CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 35 arts W hen I was young I painted with watercolors on road trips, and I learned to sculpt with polymer clay in high school," recalled Ka- tie Crawford, who celebrated the grand opening of her studio and gallery in Fayette- ville this past May. "I also used acrylics. I could always paint but couldn't draw well, so many years later I taught myself." Originally from Williamsburg, Vir- ginia, the artist earned at BA in Anthro- pology along with a minor in Art His- tory from James Madison University, but soon realized she enjoyed creating art more than she did learning about it. In college, Crawford turned to pho- tography because she lacked the space to set up her clay supplies. e follow- ing year when she moved to a larger room, the artist came up with the con- cept of combining several of her skills and began creating pieces that merged sculpting clay, photography and col- lages, building layer upon layer and producing three-dimensional works of art. ese pieces were the first she sub- mitted to shows. "It was one of those eureka mo- ments," Crawford said, describing her innovative approach to her art, "I'd never seen anyone do anything similar, which is cool." Today Crawford enjoys working pri- By sara COOkE marily with watercolor, but continues with her mixed me- dia projects. Specifically, she oen uses vintage papers such as letters, music and homework which she collages, then paints over the collages with watercolor, allowing poignant words and phrases to peek through here and there. Craw- ford's most recent project involves a series of love letters from the 1950s between an engaged couple who were separated by distance. "It's like I'm giving them a new life," she said, "I love the heart, soul and depth [the letters] bring to the pieces. People will look, then look again and feel drawn to them. ey are tangible representations of hu- man relationships." Crawford finds these vintage let- ters and other papers at estate sales and auctions. She has collected old papers since her childhood, when she worked in her parent's antique shop. She was raised around old things, and said the sense of age, depth and the texture of the peo- ple who have interacted with items speaks to her. Where subject matter is con- cerned, Crawford specializes in whimsical, lighthearted animal scenes. She finds her inspiration for these works directly in nature- from picking up turtles in the road to watching birds out her kitchen window. Vintage Love Letters Find New Life Local artist takes on innovative mixed-media projects

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