Katie Christensen
Hi, I'm Katie!
I am a Studio Art major at Smith College in Northampton, MA. I enjoy drawing and painting, but am most interested in graphic design, particularly in design for advertisements. I spent the fall of 2017 in Copenhagen, Denmark studying graphic design and traveling across Europe, so that has been a source of inspiration for some of my pieces, particularly in the realm of design. I am also very interested in nature, patterns, color, and space. My favorite things to draw, paint, and design are usually related to nature in some way, shape, or form. I like fruits, vegetables, flowers, and figures the best! I am also very interested in the environment and am an Environmental Science and Policy Minor in addition to my Studio Art Major. During this past summer I interned at Exupery Design in Lyme, CT. This is where many of more graphic things in my portfolio come from. It was a great opportunity to learn more about graphic design and marketing while becoming even more proficient in using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. In my free time I like to be outside and enjoy most sports--I play defence for my lacrosse team at Smith!
Latest Project Statement
Ornamental Innovation
Katie Christensen
Mixed Media
This work is an installation of wallpaper and paintings motivated by the pattern, design, production, and assembly of wallpaper. I am interested in transforming a space to create a new experience. The elements of production of the final space, including both the painting and wallpaper aspects, are important and work to signify beliefs of women in the art world and associations that have evolved from the Arts and Crafts Movement between 1880 and 1920. William Morris, a key contributor of this movement, is a large source of my inspiration. His designs are the basis of many of my paintings making up Ornamental Innovationand provide large contributions to the backbone of the wallpaper as well. Like Morris, the presence of the hand and physical creation is of the utmost importance to me. My artistic method is very process oriented. To create this inviting space, I prioritize depth and texture by building up layers. I begin collaging paper, cardstock, and cardboard, then work to cover these pieces with acrylic paint to set the foundation of the design, and finally I complete the piece with a more detailed layer of oil paint. The background tiled wallpaper design encompasses the colors and patterns found in these painting, but is created using computer software and printed with a laser printer on bond paper.
While Morris promoted the joy of craftsmanship and the beauty of nature in a time where mechanized processes had diminished quality and replaced handmade production, I similarly work to emphasize the importance of the hand and things that cannot be created digitally in a world that is so consumed with technology. I do use technology to enhance the piece, but the design created digitally would not be possible without my physical hand. It is important for me that this assembly and space cannot easily be reproduced and that the experience can only occur within this particular gallery.
While my piece also speaks about connotations of art vs. craft and who is to be considered an artist, the primary concern for me is one of enjoyment and pleasure, similar to the experience William Morris attempted to create in transforming homes through textile design.