Kate Munson: Watercolor in the Round

July 24th to August 8th

Circles have always been symbolic- whether we use them to come together to hold space, draw them to create a container, or view them as an invitation to our internal sense of timelessness, they feed and inspire parts of us we often aren’t even conscious of. We find them everywhere, from our sun and moon, to the wheels which take us places, to the very eyes we use to view this circular planet we call home. What better place to explore than within a circle?

Here, I am using watercolor on particularly fibrous circular paper to create a portal to explore texture, color, shape and its relationship to our embodied experience.

ARTIST STATEMENT
As a psychotherapist, I often utilized the expressive power of art to help facilitate healing for my clients- it allowed them to access unconscious parts of themselves they’d never get to know otherwise. Now disabled, I use it for my own healing. I would describe my work as abstract and it is driven by a meditative, somatically-inspired process. And while I utilize many mediums, I have found watercolor to be a medium I’ve come to appreciate because of its soft inscrutable always unpredictable potential. It takes me to places I often don’t anticipate or expect – much like my own inner journey. For me, it’s a dance of elements which creates a new unspoken language I get to share. I consider my work an invitation to anyone who is curious about how we embody this life – How a color, shape, texture might define a mood, evoke a particular memory. How an image can provide a platform for an inner journey of thought(s), feeling(s), and/or sensation(s). I generally like to leave my work untitled to allow others to see, feel, and experience it using their own inner guidance – just as my own inner guidance was used to create this work.

BIO
While I have no formal training, I have used art extensively throughout my life. Having grown up here on Vashon Island and recently returned, I am immersing myself in the truly wonderful creative community here on the Island. I’m a member of VIVA- Vashon Island Visual Artists and the Vashon Watercolor Society. My work has been displayed at The Hardware Store, SAW (Starving Artists Works), Vashon Center for the Arts, and in Seattle area offices. It hangs in private collections in several cities including; Seattle, California, St. Louis, and Australia.