Meet Kathryn Crawford | Muralist & fine artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kathryn Crawford and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kathryn, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
Each muralist has a different story and different reasons why we do what we do. The murals themselves also have a different stories. Murals sometimes go on a long journey from initial design to end product. For me, the best opportunity to express myself is when I have complete creative freedom. I feel incredibly fortunate to work with so many clients that want my style represented, with some added parameters to make it fit their specific look.

However, sometimes there’s a lot of direction from the business/art team that aligns with their particular vision. A mural may or may not be a statement piece by the artist, but rather a request from the client. As an artist, you may need to take jobs solely to get paid; sometimes you have the capacity, financially or otherwise, to be able to turn a job down that doesn’t fit your brand as an artist.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’d like to talk about dealing with mental health, while being a business owner and creative. I’ve always been an open book when it comes to my own mental health struggles, and I’m here for anyone who needs support. Over the past decade or so, I have faced some mental health challenges, and often time being creative is really difficult for me in the thick of it.

This has been a very present issue for me in the past few months. Hurricane Helene tore through my region of Western North Carolina on September 27th, and we are still in the midst of the aftermath.

Since the hurricane, my mental health took such a new and intense turn. I have learned a grieving I never knew existed. Work and creating became impossible; I couldn’t focus on anything but the storm. My family and I were lucky, we were physically unharmed, but the collective trauma is deep. There are many people who lost so much; some lost everything. My main inspiration and goal for each day became solely helping my community and offering whatever time and energy I could. Because I work for myself, I felt like I had the flexibility to commit more time to do whatever needed to be done. Jobs were pushed back and put on the back burner, which made the business side of my brain feel like I was slipping.

I had jobs that I was in the middle of when the hurricane hit. Clients were patient and understanding, and that kind of grace was incredibly appreciated (thank you to all of you!). I had to make sure I was still making time for my community, while trying to regain some of my methods to recenter myself. As I slowly began getting back into my routine, the brain fog was overly evident. Everything took ten times more time than normal.

As of recently, I’ve started to have the capacity to use parts of my designs to hold the space for what happened. It’s not only starting to become therapeutic, but is becoming a new depth in my approach as a creative. So, as a silver lining I want to make sure I say, that there will be breakthrough on the other side. Keep pushing, it will be worth it.

And please treat others with kindness & patience, and consider that everyone you meet could be carrying a lot. It may not be a natural disaster, but whatever you are dealing with, know that it is okay not to be okay. And also to please keep WNC in your hearts and minds, as we are still recovering.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
To piggyback on my last response, post hurricane there’s a lot to say. I honestly would take people to some of the impacted areas that are welcoming visitors back. I think it’s important for people to understand what has happened here, and pictures don’t nearly have the same impact.

For example – the Foundation was a place where I loved to bring visitors. Before the storm, it was a vibrant area along the river. The buildings, which were once abandoned warehouses, were covered with street art and murals. There were art galleries, restaurants, a skate part, Wedge Brewery, and Pleb Winery. Unfortunately, the day of the hurricane, I walked down my street where I could overlook the Foundation, and it was completely underwater – to the rooftops. The rebuilding efforts are underway, and while a lot of them are fully destroyed, hopefully it will be a place of vibrancy in the future.

On a lighter note, I love visiting downtown and taking visitors there. There’s some gorgeous art deco buildings – reliquaries of the 1920’s, a thriving time in Asheville history. I also love a good rooftop, and Asheville has many of them, so we would definitely have to check out the 360 degree mountain views. Specifically, some of my favorite places in the area are The Smokin’ Onion restaurant, Day Trip, The Mule / Devil’s Foot Brewery, and The Malvern to name a few. Oh, and the Grove Park Inn, which is a gorgeous historical hotel, on the top of a small mountain in Asheville overlooking the city.

Please come here and spend your money, all of our businesses need the help!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My mural journey started in Asheville, North Carolina, which is an incredible place to incubate an art career. Since my first opportunity, I’ve been fortunate enough to have pretty steady work, despite it being a smaller city. I am grateful to all the people who have shared advice or work throughout my career. I especially want to thank the women artists who came before me. It can be challenging to be in a largely male dominated industry.

My biggest sources of support are the people that hire me for a mural or commission a canvas painting. I have been honored to have steady work, and to have worked with clients like Starbucks and Patagonia. I’ve painted murals in cities across the US, and two murals abroad – in Naples and Milan, Italy. I pinch myself every now and then thinking about all of the amazing paths this has lead me down, and still can’t believe people want to look at my art every day. Thank you all for your support and belief in my work.

Website: https://www.KathrynCrawfordArt.com

Instagram: https://www.instragram.com/KathrynCrawfordArt

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryncrawfordart/

Image Credits
Photo of me: @Gayaman_Photo
RodrigoGaya.com