By Kathy Taslitz, P.S. ARTS Board Member and Artist
Kathy Taslitz is an artist that specializes in sculptures and is on the P.S. ARTS Board of Trustees. Kathy generously wrote this post to share with us her artistic process, her current work, and why she feels arts education is so important for our children. P.S. ARTS thanks Kathy for both her board service and for contributing to our blog.
As an artist, the most important part of my process is the idea. Everything is generated from that one moment. I get a vision of what I want a piece to be, what I want it to look like, and what I want it to express.
From there, I put the idea down on paper by making a rough sketch. Sometimes these sketches happen on a napkin, an envelope, or a post-it… you never know when inspiration may strike, so as long as I get the idea jotted down. I then draw a more refined sketch to work from. Because of the mediums I tend to use, my work is quite layered and technically complex. I have to determine a process to fabricate the pieces; this is all part of the journey. Through each step of the process, the piece evolves and becomes more interesting. I tend to think of this work as human and as someone I am learning to know and understand.
My latest sculpture series Just Visiting examines the symbiosis between the natural world and humanity, and asking the existential questions about how the two coexist. They are large sculptures of fiberglass seashells with elaborate technical components where each work represents one of the five senses. They are mixed media works combining original audio tracks as well as projected imagery in the interior of the shells. The shells are meant to be sentient naturalists telling their story of nature and humanity, reminding the viewer of the universal cycle of existence. It is a dialogue between the technological and the organic.
While growing up, I was fortunate to have a mother who was an artist and provided a creative environment to “color” and play as well as a public school that I attended offering art class every week. It was exciting each week to work on our art projects, as it was a completely different outlet and was such fun. Every kindergartner could experience that feeling of cold, wet finger paint sliding through their fingers and across the page. It was freeing. Additionally, learning about art, the artists, and their history opened the idea that people could actually have a career doing this stuff. Pretty cool!
It was the thrill of that exposure that led me to seek out my involvement with P.S. ARTS. I had the opportunity to visit one of our partner schools and see firsthand the work that was being done in our organization’s programs. I spent the morning in an art classroom with a group of 30 first graders and in their faces I saw looks of joy and pride, some in deep concentration, as well as the thrill of pure fun. These children could express themselves in a personal way that wasn’t about being right or wrong. They could imagine and create, and hopefully someday they feel inspired by their own idea that sets them on their path towards creating their own unique work of art.
Learn more about Kathy on her website at kathytaslitz.com. If you want to see more great works of art, we encourage you to attend the LA Modernism Opening Night this Thursday, April 25th. Not only will you feel inspired by the incredible art on display, but you will be helping us raise money for the arts education programs we provide in our community’s most underserved schools. Thank you for your support!
