real semi precious stones into the artwork that really give a texture and interest to each piece. I also love to create more functional resin pieces like resin accented charcuterie boards and coasters, table tops, and canister lids. You can put resin on just about anything! One of my focuses for the upcoming 2024 year will be incorporating more of my fine art skill with resin, merging the two with ocean inspired art for example is something that I’ve been eager to experiment more with.

Aside from creating artwork, I also am passionate about teaching others what I’ve learned. I am currently working through creating a suite of courses for beginner and advanced resin artists to learn all about creating with resin. I get so many messages from people eager to know more about the medium and I love to bridge that gap between novice and confident artist.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Simply put, happiness is the biggest drive for my creative journey. Being creative through my art really ignites a passion inside me and brings me joy. I love sharing this with people and seeing how I inspire others to also experiment and be creative. Whenever I have free time, I love stepping into my studio, throwing on a movie or putting on some music and just zoning out and seeing what I can create. Stepping back and enjoying the final product before I ship it out (or, if I’m lucky, hanging it in my own home!) is my favorite feeling. The accomplishment, satisfaction for how it turned out, and enjoyment for the entire process is what keeps me coming back to create over and over.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

It has always been my view that you can’t force a social media presence. I grew my instagram audience naturally over time, simply by sharing my passion. I would rather have people following me because they enjoy my art, rather than a “follow for follow” or paid follower count full of robots and dead accounts. I love interacting with my followers and have really loved participating in the community of resin artists that exists on social medias. If you are posting what you love, people will notice. It won’t happen overnight, but it will take off like a snowball!

Instagram, especially, can be a fickle platform for artists trying to be discovered. I don’t worry about ‘keeping up with the algorithm’ which always seems to be changing, but rather, posting content that I’m proud of and engaging with other artists that I support and admire.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.westendresin.com
• Instagram: west.end.resin
• Other: www.etsy.com/shop/WestEndResin

Image Credits
I own all photography rights