Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Speranza.
Hi Kate , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
At the age of five, I knew I wanted to be an artist and that desire has never wavered. In my early 20s, I was working at a small jewelry boutique and still trying to find my medium, so I took a community ed jewelry class at Oregon College of Art & Craft. Once I’d completed my first ring, I was hooked. A few years later, I enrolled in the BFA metals program at the same college. While jewelry making is a big part of how I make my living as full-time artist, I consider myself a multidisciplinary artist because I work in a variety of media and formats, such as painting and mixed-media work.
In 2018, I moved from Portland, Oregon to Astoria because I wanted to be near the coast. I was fortunate to find a wonderful community of artists here and a beautiful studio in the historic downtown district. Dividing my time between part-time day jobs and my studio practice has been my reality for many years; working to earn a living and to make a name for myself as an artist. Recently, I decided to say a final farewell to day jobs and fully commit my time to my art and jewelry. So far it’s going quite well.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth road; rather a long hike on an unkempt trail without a map. But I don’t think it would’ve been as interesting. Living an interesting life, which comes with struggle, is important for making art. It informs the work.
Lack of financial resources has been the biggest obstacle throughout my journey. Just about everything involved with having a career as an artist costs money–materials, education, exhibition costs, application fees, professional documentation, residency costs, etc. The patrons can be elusive and the grants are few. But these obstacles have not been big enough to deter me from moving forward. Making art is a necessity for my well being, whether or not it results in financial gain. I do my best to live simply and in alignment with my values so that I can keep moving along the path, appreciating the journey, and recognizing my progress.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My curiosity in materials and processes seems endless, so I consider myself a multidisciplinary artist. I love working with found objects and salvaged materials and they find their way into most of my work. Discarded materials are abundant and I enjoy the challenge of recontextualizing an object or transforming a material beyond it’s original purpose.
Metalsmithing, specifically jewelry, has been a big part of my practice and I am well known for that. But that also depends on who you talk to. Sometimes I meet people who are familiar with my paintings and they say, “Wow, I didn’t know you also make jewelry.”
I am most proud of continuing to pursue my calling despite the struggles.
I can’t say for sure what sets me apart. I work in series with my more conceptual work, so each body of work can vary considerably in content and form. I never seem to run out of ideas and I’m choosing to see that as a good thing.
What were you like growing up?
There’s a picture I keep in my phone of a homework assignment from when I was in kindergarten. It’s a questionnaire called “How Others See Me.” I was to have people who knew me fill it out. My mother wrote that I “like to do things slowly and get distracted easily.” My teacher wrote that I do “nice, neat work that is worth waiting for.” She also said she enjoyed my stories and mentioned that I taught her about calamari. And our elderly next door neighbor, Dorothy, who I often spent time with called me, “lively and knowledgeable”, adding that she sometimes found it hard to believe that I was only a kindergartner.
I keep this because it rings truth to how others might see me now; a storyteller, a food lover, an old soul, having lots of interests, and working slowly, but making work that is worth the wait. That five-year-old version of me is still very much alive in my adult self.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.katesperanza.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katesperanza_art/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katesperanzajewelry/
- Other: https://www.ksjewelrystudio.com
