I’ve known Kate Chassner a long time – thirty years! That’s most of her life. I met her at my wedding when I married her mother’s brother. My first distinct memory of Kate was when she held my bouquet, smothered her face in the flowers then held it above her head and danced.
She has grown into a truly lovely, soulful woman with the same playful spirit.
Kate Chassner’s love of art began when she was a little girl in Florida and has only grown from there. She is currently studying to get her Masters Degree in Fine Arts and has fullfilled many commissioned works on the east coast.
She is passing her love of creativity to her two small children and does lots of art projects with them. Her work is so impressive because each piece allows us the freedom to make connections about the images of the collage she creates… thereby her artistic expression also becomes our story.
Here’s Kate:
Kate Chassner
Making Connections Through Creativity
What started you on this path?
Growing up I always loved to draw and to make things. Creating costumes, illustrating stories, and developing a world of my own were how I spent my childhood years.
Who gave you support early on?
My family has always supported me in my dreams to work on art. When I was very young my aunt, Mary, would draw with me and my cousins for hours. I always looked up to her and her drawing skills.
What does your work aim to say?
My work aims to make connections. I strive to bring people and minds together. Working on art through the pandemic, and in isolation with my small children, has created a new message of joy, going back to simplicity and spontaneity. I want to invoke a light hearted and open feeling for the viewer- we need that right now.
Who or what inspires you?
I find inspiration in so many artists. I am currently reading “Ninth Street Women” by Mary Gabriel and find inspiration in each of the women artists she writes about (Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell and Helen Frankenthaler).
I’d say my biggest inspiration though, is my family. The wildly creative minds of small humans (I have a 7 year old and a 4.5 year old) is unmatched and allows for unlimited possibilities and my husband challenges and pushes my art to be more with each project I share.
What do you consider success?
That’s a hard question. I don’t have a concrete answer to that. My goals with art are to share it, teach it, and continue to passionately make it.
What has been a real high point in your career or life?
Getting to work and study alongside amazing artists.
What is your motto or words to live by?
One of my teachers told me at the beginning of 2020, “Make art that matters, because it matters that you make art”.
This motto has helped me push through and make art while in isolation. Art matters.
What makes you laugh?
My kids. Mostly. But I laugh a lot. At a lot of things.
What’s next?
Finish my MFA. Make a lot of art. Share, play, connect. See what happens.
Pie, Cake or Ice Cream?
Ice cream, for sure.
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