Photo by Katya Brown
Katya Brown is not just the artist behind the Escape, Impairment, Parent, Travel, and Western chapters, she did the front/back cover for the anthology, which was voted on by the authors of the book. This was fitting, as from early on in the project, Katya has helped.
Without further ado, here's our Q&A:
Bam: Hi Katya. Saying you're a talented artist is an understatement. I really appreciate your hard work on the anthology, so I was elated to interview you. That said, the most challenging issue artists have is getting work done. Leonardo da Vinci infamously took 16 years to paint the Mona Lisa. So, what's your most frequent reason for procrastination on projects?
Katya: Blame my cats.
Bam: Funny. What inspired you to become an artist?
Katya: I can't really stop myself. Always see things to create, light angles, color, beauty in a moment or object others are walking by obliviously.
Bam: Who are some authors and artists you like?
Katya: Toulouse Lautrec, Wu Guanzhong, Victor Hugo, Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman.
Bam: Why do you like them?
Katya: I think all of them reflect on society in different ways - showing us things we might miss otherwise, whether through silhouette, color, character, humor, mythology . . . often things that point out societal flaws, but at the same time celebrating the amazing ridiculousness of our world.
Bam: Tell other artists something that'll inspire them in 42 words or fewer.
Katya: Sometimes it takes the timing being right to push you to the next step. I took 42 photos as was drawn to the ultimate answer. After getting many people to associate me with 42, the timing worked to become involved in this.
Bam: Yeah. The fact that you could do something with the pictures in art demonstrates great creativity. How did you have enough photos?
Katya: How did I have enough photos of 42s to get 42 on each cover? Been taking the photos for years. The ones on the cover include photos taken from 2005 - 2021 across 4 continents, over 15 countries, and many different places within them. They are heavy on shots from Xiamen, China, as I did live there quite awhile.
Biography
Katya recently returned to her home state of Iowa after 12 years in China. She is usually covered in cat hair. When not teaching, can’t stop photographing interesting things (or 42s), does Chinese brush painting and calligraphy, as well as cross stitches.
42 Stories Anthology Presents: Book of 42² is set for release this November.
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