GypsyLuc: Let’s get a base reading for the force that is Kate Westfal. If you had to label your roles as they relate to the arts & creativity - what words would you choose?
Kate: My roles? I suppose you'd have to ask other people what my roles are to them. I might be a glutton, a muse, or an exhibitionist, depending on who you ask. The labels I'm willing to accept for myself would be: Artist – this applies to everything. This is my answer, excuse, and reason. Musician – I'm most often a singer, but also a percussionist. Currently, my main instrument is a digital looper. Fiber Artist – I design and crochet my hats, called Brain Blankets. I've also done plenty of fashion augmentation, and have created a few quilts. Poet – this was my main focus for a long time, and I still have an interest, but my focus has shifted more toward visual and aural arts. I also enjoy graphic arts (I make plenty of flyers, book covers, CD art, web photos, etc.), painting, costuming, photography, collaborating, and instigating.
GypsyLuc: What are your earliest childhood memories related to creating?
Kate: Coloring. Making up stories – sometimes this took the form of 'pretending'. Sometimes I was practicing the art of manipulation on my brothers. I'm into open honesty now! Dancing and lip syncing to pop songs & picking out fabric for skirts my mom was making for me.
GypsyLuc: Did you have a supportive atmosphere in your artistic/creative endeavors growing up?
Kate: Yes. If people laughed, or thought something I did was “weird”, I felt encouraged. This is what often happened. I considered it the equivalent of accomplishing something unique. If more people had called me “stupid”, it would have defeated me and I would have developed into a meeker me. Growing up in a rural area with limited resources definitely encourages creativity, especially with a like-minded brother. Of course, my mother always responded positively when her kids made things. Sometimes she would be surprised by something I made or did, but never discouraged me. I think there was a rapid transition from surprise to delight to pride. I still see her often, and she discusses ideas with me, listens to my poems, and suggests ways to find resources or methods of expansion for my projects.
GypsyLuc: Can you share a story about someone who has supported, guided or inspired you along the way?
Kate: My mom tells me that when I was very young, I dressed myself in two different socks. She pointed it out, and asked me why I did it. I told her that they both matched what I was wearing, and she simply agreed. That must have been enough to convince her that unusual methods were reasonable and delightful, and she never stopped giving me permission to try things. As a single mom, she also made sure to teach me to take care of myself, to guide me into formal education, and to give me the confidence to be a strong woman. My dear friend, Jeff Bell, introduced me to the real possibility of having any life I wanted, beyond the limits I had placed for myself, and this empowered me greatly.
GypsyLuc: Share a little bit about your progression from where you started to where you are now skill-wise, how you view ‘art’, your growth as a creative being, phases you’ve been through.
Kate: This is a huge question! I'll try to answer briefly. Art: coloring, doodling, playing with clothes and costuming, using discarded items to make new things, some art classes, sketching, collaborative projects. Crochet: I learned a basic stitch from my Grandma Gerry at around age 8, relearned/remembered the stitch as a teenager, experimented with new stitches, made things as gifts, made extra, was offered shelf space at a friend's business, started putting Brain Blankets in gallery shops. Music: we learn a LOT by mimicking the music we hear. That's where it starts. Sparse piano lessons, school/church bands and choirs, playing with friends, listening to what other people like about different kinds of music, experimenting with equipment, being invited to play percussion in a friend's band, trying to make my own music and learn how to do it on my own when forming and keeping a band together seemed like a hassle.
GypsyLuc: You’re pretty active in the Mansfield art community. Can you share some details about the many hats you’ve worn over the past year or so?
Kate: I managed a pottery shop for a brief time, and learned a lot about art business. I perform my music whenever I can – my own, and some with Jeff Bell. I've been hosting a monthly poetry and music open mic in Mansfield for the past few years. My loft has become the location of a weekly art night for local artists, now called the YelloWall Collective, and we've had an open house, and a couple of multi-band concerts up there. I work with professors at local universities in their art classes. I organized a fashion show! It seemed like one of the only creative arts not being represented as art in the area. There has only been one so far. I'm now a co-op member at Art Works On Main (AWOM) – the downtown art gallery. So far, I only display my Brain Blankets there.
GypsyLuc: You had a pretty substantial commission for Snow Trails. Tell about that project. Did you learn anything from it? Would you do it again?
Kate: Snow Trails is a ski spot in the area. Someone from their ski shop connected with me through AWOM. She picked out a quantity of the styles she liked, and left the color choices to me (nice!). I gave her wholesale prices because of her bulk order, and so that the sale price in her shop would be feasible. The result was a very low hourly rate for my work, but it was guaranteed income at the time of delivery, and I couldn't pass on that. If my business grows and I'm overwhelmed with orders this year, I'd have to raise my prices. Otherwise, yeah, I'd do it again. And I did learn more about small business needs because of this order.
GypsyLuc: Your Landlord Poems intrigue me. What are they?
Kate: Poetry was my main focus for quite awhile. It was my focus in college. I got my first professional job and apartment after college and tried to keep writing seriously on my own to see where I could go with it. The novelty of sending a personal check to someone just to live where I did felt like I was mailing an award notice. I included a “congratulations” sticker, and a silly poem. It must have come from a combined feeling of rebelliousness, ridiculousness, and a desire to keep writing regularly, even if it was more cathartic that making a statement. I've continued writing a monthly poem since then, and I'm on my 3rd landlord/landlady. My first landlord loved them. So far, I still have had no mention of them from my 2nd and 3rd. Eventually, I'd like to turn the collection into a book with illustrations.
GypsyLuc: What projects are you currently working on? (Poetry, music, visual art, other…)
Kate: Trance Scripts. This is an art exhibit currently on display at Kenosis Gallery for Experimental Art in Mansfield, run by Jason Kauffman and Jennifer Lucas. My goal was to make a series of 30 paintings (because 80 turned out to be too many for me within my deadline!) that were to be illustrations of semi-conscious ideas and images combined with language. Other pieces went into the show as well, but this was the main focus. Music has stagnated during the time I was taking to work on the paintings, and during hat season, so I hope to be writing some new music now. I have ideas for two albums. One will have a fairly mellow mood, the other will be more aggressive. Meanwhile, I just want to have new material to perform.
GypsyLuc: YelloWall Collective. What it is? Why does it exist? How did it come into being? What does it mean to you?
Kate: I was doing poetry and music, and wanted to do more with art, but hadn't been dedicating time to it. When I first got my loft, I had a vision of artists using the space to create. When a couple of friends mentioned having an interest in weekly art nights, I volunteered my space. The attendees have changed, numbers fluctuate, but friendships and connections remain. Mr. Luc Hargis is the member who instigates organization so that we have the name now (YelloWall Collective), a licensed Minister of Artistry, group art projects (a formal award-winner, and an incognito art-attack), a logo, and a website (
GypsyLuc: You seem to be leaving your fingerprints on a lot of things. How do you make it all happen?
Kate: I need lists to remember my ideas, and a calendar to schedule them. Plus family and friends to share some of the necessary things like expenses (just sharing resources on one meal makes more time for creative processes), encouragement, and feedback.
GypsyLuc: What are some creative things you have not tried - but want to experiment with?
Kate: If I tell you, you'll steal my idea! Actually, I do have some ideas for painting with a secret ingredient. Musically, I'm saving up for a vocal processor so my voice will have more instrumentation. Plus, I want to do more with a washboard.
GypsyLuc: Can you prognosticate for a moment? Pick a timeframe: a month, a year, 10 years from now. Where will Kate be & what will she be doing?
Kate: A year ago, I wouldn't have imagined that I'd have pulled off a solo exhibit of my paintings. I didn't have much of a collection of paintings then. Nor would I have imagined my current personal and business relationships. So whatever happens in the future will be a surprise, and I have no reason not to be hopeful of its positive progression.
GypsyLuc: Give me 5 random words - any 5 that pounce on you.
Kate: Cram. Argyle. Parade. Angle. Gurney.
GypsyLuc: Lastly, is there anything you have always wanted to say or put out there but never had the chance? Here it is…
Kate: I do tell people this, but I will say it here again because it's helped me to build many things. If what you want doesn't exist, create it.
Want to learn more about the Queen?
- Kate's Trance Scripts solo show is on display @ Kenosis (18 South Park Ave., Mansfield, OH) throughout the month of May
- To hear Kate's music, visit
http://www.myspace.com/vokatemusica or look her up on iTunes- Check out her Brain Blankets online at http://www.myspace.com/brainblankets or see them in person at the Mansfield Art Center (700 Marion Ave., Mansfield, OH), Art Works On Main (109 N. Main St., Mansfield, OH), The Guild gallery in Marion on Center St, and at Snow Trails in Mansfield on Possum Run Rd.
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