[artforkatz-blog]

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted any pieces but I’m still here. Making things with my hands and mind, thinking about roots and soil.

[artforkatz-blog]

Neither my best friend nor I have 'real jobs' so we're selling some old vintage clothes on my Etsy shop so if you're looking for some funky new/old threads here's the link. If you can't afford the listed price but really want something, feel free to contact me about it! I'm far from fluent in the language of profit so I'm open to negotiating, trading, bartering, etc. Lots of light to you all. ♡

[artforkatz-blog]

Do people ever stop you and tell you that your eyes are pretty? Just wondering haha

Yes that has happened before, but the most common comment I get in regards to my eyes is people asking if they're real which is maybe one of those things that are supposed to be complimentary but come off a little odd due to the vague nature of the way the question is posed. Or maybe it's just me but I swear every time I get that my mind goes to glass eyes. And who knows, maybe all along these poor souls have been wondering if my eyes were made of flesh or glass and have just been to nice to correct me when I go on to explain that I do in fact have green eyes and then they tell me they're pretty afterward because they feel awkwardly obliged to after the miscommunication!

[artforkatz-blog]

For the past few months I've been grappling with the idea of deleting my blog.

I've been really negligent of it due to this conflict in my head that's been going on about hating the fact that I've fed my art into this fucked sort of approval machine based on notes and profited from my own creation in a twisted way that I don't really condone or even want to be happening but because of the way that this website is set up is a necessary byproduct. I don't know if any of you are familiar with any Buddhist concepts but it feels as though this is sort of a vehicle for ego to make you feel either falsely good or falsely bad about yourself on the basis of things that don't actually exist and that's really scary to me. It's also really scary that any of the drawings I post on here can be (and have been) taken and altered and reposted without my knowledge or permission. Some of my drawings have gotten so out of hand that when I look at them I don't even feel like I was the one who drew them and I can't help but think that disconnection and removal from my own creation has to be hurting me on a pretty profound, essential level. But of course it's important to note the people who have taken or altered my works are not to blame because I've talked to a handful of them myself and no one is trying to maliciously rip off some poor teenage artist, most of them don't even realize on a conscious level that a human being poured her heart and soul onto a piece of paper through the vehicle of a pen to create the image they're seeing on their computer screen and that's what's so fucking dangerous about all this! The disconnection we're allowed and even encouraged to feel toward these images on the internet is bad news for us artists, my friends. But on the other hand, I really do believe that Tumblr is a great means for self expression and that part I really really love. I've also received incredible support from my followers which I'm really really appreciative of and I love the connection aspect of this website. Anyways though I'll leaving up north for a ten day silent Vipassna meditation retreat in a couple of weeks so I'll definitely wait until after that to make a decision because I think I certainly have some things to learn yet before I form a decisive mind on the matter.

[artforkatz-blog]

How do you do your eye makeup? Do you use liner or just mascara, and if so what brands?

I just realized I had two make up questions so I'm going to consolidate and just answer this one. I just use mascara, occasionally and I mean like a couple times a year occasionally I'll use eyeliner on my top lid but the mascara I use is bright yellow, I know it's Maybelline something or other but it's bright yellow so that should be a dead give away. Highly recommend it, although keep in mind everyone's eyelashes are different so I imagine different kinds work better for different people! The eyeliner is whatever liquid eyeliner Revlon sells. All the lipstick I ever wear is Revlon too, gives a nice creamy even coat but it's still cheap. Generally it seems like Revlon's got good stuff goin' on but that yellow Maybelline mascara is the bee's knees. I don't really have any make up secrets but sometimes if my mascara is getting dried up I'll put a couple drops of saline solution in it and it seems to work a lot better. Truthfully I feel a little laughable giving make up advice to anyone because I have such a limited knowledge of anything besides mascara and lipstick but that saline solution thing is a total gem.

[artforkatz-blog]

A not so quick but certainly noteworthy update on the beautiful, intense things happening in my life.

[artforkatz-blog]

27h47m32s: empathize with artists--imagine our ache in your hands, your soul on the paper, your heart in the pencil, your name in the bottom right hand corner. That you may see me through my work is all I can ask for.

[artforkatz-blog]

Where do you shop? and where do you get your ootd inspirations?

I shop a lot at thrift or vintage stores, sometimes Buffalo Exchange or Goodwill or Etsy. I try to stay away from big stores like H&M or Forever 21 just because I feel like there's no way you could humanely produce clothing that cheaply and most other new stores like Urban Outfitters are just too damn expensive and likely not much better in their practices. So most of my clothing ends up being second hand, that way if I do end up buying clothing made in sweatshops it's at least already been in circulation and it's not benefitting the producer directly. If you live in Seattle, Red Light Vintage on Broadway is by far my favorite spot to shop. This isn't going to be a very useful answer but I get most of my outfit inspiration on the spot when I'm shopping. I feel like the seasons have a big impact on my eye for clothing, but generally I just scan racks of clothes until a particular pattern or type of fabric catches my eye then I'll grab it and see if I can weave it into my existing style repertoire or whatever. Right now it's summer so I'm feeling inclined toward light, flowing clothing.

[artforkatz-blog]

I very much enjoy your art, personality, and blog. Have a wonderful day c:

Thank you so much, what a beautiful thing to say. My personality, art, and blog are really all I have to offer here so I couldn't be happier that's sufficient in your eyes. Many a wonderful day to you as well!

[artforkatz-blog]

Hi Avery, just wondering what type of material you use for painting projects on, preferably the cheapest material hohohaha

Hi friend, my only painting experience has been with acrylic paint although I have dabbled in watercolors a bit acrylics are certainly the most practical, they dry much faster than oils and are just easier to manage and whatnot. Depends on what you want to do though!

[artforkatz-blog]

We should exchange drawings! (Even though I can't draw at all)

LET'S! Although I hope you know you've given yourself away by offering a drawing exchange (we all know you can draw now, it's okay we won't ostracize, you some of us can do it too shhhh)

[artforkatz-blog]

Guys I finally got around to printing posters that are way better and less pricey than the other ones I had for sale! You can check them out at my Etsy shop here. If you don't have the funds contact me, I'm definitely understanding of that issue being a broke college student and very open to trades, bartering, negotiation, etc.

[artforkatz-blog]

i saw that girl's rant about how you stole her tattoo idea for your star crossed lovers drawing but seriously that isn't some original idea that only one person can have ownership over like i'm sure if you google sun and moon kissing it's been drawn and tattooed by tons of people tons of different time i don't get why she took it so personally

Firstly, I’d like to say that “that girl” is someone who I value and respect very deeply. I, like you, thought that the themes of sun and moon being lovers were common ones but regardless none of my intentions regarding that drawing seem to have manifested in ways I would have wanted or expected—I didn’t intend for it to get so popular that I would be discovering stolen and edited versions virtually biweekly, I didn’t intend for people to get it tattooed without my knowledge, I didn’t intend for a person I care about to feel so wronged by it all. The point that I seem to have realized far too late, and you have failed to realize at all, is that tattoos are incredibly personal things. I didn’t think I was stealing her personal idea when I drew the sun and the moon because I’d seen the sun and moon done so many times in so many different ways it wasn’t a personal image to me, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have personal significance to her. Of course you should take things that are personal to you personally. The issue wasn’t that I was so aware of her tattoo that I purposely stole the idea from her, but that I wasn’t aware or sensitive enough to something so personal to her that I didn’t treat it with the appropriate reverence one should accord personal things. And now I’m getting a taste of my own medicine as people edit and butcher and copy and take credit for something personal to me—my art—without even intending to, without even knowing it was me that drew it. But the point is that hurt caused unintentionally still hurts.

[badhousewine]

My first tattoo. Design by artforkatz.

[artforkatz-blog]

Another lovely soul got my drawing tattooed! Honored as ever.

[artforkatz-blog]

A really beautiful thing happened to me last night.

[artforkatz-blog]

Collages for design and color. Emulating lots of death and nature. They were supposed to be inspired by an artist I forgot the name of. Anyhow, I'm working on a really big detailed mandala piece in my giant Moleskine and timing how long it's taking me with a stopwatch (5:55:09 so far). I really hope no one steals it when I post it because I can feel a lot of myself being poured into it and am quite invested already.

[artforkatz-blog]

I bought kettle corn at this tulip festival this weekend then the next day I ran out of cereal so I ate it for breakfast which is unsurprising in the context of college eating habits but are these tulips not beautiful!