My name is Katrina and I live here in the mountains with my chihuahua and our begonias. I’m trying to start a commune. I do a lot of different things creatively, but this year I’ve been most focused on porcelain, textile and video.
When did you start getting into making art?
What's one of your favorite pieces you've done?
Right now I’m really feeling the mycelium survivalist biodome vibes and I’ve been making a lot of orchid pots and hanging planters and chandeliers for plants. I’m about to pack and ship a sculpture called “Fruit Basket Of The Mind” that I donated to the annual Space 1026 auction in Philly, which is definitely one of my favorites. It’s called “Fruit Basket Of The Mind” and it’s really something. The person who placed the winning bid is one of my favorite artists and I’m over the moon that it’s going to go in their home, plus the money raised supports a really awesome project.
Oh! I also made a video in the spring for “Thread Song” from Sally Anne Morgan’s new solo album Thread. We filmed it back in March when we first went into lockdown and everything was so scary and uncertain (it still is of course), but one of Sally’s ewes had just given birth to two beautiful lambs, and the day was so warm and the light was gorgeous. We shot it all (outdoors, distanced) in a couple of hours and wrote the narrative as we went, and then Sally pieced it together. When the album and video finally dropped after a couple of pandemic-related delays, it felt really good to have it out in the world. The relationship between Sally and Loretta the lamb, the ingénues of the Thread Song video, is really something special. The whole album is fantastic and couldn’t have come at a better time. Garden Song is the “Soothing Songs For Comrades” postcapitalist powerlullaby that the world needs.
When did you start getting into making art?
I guess I’ve always been into making stuff, I studied photography when I lived in Philadelphia and was pretty focused on supporting myself as a documentary/portrait photographer for a while, with screenprinting and installation projects being very on the side. Over the last couple of years I’ve been trying not to miss any opportunity to learn new skills and tools (letterpress, stained glass, etc). I learned ceramics mostly from reading articles and forums and watching videos on the internet and have been toggling back and forth between textiles and porcelain to work through ideas. Until relatively recently, world-building has been a pretty private activity, but I think it’s really important to turn people on to the post-capitalist, post-scarcity collectivist liberatory vision, so I’ve been trying to share more.
What do you enjoy most about being creative?
I have pretty severe anxiety and prefer to spend much of my time alone, but my collaborative relationship with my studiomate Madalyn and being able to work safely during the pandemic has been truly awesome. We had a mind meld at some point and shifted from tandem complimentary projects to a sort of freejazz-esque “call-and-response” practice where we are constantly riffing off of each other. We’ve both been working in textiles, ceramics, stained glass and digging deep into our prepper caches of collected materials to not have to go to stores or buy things online. Because holiday markets like Big Crafty aren’t happening this year (and the light show at the Arboretum is only drive-through), we turned our storefront studio into an installation/light show/holiday market called “Swannatopia Department Store” so that we can share a little bit of full luxury maximalist cheer. I also really love the connections I’ve made with fellow utopian accelerationists over the internet, though we’ve really got to figure out a better way to connect than corporate social media.
What's one of your favorite pieces you've done?
Right now I’m really feeling the mycelium survivalist biodome vibes and I’ve been making a lot of orchid pots and hanging planters and chandeliers for plants. I’m about to pack and ship a sculpture called “Fruit Basket Of The Mind” that I donated to the annual Space 1026 auction in Philly, which is definitely one of my favorites. It’s called “Fruit Basket Of The Mind” and it’s really something. The person who placed the winning bid is one of my favorite artists and I’m over the moon that it’s going to go in their home, plus the money raised supports a really awesome project.
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Oh! I also made a video in the spring for “Thread Song” from Sally Anne Morgan’s new solo album Thread. We filmed it back in March when we first went into lockdown and everything was so scary and uncertain (it still is of course), but one of Sally’s ewes had just given birth to two beautiful lambs, and the day was so warm and the light was gorgeous. We shot it all (outdoors, distanced) in a couple of hours and wrote the narrative as we went, and then Sally pieced it together. When the album and video finally dropped after a couple of pandemic-related delays, it felt really good to have it out in the world. The relationship between Sally and Loretta the lamb, the ingénues of the Thread Song video, is really something special. The whole album is fantastic and couldn’t have come at a better time. Garden Song is the “Soothing Songs For Comrades” postcapitalist powerlullaby that the world needs.
Also! Over the summer I made a video for a track called “Now, Pt. 1”off of Tashi Dorji’s new solo album Stateless. When Tashi approached me about the project, the only requests were that it was black and white and non-narrative. I love Tashi’s music, and jumped at the chance to work on a project together, but it definitely took me a moment to wrap my head around the challenge of responding to a seven minute piece of improvisational guitar music without the crutch of color or a linear story arc. I’m really pleased with the final video and our collaboration, and honored to be a part of Tashi’s liberatory work.
Who/what are some of your biggest inspirations?
I love practical effects and am so inspired by the original Star Trek series and films like Barbarella, Dune and Jurassic Park. Also the Whole Earth Catalog, Black Mountain College, and the work of Emory Douglas who designed much of the propaganda for the Black Panthers, the choreography of Merce Cunningham as well as the radical banners of Sister Corita Kent and the psychedelic dogs of Brian Blomerth. I’m quite lucky to have the walls of my home and studio full of work by dear friends, including Abbey Lee Sarver, Emilia Brintnall, Max Seckel, Hunter Stabler, and Bonnie Brenda Scott, which collectively keeps me grounded and inspired.
What's some advice you'd give to fellow artists?
Let’s perhaps stop thinking of ourselves as “artists”?
What's some advice you'd give to fellow artists?
Let’s perhaps stop thinking of ourselves as “artists”?
How is your personality reflected in your work?
I don’t know about my personality per se, but I hope that my work offers a glimpse of a world that could be. “Utopia” isn’t something that we’ll see within our lifetimes, but neither will our great-grandchildren. I don’t know if it’s even meant to be achievable, but maybe Utopia’s most valuable function is as a hedge against determinism and our entropic tendency to resign ourselves to what we’re told is reasonable and settling for performative crumbs rather than demanding true liberation, and that “all of it” is truly for all of us - from each according to their ability to each according to their needs!
Music you've been listening to lately? This year, I’ve been really focused on music made by people I love. Thread by Sally Anne Morgan, Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars by Sarah Louise, and Eucalyptus by Avey Tare have been on heavy rotation at my studio this year. I end up listening to a lot of cassettes while I’m working, because they’re easier to flip over with not-so-clean hands. Jay Plus put out a dreamy techno tape a couple of years ago called “Forever Endeavour” that keeps blowing my mind. I tune into Slay the Mic and Stank Free Radio most Saturday nights on AshevilleFM, and the million hours of psych/folk/jazz/ etc in the archives of Jeff Conklin’s radio show Avant Ghetto on WFMU are a bottomless pit of vibes. Jeff has a new show called The Trailhead that I’m just starting to dig into too.
Favorite food spot in Asheville?
My go-to would be the West Asheville Tailgate Market. they’re serious about covid safety, there’s always so much to choose from, and they take EBT! The canelé from Beeswax and Butter is one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever put in my mouth. The list of local restaurants that are on my permanent blacklist because they treat their workers like shit/ are open for indoor dining is growing, and I’m glad to support sweet friends and farmers who care about the health and well being of our community.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Drink water, wear a mask, vaccinate your children, take care of each other, don’t talk to cops.
Follow Katrina Ohstrom on Instagram (@terrestrial_projecting/@ecstaticpraxis) | www.katrinaohstrom.com