Today we’d like to introduce you to Myrna Katz.
Hi Myrna, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born under the containment of Apeirtheid in SAfrica. My induction into my creativity was ignited when I was about four years old. I would run outside to sit with my nanny’s friends while they ate dinner. There was an “elder” who made the most beautifully carved animals out of plasticine… magic to me, then my mother, an actress would put me to sleep reciting Shakespeare…, my nursery rhymes were Shakespeare… my father inducted me into the magic and mystery of Alchemy… he would love visiting the steel factory on Sundays… I remember that day holding my father’s hand while the blacksmiths threw a 12″ Black steel rod into a fire pit… they pulled and twisted, it turned into a glowing Red Rod now about my height and I thought that was Magic.. growing up in SA brought containment… I knew as a young child I would leave…I thought Ballet was calling me to London.
Life is filled with mystery… I wanted to study Architecture, rejected as I was a women, So I became an art student at university I was told ” who do you think you are you are a student, You don’t think for yourself”….that didn’t go over very well for me even though I was very shy, nobody was going to contain my creativity, I was called to fashion design because like ballet I could express myself completely… little did I realize that draping in fashion design would teach the understanding needed form my shaped canvases and furniture design… I left SA to live in London to pursue my fashion career, the week my great Aunt was contacted by family she hadn’t seen about 70years when the family had to flee Lithuania and nagged me to fly with her to meet our family in New York… I had no intention of coming to USA… and… once again life dances us in the most unique ways… always filled with challenges nothing in life is linear… I remember so well my first day with Magnani at Otis institute for the arts “life drawing class” he slapped me on my back and said, “God dam it, you are a student THINK for Yourself” I glowed; I felt liberated.
My life journey became one of deep inner exploration… that containment constellates expansion, that the soul purpose of polarity is to see the other within. The rhythms of Africa, Europe, London and Asia all became part of my mystery dance and live through my creative work, the very essence of my soul… I could not be in this journey without my love of diversity, without deep inner mystery training… my induction through amazing teachers like Brugh Joy MD and Carolyn Conger, who introduced me to the work of Carl Jung… nothing in life is lost, I dance with all that inspired me as a young child, from ballet, architecture, the mystery of creativity, the mystery in and of itself. My installations are created with the dance of the architecture in which they reside, furniture designed to integrate architectural space. The deeper mystery is reflected in my more recent creations “Alchemy of the Soul”… through the Alchemy of Steel, exploring the concepts of shadow light, projection, and the deepening through transparency…Heart Center Series…reveal a withdrawal of veils… “everything is energy”.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Hahahaha… the “vehicle” of the artist is living the edge (creative/destructive), always a struggle of survival, in which ever face it reveals…one is naked in the eye of the viewer, one is pulled and pushed to try and conform to what is expected and comfortable… being uniquely different is threatening unless one has money or is politically connected to market that uniqueness… I love what I do, it has been a journey of deepening the very essence of my soul and if this inspires others, I feel blessed.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My journey… One of consciousness… how do I create bringing a different awareness, what wants to live through me… it is interesting I could not be doing my work if I had not gone through the technical training and depth of understanding and most important… stepping out of my way… everything I have done has given me glimpse into what wants to live through me. Alchemy of steel for example… my creations are large out of my control, even though I initiate the energy of what wants to come through, the process has its own life…I am often stunned… I have had dreams explaining to me how to solve problems and I know when working with large industrial machines bending large steel pieces… I go in with the idea, I know what I am trying to express and then life has its own mystery…we are in a unique dance together
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
MY SOUL… I am living what wants to come through me.
Contact Info:
- Email: myrnakatz@earthlink.net
- Website: Myrnakatz.com
Image Credits:
Myrna Katz Art 1. Steel Alchemy of Soul Series, Aurora Consurgence… steel, water jet cut, led light 2. Steel Alchemy of Soul series, Aurora Borealis…steel, water jet cut, metallic paint, led light 3. Bronze Alchemy of Soul series, Mystical marriage, led light 4. Installation architect Don Prochnow house, neon light, shaped structures wood, see though fabric, oil paint 5. Heart Center Series, uniting Heaven and Earth, Japanese paper, Led light, metallic paint 6. Installation First Congregational Church, LA, Japanese paper, led light, metallic paint 7. Furniture Design, steel, glass Neon light, chairs steel with fabric to reflect the light 8. image on its side can U correct it to be upright….heart center series, alchemy of Soul, neon furniture design integrating space 9. important image unfortunately on its side see if u can correct it… Alchemy of Soul, steel water jet cut, expressing shadow, light, projection.
