Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Stubblefield.
Hi Katie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in the old-growth oak and beechnut forest of a small town in Tennessee. Trees old enough to hold Civil War bullets surrounded and shaded me as I explored the depths of those woods. Though my artworks have taken many turns, stylistically and in media, the wild weather I experienced under those tree canopies has always informed my work. I think more broadly now, considering my adopted Southern California’s landscape and climate while looking at the larger global climate-influenced landscapes I see virtually.
One of my ongoing fascinations is with wind. Growing up, I was fascinated with the way I could track a gust of wind through the tree-canopies overhead, just by listening. Yes, I could see those trees, seriously 5-6 stories tall, swaying 10 feet or more in one direction or another…but I could also hear the wood. Trees that big creak and moan when they bend.
Fascination with tornadoes was a natural evolution. Wind becomes visible by scooping up the collateral damage it causes. I have been photographing these ‘crime scenes’ since Hurricane Katrina came ashore in the Gulf Coast. These photographs, as well as more recent forensic documentation, led to woodcut prints, sculptures and oil or acrylic paintings that now make up the majority of my artistic inquiry.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’m a compulsive worker bee. I may not know where my work is headed from time to time. I find that if I just keep making the work, I will end up where I feel I should be. It is intense to be in insecure territory as an artist, but I am learning to trust the process. One of my mentors, Linda Day, strongly encouraged me to “be a fool in the studio.” I try to follow her advice.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have been an adjunct professor at Coastline College in Newport Beach for eleven years. I currently write vocational curriculum and teach art survey classes for adults with intellectual disabilities and autism. Coastline’s Art Department values and supports the work that my students create. They allow us to create giant installed projects in their amazing galley every semester. Students share these creations with great pride.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I’m tenacious and determined when I have a project. Okay, maybe obsessive is a better word. That works well for me.
I’m never completely comfortable with where I am artistically/professionally. I think this discomfort can be a productive place to work.
Contact Info:
- Website: katiestubblefield.org and Instagram: @katiestubblefieldart
