Post written by Laura Cococcia. You can follow Laura on Twitter.
It was only a few weeks ago that I found Color Me Katie. It came to my inbox from Gretchen Rubin’s daily post.
The link was to Katie’s post about Greenpoint – her brilliant photos of the people that live in her community. How cool is that?
What I loved the most is that the post, with few words, instantly told me a story.
I’ve never signed up faster for a blog. It took six to seven seconds to glance at Color Me Katie to see how it screams creativity and energy. And, it instantly put a smile on my face.
As most of you know, I love to write and love to read. But in art class, I was the kid who started crying because I couldn’t color within the lines. Given this somewhat sad reality, I reached out to Katie to get her expert artistic insights and a little bit of personal advice to see if it’s possible for me to draw more than stick figures.
4 Questions for Katie Sokoler
Laura: When did you know you wanted to become an artist? Was it always your dream?
Katie: I had no idea I was going to be an artist until I was about 18. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be an actress. Growing up I took lots of acting classes, did a few commercials, plays, and TV shows. One day I discovered a camera, dropped everything and applied to art school!
Laura: Is there an artist who you consider your mentor or inspiration?
Katie: I’ve never found my inspiration from another artist. Instead, I find my inspiration from the people around me. The kids at the playground, pet owners at the dog park, the drunk guy that always hangs out at the corner, shop owners, the neighborhood cat lady — this is where the inspiration is at!
A few hours sitting at the park or walking around the streets observing people gives me tons of new ideas.
Laura: Since I can barely draw stick figures or take a photo that’s not blurry, I definitely need some help to develop my artistic skills. Any suggestions for me?
Katie: I think it’s possible to do anything even if you think you’re not good at it. The trick is to find the way to do it that works for you. There’s no one way to do anything.
Laura: What’s next on your project list? Anything we should be on the lookout for?
Katie: I have a few ideas for some large community art projects. I really want to involve more people in my work! I’m going to start setting things up around NYC and if you live here you can be part of the fun!
–
Many thanks to Katie for taking the time to chat with us at TJCC (and to give me a bit of hope about my artistic future). For those of you in the NYC area, let’s make sure to keep watching Katie’s updates for her upcoming projects.
For all of you, I’d recommend taking a trip over to Color Me Katie. I took some of Katie’s advice and am starting to find a way that works for me. I took a photo yesterday with my Blackberry and it was 25% bad. Which means it was 75% good. One big step in the right direction.
Image credit: Katie Sokoler.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I loved the site. Showed it to my girlfriend; she loved the site. That's two for two so far! :)
Good rec, Laura.
Thanks for writing about this! I love the site as well. Great interview questions too. :)
Hey Greg – glad you both liked it – Katie's fantastic. I'd love her to create all the artwork for my apartment! (ooh, that's an idea…)
Hi Dani! Hope you had a great weekend and thank you re: the interview questions :)
Color Me Katie is pure joy to look at and read! Thanks for leading me there.
Dawn Maria – Thanks for your note! I love taking a look at Katie's site – she has a new post up today that I absolutely love. Hope you're well!
Beneficial information like this one should be kept and maintained and may put this one on my search for list! Many thanks for this wonderful publish and hoping to post more of this!