We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kaylani Mactaggart. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kaylani below.
Alright, Kaylani thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
I think the keys to achieving success as an artist or painter requires a blend of talent, dedication, and a genuine eagerness to learn and grow. It goes beyond merely developing a distinctive style or technique; it involves a continuous journey of refining your techniques and expanding your creative horizons. Actively seeking and embracing constructive criticism, as well as remaining receptive to fresh ideas, can significantly enhance the evolution of your artistic expression and journey.
The importance of networking cannot be overstated in the art world. Cultivating meaningful relationships with fellow artists, gallery owners, and art enthusiasts can lead to invaluable opportunities that may otherwise remain out of reach or impossible. Engaging with your audience through social media platforms and participating in art exhibitions or local vendor markets and events not only boosts your visibility but also helps you forge connections with a broader community that can and will appreciate your work.
Resilience is a crucial quality for artists as they journey through the often hard world of the art industry. This path is rarely smooth; it is filled with numerous setbacks, rejections, and various challenges that can truly test one’s determination, spirit, and confidence. Yet, it is vital for artists to stay motivated and remain committed to their unique artistic vision, especially when faced with challenges and hardships. Embracing these difficulties not only strengthens their mindset but also enriches their creative expression, allowing them to grow and evolve in their craft.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi, my names Kaylani MacTaggart, the creator and owner of Kayz Kreationz! ! I am a self taught, trippy, mind expanding artist, born and raised in Florida, currently based in Boca Raton, FL. and I am 20 years old!
I always had a love for drawing and painting as a kid, my dad was always drawing something up, it definitely sparked my creativity in me at a young age. I sadly lost my passion for drawing or doing any art for a couple years during middle and high school, pretty much until we got quarantined during Covid. Being in isolation and having nothing else to do for weeks on end made me tap back into my creative side and it helped me realize art is what I wanted to do with my life in some way or another and I needed to express myself in ways words cannot. At this point I was strictly drawing and painting on canvas, but I slowly started expanding as I found myself getting a sense of boredom with painting and it that bothered me because I knew art is what I’m good at and what I should be doing so I started teaching myself how to make jewelry, then after jewelry I learned how to make tufted rugs, and then onto painting on purses, shoes, and thrifted items such as; stools, jewelry cases, ceramic pieces, etc.. I make art to calm my thoughts and ease my mind and switching back and forth between multiple projects and mediums is how I’ve found I make my best work! I also found a love for teaching myself new things, going through the challenges of perfecting the skill as well as teaching myself new skills and techniques, and being able to share my art and my experience with others at live vendor events where I can sell my art, get my small business out there, and engage with some of the kindest people in some of the best art communities I’ve seen.
As of lately I have mainly been painting on leather purses, shoes, and doing furniture upcycles. I describe myself and my work as trippy and brings that sense of childlike wonder to mind. I love painting and incorporating mushrooms as well as rainbows into a lot of my pieces. Something I’ve been most proud of recently was my first big wall art installation which is a pair of trippy butterfly wings at Riptidez Kava Bar in Delray Beach, they’re about 3x4ish feet per wing and the process for that was so much fun from hand sketching the design out onto sheet wood, to having my mom and dad cut it out/sand it down for me while I worked on other things, to then getting to paint it, adding a coat of neon colors so it glows with a UV light at night, top coating them with weatherproofing, and finally getting to hang them at the kava bar permanently for people to take pictures with!
Another thing I’ve been most proud of recently is finally finishing up my own art studio! I was working out of the garage in my house for 1 year+ and sharing the space with both of my parents and their projects and machines, and we all realized that it was getting to be crowded in there with the three of us creating things and expanding our skills all in one room, so we decided to clear out the 10x20ft. shed in our backyard and make that my new art studio! Staring back in February/March and over the next 6ish months after that me, my dad, and my mom got everything cleared out, fixed what needed to be fixed, added windows, installed an ac unit, ran electricity, and made it mine inside! Now I have a space to myself where I can be me and create anything I can think of!
Lastly the thing I’ve been most recently proud of myself for are the events I’ve began to host at Riptidez kava Bar! They’re Vendor based markets meaning I’m creating a community here of some of the most unique and awesome artists around. My events host about 43 vendors including; live painters, a henna artist, a tooth gem artist, tarot and/or oracle readers, a yoga instructor, outdoor games, food, drinks, music, and so much more! And I’m always rotating the artists out each event so everyone has a chance to vend at this event, I also don’t like having multiple of the same vendor at each market because it takes away the chance for the vendors to make money if there’s multiple of the same thing being sold at different booths. And I say and do these things because of the experience of 2 years of vending at multiple different markets and events and seeing that exact thing happen to me and vendors alike. I also try to keep the vendor fee as low as possible for these events, a lot of other markets out there are highly expensive for their vendor fee and most of the time the outcome isn’t what you expect it to be unfortunately. I also like being able to incorporate donation drives into the events, our next market we’re doing a book donation drive and then for our one after that we’re doing a toys for tots donation drive for the holiday season! I wanna be able to create a community for the artists, the small business owners, the people who attend these events, all while being able to give back to the communities in need all at the same time.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
I think my most effective strategy for growing a clientele as a beginner artist was becoming a vendor at local events and markets. Firstly this all started because I wasn’t doing well on my social media accounts and I found myself feeling stuck and I wanted to change that so this happening gave me the courage to get started with vending at local events, and it was the best decision I made for me and my business! I started vending 2 years ago and since then I did about 35+ events last year total, and this year around 25+ events so far! Vending has shown me the ups and downs of being a vendor and its shown me the resilience I need to have as an artist, its shown me how to accept failure and turn it into something positive such as when an event is slow or dead and instead of being upset about it I’ve been trying to teach myself that these can just be moments you have to just talk to other vendors and give them your business card, take theirs, and show support to other business’s, even if you cant make money that day, you can always make connections in this industry! Its shown and taught me what can happen when you overwork myself and how easily it is to burn yourself out, because I wanted to try each and every event out there so I would do 4 events a week plus a job on the side of all that 3-4 days a week. Becoming a vendor has let me sell so much art! I never thought that I would see so many of my pieces go to amazing and caring people and I never would’ve gotten to where I am now if I wasn’t able to put myself out there at my first vendor event 2 years ago.
Building relationships with customers is incredibly important for artists who aspire to achieve long-term success in their careers. When artists take the time to connect with their audience on a personal level they foster a loyal following that genuinely appreciates and values their work. This loyalty can translate into repeat purchases and enthusiastic word-of-mouth recommendations both of which are invaluable for the artist’s growth and visibility in a competitive market. Furthermore strong relationships with customers provide artists with crucial feedback allowing them to refine and enhance their craft over time. Engaging with fans through social media exhibitions or community events helps to create a sense of belonging and connection that resonates deeply. Overall nurturing these vital connections is essential for achieving lasting success in the art world as it not only strengthens the artist’s brand but also enriches the overall experience for both the creator and the audience.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
As an artist my resilience is shown in how I face challenges and keep creating. When I encounter criticism I do not give up; instead I use it to improve my work. Each setback teaches me something valuable allowing me to grow both personally and professionally. I also push through moments of self-doubt reminding myself of my passion for art. This determination to keep going despite difficulties truly illustrates my resilience as an artist.
A deeper story into my resilience would be that I have a condition called Raynaud’s syndrome and it is a medical condition that significantly affects blood flow to specific parts of my body most commonly for people it effects the fingers, toes, nose, and ears. For me it mainly effects my fingers and toes. This syndrome for me is particularly triggered by cold temperatures or drastic change in temperature, being still or keeping my hands/feet in one position for too long, periods of stress, all these things cause the small blood vessels in these extremities to constrict or narrow. As a result the reduction in blood supply can lead to noticeable changes in the coloration of the affected areas which may turn white and/or blue. Whenever I experience these symptoms its often feelings of coldness or numbness in my fingers and toes. When blood flow eventually returns back to these areas my skin undergoes another transformation turning red and often accompanied by sensations of a ‘pins and needles” feeling in the effected area. This cycle can be uncomfortable and distressing. Consequently having Raynaud’s syndrome effects my daily life as well as my business life of being an artist whos hands are my instrument. I have to take breaks frequently when painting, drawing, or creating in general because of it, sometimes I will ignore the pain and continue on creating and regret it afterwards when my hands feel stiff and hurting to move them around from the lack of blood flow. Having Raynaud’s also effects me being able to drive in the sense that I cant and don’t like driving at all, I can and know how to drive but unfortunately after a few minuets of driving, my feet go entirely numb and I cant feel the pedals anymore beneath my feet which makes me become extremely anxious, so having these problems keeps me from being able to drive to my vendor events or markets but thankfully I have the best support system, my mom! She helps me cope with this problem by taking me to any and all events I want to go to. Her and my dad have honestly been the biggest support I’ve had consistently throughout my art career so far! So despite dealing with Raynaud’s syndrome and the pain I endure daily, I still love what I do and crave to do it and hope to find ways to be a big inspiration to a lot of peoples lives!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kayzkreationzz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayzkreationzz_
- Other: Tiktok
https://www.tiktok.com/@kayzkreationzz_
Image Credits
N/A