Featured Artist | Katie Licht

Here at Studio Calico, we are fortunate to work with very talented designers. We're so excited to feature Katie Licht, the designer of our stamp subscription, Pick a Plaid, this month. Learn more about Katie today! 

I'm Katie Licht: a mother and artist living in the western suburbs of Chicago with my husband Mike, eight-year-old son David, and six-year-old daughter Norah. I've lived in various parts of the midwest my whole life, spent my formative years in central Iowa, and moved to the Chicago area after college to start my career as a graphic designer. I spent 10 years as a designer and art director, then put my career on hold to stay home with my children while they were little. Now that they're both in school I'm enjoying getting back to design work and also just having more hours to pursue my own personal artistic projects! I've been keeping some kind of art journal for more than 15 years and can't imagine stopping anytime soon. I love that there's always a new material, technique, or idea to explore.

How long have you been working with Studio Calico?

I've been using Studio Calico products for many years, and throughout the past two years, have been a contributor to a few classes. This past fall, I taught my own course called Cut & Paste, and designed the stamp set that accompanied the class. 

Can you tell us about your creative process? What mediums do you work with, what inspires you?

For my collage work, my process starts with materials: vintage paper, painted paper, and my own photos. I enjoy browsing thrift stores for interesting old books to cut up, as well as old office supplies and other vintage papers. I also love painting my own papers to cut up using acrylics on cardstock or heavy mixed-media art paper. 

With my drawings, it's all just doodling, enjoying myself, and making things that make me happy. I love to turn inanimate objects into little characters; I can (and usually do!) put a little face on the majority of things I draw. 

I'm inspired by nature, the quiet, podcasts, and my kids' weird imaginations. 

What was your inspiration for this sta mp set? 

I was really happy to make a stamp set for late spring and early summer. I would categorize my drawing style as fresh and whimsical, which I feel fits very well with this time of year. I often add little hand drawn borders of simple shapes in my own work, and thought these could be repeatable and made into a variety of fun plaid patterns, or just as a nice border or accent to almost any kind of project. I knew I wanted to add a few nature elements too—the sun and flower—to fit with the spring theme. I'm so excited to see how others interpret the stamps in their own way!

Would you mind giving us a peek into your creative space?

We use the extra bedroom in our house as an "art room," which is my workspace and my two kids' place to color, work on projects, and make messes! On my desk, I keep my scrap box full of paper, a cup of pens and scissors, and a few favorite vintage books of the moment. I like to keep my space fairly minimal since I have the tendency to make a mess when I work and if I have too many materials out it can be overwhelming. But there usually is a giant pile of paper somewhere on my desktop! Many of my projects start with me pulling a random piece of paper from my stash, gluing it on the page, and seeing what happens from there. 

We’d love to see more of your art! Could you share a couple of your favorite projects?

My art journaling and collage style is evolving all the time, but lately, I've been working with a fairly minimalist journalling style, lots of white space with cut paper shapes, and a focus on composition with a small bit of text to help me remember a mood, feeling, or experience. 

Where can we find more of your work?

The best place to find my work is on Instagram. Like many others these days, I have a sadly neglected blog, but you can find old work and stories there. I also have an Etsy shop where I sell zines and the occasional art print.