We recently connected with Mary Kathryn Medlock and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Mary Kathryn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of growing up to be an artist. I’m from small town in Arkansas, and my public elementary school didn’t offer art classes, so my parents enrolled me in an after -school program. I excelled in creative expression as a young student and enjoyed abstract painting, weaving on a loom, and even throwing clay on a wheel, our little after school art classes gave us so many opportunities to learn! It was clear to me that I was flourishing in my artistic passions, and I kept my dream close to my heart.
As I grew from a little girl to a teenager, I became interested in fashion, and when it was time to go to college, I chose to study Fashion Merchandising, which was according to my parents, was the safer choice to pursue as a career, since it was business oriented. It was the early 90’s, way before you could sell your paintings online, so now, as my more mature self, I can look back on that as advice that came from a good place. I did enjoy my career in high end retail store management, in so many ways it prepared me for running my own biz.
I worked 15 years for some of the best brands out there, and then at age 36, burnt out and ready for change found myself pursing creating my own brand of Art, inspired by my own journey of self-love and new age spiritual seeking. I did eventually work my way to my dream!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Mary Kathryn Medlock, and I make my Art under the name LOVEMKM. My work is inspired by my own personal journey, and the very first fine art screen prints I created, featured a portrait of me with “love yourself’ tagged on it. I used those prints to paste them as street art, first in NYC, then all over the world, and even one was purchased by NBC Universal for a set design in a television series.
LOVEMKM is me, but also her own personality for sure. All my paintings, print work, fashion pieces, are all very bold, feminine, flirty… I’ve always created what I like, I just let whatever wants to flow onto the canvas come right out of me in the way it calls for. I use the brightest colored paints and inks I can find, I also try to incorporate multi layered textures and even textiles into my work. I often use my own portrait in my Screen Prints as expressions of different feminine archetypes.
Screenprinting, Encaustic Painting, and Textile design are some of my favorite mediums to work in, and I’m always open to learning and perfecting processes!

If you’re looking for some super colorful abstract paintings, especially hot pink, I’m your Artist!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Transitioning from a corporate career woman to a full time artist required a good plan. The first thing I did was go from a full-time store manager, to part time. I made less money but I gave myself time to pursue some further education, and to start making myself a route to follow, I borrowed some cash flow from my savings to patch me through.
Eventually, I quit retail management altogether, and got myself a part-time job in the art world, working as a studio manager in a screen print shop! It really felt like the ball was rolling then! I had an art related job, and my own studio to create in.
I continued setting up my biz, using Etsy, Squarespace, IG, Facebook, all the platforms. I even took some classes at The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan to learn textile design. I really put my all into what I wanted and I’m really proud of what I accomplished. I do want to say here, working for yourself as a creative entrepreneur has it’s own set of unique challenges that can leave you wishing, at times for that stable corporate job from the past. I’m grateful to have that view of both worlds, neither one is perfect, it’s kinda about what really matters in your heart. I have successes and then some minor setbacks, but I never quit because creating is what I was born to do.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The book “Becoming Supernatural” by Dr. Joe Dispenza is life changing. I highly recommend reading if you are interested in using the practice of meditation to create positive impact in your life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lovemkm.com
• Instagram: lovemkm
• Facebook: lovemkm
• Linkedin: Mary Kathryn Medlock
• Twitter: _lovemkm

Image Credits

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