home

January

Welcome to this!

I should probably start with some backstory of why I am shifting to a newsletter format instead of sharing my art on instagram. I’ll try to give a short version, especially since im not quite sure how I feel about it all myself.

 

Everybody and their mom has a complicated relationship with social media. Like most things, it has its pros and cons. I don’t think it’s totally evil. But I can’t say it’s good for me either. I have found artists I like, learned a lot about myself, cooking, the social injustices of the world, etc from social media.

 

BUT I have also seen a lot of misinformation, started to not like people that I love in real life, developed a deep case of apathy, and the list goes on. The only thing that has kept me on instagram is the fact that I can see and share creativity. I felt powerless for some time because it seems social media may be here to stay, but now I am trying to take the power back for myself.

 

Let me tell you about my breaking point.

 

I was waiting for a coffee and already feeling increasingly frustrated with myself for just opening the app to pass time instead of connecting with the world around me and taking advantage of the beauty that boredom can bring, and I saw it. In my instagram feed was an option to chat with an AI McDonald’s Cashier. I deleted the app instantly. I have never made a quicker choice in my life. For years, I have set rules around my social media use, I have set up locks, time limits, you name it, but I never felt strong enough to delete the app all together. But once I saw I could chat with a AI employee of a massive corporation in my instagram feed, the choice had never been easier. Right now, I am thinking i’ll send this out once a month. Please respond and share your thoughts with me or even your own art!!

First up: Stickers for the library!

By day: I am a graphic designer for the Kansas City Public Library. These were honestly a pain in the ass at the start because I felt a lot of pressure for them to be cool because the stickers designed before mine were pretty cool. I have developed these little owl characters that we will be using more, so they got to have their big debut as well. People seem to really like them so that’s exciting!! Oh la la.

House Plate

I like to go to a pottery painting place (not a cool pottery studio... it’s one of those pick your pottery, happy 7th birthday type places). I painted little houses and I am excited to see how it turns out once it’s fired!! Stay tuned for next month to see it in its final form.

Gator Time

I can not say what this is for, but these were some potential options for a commission! I love these gators.

Sticky Note Doodles

Every once in a while I doodle on a sticky note and i’m like oh yeah I like that dumb drawing. Here are some recent ones.

Delusional doodles

I was drawing in a coffee shop and I was thinking about how I was a really weird kid and I am pretty weird now, but now I think it’s a good thing. I wanted to share these shitty drawings that I really loved on instagram, but I felt like I would be really misunderstood. Drawings like this are the reason I am excited for this newsletter- I feel a little safer to share here than to instagram strangers. I hope everyone is ok with the fact that I do like myself.

One of my favorite things to do creatively is to write little delicious sentences that feel really good in my brain, like “I am a star and can I have a hug”. Sometimes I draw first and then write, but most of the time I have a phrase that is stuck in my head, and I spit it out and draw to how it feels.

Valentines for the library

I made these cute valentines for the library. (Don’t tell anyone I showed you early. Close your eyes. Shh.)

Fabric thing above my bed

I got the inspiration to work with fabric after seeing an exhibition at the library from The Weavers Guild of Kansas City (shout out to my coworker Craig for putting on all the exhibitions at the library!!) I loved all the different textures and colors and folds and how much comfort they brought to the space. I want my space to have warmth and comfort!! So I went to the thrift store to find some fabrics that spoke to me, in the colors that bring me warmth and comfort. I am obsessed with sagey greens and orangey reds and creams together, probably because of my favorite coffee shop in the world. Broadway cafe in Westport is has lots of reds and oranges and creams and sage colors. I love going there and seeing familiar faces, and when I am there I know I am about to either draw or read my heart out. These colors remind me of my happy place, and bring me warmth and comfort. Once I got my thrifted sheets and table cloths, (and threw in the top sheet that came with the sheets on my bed) I got to ripping. I wanted raw edges and threads, no perfection allowed! I like natural materials in my home because it makes me feel more connected to the world and I want to make imperfect art for my home for the same reason. I put the fabric strips in a frame and I had and then... oops, I broke the glass. A little too imperfect. I taped it up, but I was still nervous about hanging it above my sleeping head. Then, I thrifted a wooden frame I liked better and got the strips super in there in the jankiest way imaginable involving a staple gun and masking tape. Now, it’s hanging above my bed, it shares the same pattern as my sheets and curtains I made, and I love it!

Work from the Weavers Guild of Kansas City

Creepy portrait

Once upon a time, I walked to the art store and bought some budget oil pastels so I could draw with plenty of rough shitty texture. I thought I was buying a custard color, turns out, it was not! It was a transparent medium, which pretty much lets you blend and gives a cool texture. You can really see I went crazy with it under the right eye ball and ear. Delish!

Yarn thing

This thing has a very long story. I have posted about this on my instagram before, but it recently took on a new life. We have a huge banner hanging on the parking garage of the library, and we needed to measure it before we can put any designs in action. We don’t have a massive tape measure, so we decided to use some twine. I went to the top of the garage, tied a glue bottle to the end (for weight) and slowly dropped the bottle down to my coworkers. I marked the top of the twine, they marked the bottom, and we brought it back inside to measure. The twine ended up being 40 feet. Wow! Then I took it home, painted some wood white, glued it all over the dang thing, decided to spray paint the whole thing white, decided I didn't like that, decided to spray paint the whole thing red, decided I didn’t like that, decided to scribble on it with some blue and white to make it vibrate visually, liked it, hung it up..... and the end at the time. This took me literal months because I was waiting for it all to speak to me, and I did like it, but I wasn't totally satisfied. It looked cool, but I couldn't quite see myself in it. AND THEN... One morning I woke up to it randomly falling off my wall and it split in half. I was so excited. After all this time trying to make it perfect, all I needed was some imperfection. It suddenly felt like something I had made, and had more of a concept that felt very personal to me.

Katelyn Betz

home

January

Welcome to this!

I should probably start with some backstory of why I am shifting to a newsletter format instead of sharing my art on instagram. I’ll try to give a short version, especially since im not quite sure how I feel about it all myself.

 

Everybody and their mom has a complicated relationship with social media. Like most things, it has its pros and cons. I don’t think it’s totally evil. But I can’t say it’s good for me either. I have found artists I like, learned a lot about myself, cooking, the social injustices of the world, etc from social media.

 

BUT I have also seen a lot of misinformation, started to not like people that I love in real life, developed a deep case of apathy, and the list goes on. The only thing that has kept me on instagram is the fact that I can see and share creativity. I felt powerless for some time because it seems social media may be here to stay, but now I am trying to take the power back for myself.

 

Let me tell you about my breaking point.

 

I was waiting for a coffee and already feeling increasingly frustrated with myself for just opening the app to pass time instead of connecting with the world around me and taking advantage of the beauty that boredom can bring, and I saw it. In my instagram feed was an option to chat with an AI McDonald’s Cashier. I deleted the app instantly. I have never made a quicker choice in my life. For years, I have set rules around my social media use, I have set up locks, time limits, you name it, but I never felt strong enough to delete the app all together. But once I saw I could chat with a AI employee of a massive corporation in my instagram feed, the choice had never been easier. Right now, I am thinking i’ll send this out once a month. Please respond and share your thoughts with me or even your own art!!

First up: Stickers for the library!

By day: I am a graphic designer for the Kansas City Public Library. These were honestly a pain in the ass at the start because I felt a lot of pressure for them to be cool because the stickers designed before mine were pretty cool. I have developed these little owl characters that we will be using more, so they got to have their big debut as well. People seem to really like them so that’s exciting!! Oh la la.

House Plate

I like to go to a pottery painting place (not a cool pottery studio... it’s one of those pick your pottery, happy 7th birthday type places). I painted little houses and I am excited to see how it turns out once it’s fired!! Stay tuned for next month to see it in its final form.

Gator Time

I can not say what this is for, but these were some potential options for a commission! I love these gators.

Sticky Note Doodles

Every once in a while I doodle on a sticky note and i’m like oh yeah I like that dumb drawing. Here are some recent ones.

Delusional doodles

I was drawing in a coffee shop and I was thinking about how I was a really weird kid and I am pretty weird now, but now I think it’s a good thing. I wanted to share these shitty drawings that I really loved on instagram, but I felt like I would be really misunderstood. Drawings like this are the reason I am excited for this newsletter- I feel a little safer to share here than to instagram strangers. I hope everyone is ok with the fact that I do like myself.

One of my favorite things to do creatively is to write little delicious sentences that feel really good in my brain, like “I am a star and can I have a hug”. Sometimes I draw first and then write, but most of the time I have a phrase that is stuck in my head, and I spit it out and draw to how it feels.

Valentines for the library

I made these cute valentines for the library. (Don’t tell anyone I showed you early. Close your eyes. Shh.)

Fabric thing above my bed

I got the inspiration to work with fabric after seeing an exhibition at the library from The Weavers Guild of Kansas City (shout out to my coworker Craig for putting on all the exhibitions at the library!!) I loved all the different textures and colors and folds and how much comfort they brought to the space. I want my space to have warmth and comfort!! So I went to the thrift store to find some fabrics that spoke to me, in the colors that bring me warmth and comfort. I am obsessed with sagey greens and orangey reds and creams together, probably because of my favorite coffee shop in the world. Broadway cafe in Westport is has lots of reds and oranges and creams and sage colors. I love going there and seeing familiar faces, and when I am there I know I am about to either draw or read my heart out. These colors remind me of my happy place, and bring me warmth and comfort. Once I got my thrifted sheets and table cloths, (and threw in the top sheet that came with the sheets on my bed) I got to ripping. I wanted raw edges and threads, no perfection allowed! I like natural materials in my home because it makes me feel more connected to the world and I want to make imperfect art for my home for the same reason. I put the fabric strips in a frame and I had and then... oops, I broke the glass. A little too imperfect. I taped it up, but I was still nervous about hanging it above my sleeping head. Then, I thrifted a wooden frame I liked better and got the strips super in there in the jankiest way imaginable involving a staple gun and masking tape. Now, it’s hanging above my bed, it shares the same pattern as my sheets and curtains I made, and I love it!

Work from the Weavers Guild of Kansas City

Creepy portrait

Once upon a time, I walked to the art store and bought some budget oil pastels so I could draw with plenty of rough shitty texture. I thought I was buying a custard color, turns out, it was not! It was a transparent medium, which pretty much lets you blend and gives a cool texture. You can really see I went crazy with it under the right eye ball and ear. Delish!

Yarn thing

This thing has a very long story. I have posted about this on my instagram before, but it recently took on a new life. We have a huge banner hanging on the parking garage of the library, and we needed to measure it before we can put any designs in action. We don’t have a massive tape measure, so we decided to use some twine. I went to the top of the garage, tied a glue bottle to the end (for weight) and slowly dropped the bottle down to my coworkers. I marked the top of the twine, they marked the bottom, and we brought it back inside to measure. The twine ended up being 40 feet. Wow! Then I took it home, painted some wood white, glued it all over the dang thing, decided to spray paint the whole thing white, decided I didn't like that, decided to spray paint the whole thing red, decided I didn’t like that, decided to scribble on it with some blue and white to make it vibrate visually, liked it, hung it up..... and the end at the time. This took me literal months because I was waiting for it all to speak to me, and I did like it, but I wasn't totally satisfied. It looked cool, but I couldn't quite see myself in it. AND THEN... One morning I woke up to it randomly falling off my wall and it split in half. I was so excited. After all this time trying to make it perfect, all I needed was some imperfection. It suddenly felt like something I had made, and had more of a concept that felt very personal to me.

Katelyn Betz

home

January

Welcome to this!

I should probably start with some backstory of why I am shifting to a newsletter format instead of sharing my art on instagram. I’ll try to give a short version, especially since im not quite sure how I feel about it all myself.

 

Everybody and their mom has a complicated relationship with social media. Like most things, it has its pros and cons. I don’t think it’s totally evil. But I can’t say it’s good for me either. I have found artists I like, learned a lot about myself, cooking, the social injustices of the world, etc from social media.

 

BUT I have also seen a lot of misinformation, started to not like people that I love in real life, developed a deep case of apathy, and the list goes on. The only thing that has kept me on instagram is the fact that I can see and share creativity. I felt powerless for some time because it seems social media may be here to stay, but now I am trying to take the power back for myself.

 

Let me tell you about my breaking point.

 

I was waiting for a coffee and already feeling increasingly frustrated with myself for just opening the app to pass time instead of connecting with the world around me and taking advantage of the beauty that boredom can bring, and I saw it. In my instagram feed was an option to chat with an AI McDonald’s Cashier. I deleted the app instantly. I have never made a quicker choice in my life. For years, I have set rules around my social media use, I have set up locks, time limits, you name it, but I never felt strong enough to delete the app all together. But once I saw I could chat with a AI employee of a massive corporation in my instagram feed, the choice had never been easier. Right now, I am thinking i’ll send this out once a month. Please respond and share your thoughts with me or even your own art!!

First up: Stickers for the library!

By day: I am a graphic designer for the Kansas City Public Library. These were honestly a pain in the ass at the start because I felt a lot of pressure for them to be cool because the stickers designed before mine were pretty cool. I have developed these little owl characters that we will be using more, so they got to have their big debut as well. People seem to really like them so that’s exciting!! Oh la la.

House Plate

I like to go to a pottery painting place (not a cool pottery studio... it’s one of those pick your pottery, happy 7th birthday type places). I painted little houses and I am excited to see how it turns out once it’s fired!! Stay tuned for next month to see it in its final form.

Gator Time

I can not say what this is for, but these were some potential options for a commission! I love these gators.

Sticky Note Doodles

Every once in a while I doodle on a sticky note and i’m like oh yeah I like that dumb drawing. Here are some recent ones.

Delusional doodles

I was drawing in a coffee shop and I was thinking about how I was a really weird kid and I am pretty weird now, but now I think it’s a good thing. I wanted to share these shitty drawings that I really loved on instagram, but I felt like I would be really misunderstood. Drawings like this are the reason I am excited for this newsletter- I feel a little safer to share here than to instagram strangers. I hope everyone is ok with the fact that I do like myself.

One of my favorite things to do creatively is to write little delicious sentences that feel really good in my brain, like “I am a star and can I have a hug”. Sometimes I draw first and then write, but most of the time I have a phrase that is stuck in my head, and I spit it out and draw to how it feels.

Valentines for the library

I made these cute valentines for the library. (Don’t tell anyone I showed you early. Close your eyes. Shh.)

Fabric thing above my bed

I got the inspiration to work with fabric after seeing an exhibition at the library from The Weavers Guild of Kansas City (shout out to my coworker Craig for putting on all the exhibitions at the library!!) I loved all the different textures and colors and folds and how much comfort they brought to the space. I want my space to have warmth and comfort!! So I went to the thrift store to find some fabrics that spoke to me, in the colors that bring me warmth and comfort. I am obsessed with sagey greens and orangey reds and creams together, probably because of my favorite coffee shop in the world. Broadway cafe in Westport is has lots of reds and oranges and creams and sage colors. I love going there and seeing familiar faces, and when I am there I know I am about to either draw or read my heart out. These colors remind me of my happy place, and bring me warmth and comfort. Once I got my thrifted sheets and table cloths, (and threw in the top sheet that came with the sheets on my bed) I got to ripping. I wanted raw edges and threads, no perfection allowed! I like natural materials in my home because it makes me feel more connected to the world and I want to make imperfect art for my home for the same reason. I put the fabric strips in a frame and I had and then... oops, I broke the glass. A little too imperfect. I taped it up, but I was still nervous about hanging it above my sleeping head. Then, I thrifted a wooden frame I liked better and got the strips super in there in the jankiest way imaginable involving a staple gun and masking tape. Now, it’s hanging above my bed, it shares the same pattern as my sheets and curtains I made, and I love it!

Work from the Weavers Guild of Kansas City

Creepy portrait

Once upon a time, I walked to the art store and bought some budget oil pastels so I could draw with plenty of rough shitty texture. I thought I was buying a custard color, turns out, it was not! It was a transparent medium, which pretty much lets you blend and gives a cool texture. You can really see I went crazy with it under the right eye ball and ear. Delish!

Yarn thing

This thing has a very long story. I have posted about this on my instagram before, but it recently took on a new life. We have a huge banner hanging on the parking garage of the library, and we needed to measure it before we can put any designs in action. We don’t have a massive tape measure, so we decided to use some twine. I went to the top of the garage, tied a glue bottle to the end (for weight) and slowly dropped the bottle down to my coworkers. I marked the top of the twine, they marked the bottom, and we brought it back inside to measure. The twine ended up being 40 feet. Wow! Then I took it home, painted some wood white, glued it all over the dang thing, decided to spray paint the whole thing white, decided I didn't like that, decided to spray paint the whole thing red, decided I didn’t like that, decided to scribble on it with some blue and white to make it vibrate visually, liked it, hung it up..... and the end at the time. This took me literal months because I was waiting for it all to speak to me, and I did like it, but I wasn't totally satisfied. It looked cool, but I couldn't quite see myself in it. AND THEN... One morning I woke up to it randomly falling off my wall and it split in half. I was so excited. After all this time trying to make it perfect, all I needed was some imperfection. It suddenly felt like something I had made, and had more of a concept that felt very personal to me.

Katelyn Betz