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Meet new artist: Kate Thompson

Creativity Explored artist Kate Thompson is new to the CE community, so I took some time to get to know her and learn more about how she uses art as a means of storytelling. “I like to draw things where people are doing things, people on bikes, on buses,” she explains. Kate’s drawings are very animated and evoke the playfulness, movement, and liveliness of the characters she creates. Every artist inserts something of themselves into their work, and Kate acknowledged her presence within her drawings and how she shares a part of herself with the viewer. 

Untitled by Kate Thompson © 2012 Creativity Explored 

“I like to tell stories. About my drawing or maybe about myself.  My skin and my hair. My skin is white. My hair is long and blonde. Being proud.” 

Sharing a personal creation with an audience is not always easy, comfortable, or even desired. Finding the inner strength and confidence to reveal that intimate part of oneself to others is a difficult process. Artists, writers, musicians, and others who “make things” grapple with this constantly. Kate’s resolve and pride in herself and her artistic abilities is evident. She calmly and maturely points out the parts of her current piece that she would like to improve, and the parts that she finds successful. Kate’s sweet demeanor doesn’t mask the feistiness and inquisitiveness of her personality. She explains to me that she uses art to make others feel an experience that she has felt; emphasizing her subjective view of singular, fleeting moments, she translates her reading of those moments into her art.  “I share what’s in my head and that’s all.” 

The Crowd by Kate Thompson © 2011 Creativity Explored

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Submitted by Alex Fine, Oberlin College intern.