In the Michigan Studio with ChicalooKate and a Giveaway

We’re heading to Ann Arbor, Michigan, today for a studio visit with a very interesting, very talented, and very prolific artist, ChicalooKate! 

Your name: Kate Kehoe

Your etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/chicalookate

Your blog: http://chicalookate.wordpress.com

Your website: http://ChicalooKate.com

Your Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Chicaloo-Photography-More/44728082979

Your Twitter page: https://twitter.com/#!/chicalookate
Your Pinterest page: http://pinterest.com/chicalookate   
 
 FK: Good morning, Kate. I brought a diet Coke for you and a cappuccino for me.  So let’s start with where you live.

I have spent the last 16 years in Ann Arbor, but I grew up in the Flint area. I have lived in the Mitten for all but 2 sad dark years in Tennessee.  A2 is, for me, the perfect mix of big and small town life. 


It is a fairly liberal town with an ever changing population due to the University of Michigan making its home here.  One of the downsides of A2 is that the rents are so high that a lot of the quirky shops that made me fall in love with the downtown were not able to survive or had to move to other locations.  One of my favorite places in the summer is Dominick’s. I love to meet friends after work to sit outside and drink sangria.  The Michigan Theater is an amazing restored theater that still takes my breath away.  University of Michigan Art Museum is another of my favorite places to go and wander. I don’t go to many concerts, but I love to see shows at The Ark. 

Outside of the University most people think of the Art Fair when they think of Ann Arbor.  I take part in the craziness that is the Art Fair in a roundabout way. The great folks at Vault of Midnight Comics (another amazing A2 place to check out.) let me rent sidewalk space for the 4 days.  Little Chicaloo trivia fact, Art Fair was the first show I ever did and my helper backed out and I had to run my booth on my own. Not my smartest move, but I made it.

FK: Do you have an art education background? Or are you self taught? How did you get started?

 I am a self-taught artist. I was lucky that there are lots of crafty talented people in my family so I was exposed to a lot of different types of crafts, everything from photography to stained glass to wood working.  I have always made things, but it wasn’t until 2002 that I started to consider that I could sell what I made. I had mono and was tired of reading so I started making jewelry to alleviate the boredom. Friends started wanting me to make things for them which lead me to applying to shows. Over the years jewelry got phased out of my line of work. 

Love

 FK: I love your graffiti photographs. Where do you find them all? 

 Most of my graffiti photos come from around Ann Arbor.  There are some really fun and creative graffiti artists in Ann Arbor.

Surveillance

Anarchists Have More Fun

FK: Talk to me about your etsy shop.  How long have you had your shop?  What was your inspiration?

I opened my shop in January 2006 just 6 months after Etsy opened its doors. I had been considering opening my own website, but it seemed like a lot of work and I just wasn’t up to making the time investment necessary to make a good website. I wanted to make things not spending time looking at html code.  It has worked really well for me since I am growing at the same time Etsy is. I don’t think I could have handled the number of sales I have now back in 2006.

FK: You have so much work in your shop. And the quotes you find are unique. Where do you find them all? 

I search for quotes that will be new for people and not just the same ones over and over. I often put a call out on my Facebook profile for new ones.  It is like a treasure hunt. 

Dalai Lama Quote Magnet

William Shakespeare Quote Magnet

FK: Wow, you really have grown up with Etsy. Tell me about your creative life. What do you love doing the most? What inspires you?

I tell people that I have Craft ADD and OCD. So I have to make a ton of the same style items AND I am easily distracted and need to make new things.  It is a vicious craft cycle. Besides Etsy I do a lot of local shows and it can be a challenge to keep everything organized. 

Carl Sagan Apple Pie Quote Magnet

 A couple of years ago I had a full time job, a part time job and was trying to work on Chicaloo as well. I got really good at being able to fit a lot of work in to a small period of time. A big chunk of what I do is production work so that takes the least amount of time once I get a routine down. Finding the time to make new products and just play with different techniques is much harder. I find inspiration everywhere. I almost always have a camera with me so if I see something that intrigues me I don’t have to regret not being able to take the picture. My latest obsession is Pinterest. There is a crazy amount of stuff there that inspires me. 

I teach Etsy intro classes at the public library here in town and one of the things I tell people is that you can have variety in your shop. The trick is to make it seem cohesive through the photographs and descriptions.  Also, if I do a little each day with the shop it doesn’t seem so daunting.  Photographic prints are not always a big selling item so I have taken to turning my photos into useful items such as notepads, coasters, and pocket mirrors.

Hitchhiking TV Coasters

E.E. Cummings Pocket Mirror

 FK: Where do you work on your art? You are so prolific you must need a lot of room …  

I moved in to my current apartment over 2 years ago and one of the selling points was a second bedroom and A LOT of closet space. But as most crafters know it is easy for it to overrun the whole house even with the best intentions. Right now it looks like a craft store exploded in my living room!

FK: I can totally relate to that, Kate!  What part of being an artist is the most gratifying to you? What part of being an artist is hardest for you, or that you dislike the most?

I love talking to customers, hearing their stories and finding out why my work appeals to them.  I have met some amazing people and am very thankful for that. The hardest part is not having the time I would like to just play and try new things.

Holding

FK: I don’t imagine you have a lot of spare time, but what do you like to do when you do have time?

I have a full time job at the University of Michigan which doesn’t leave me a lot of free time outside of art, but I do spend a lot of time reading. I have always been a book person and usually have 2 or 3 books going at once. 

Warren Zevon Quote Magnet

FK: Kate, it has been a treat to get to know you, although we have only skimmed the surface of the work you do.  Now can you tell us what your giveaway will be? 

I am giving away the winner's choice of a magnet, a photo notepad, a pocket mirror and a set of coasters. Here's an idea of what they might choose.

FK: Thank you, Kate. That's a great prize! Here's how everyone can enter.

How to Enter

You have several chances to be entered into the random drawing. PLEASE read carefully; the entry requirements have been changed.

First entry: Visit Kate’s shop AND/OR website, come back here, and enter a comment about your favorite piece(s).

Second entry: Enter a comment if you have signed up to follow Kate’s blog AND/OR Facebook page (or comment if you already follow).

Third entry: Enter a comment if you have signed up to follow Kate on Twitter AND/OR Pinterest.

Fourth entry: Enter a comment that you signed up to follow my blog (or comment that you already follow).

Fifth entry: Enter a comment that you signed up to follow my Facebook page AND/OR my Pinterest page (or comment that you already follow).

That's five chances to enter for the random drawing!  Please be sure that your correct email address is in your profile; if it is not, include your email address in your comment.  I will use random generator to pick a winner after 12 noon EST on
 

Wednesday, February 15