I have been living in Perdido Key with my husband since 2018. I was encouraged at a very young age to express myself artistically, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating. Katie sees herself as a self-taught artist. "I do have my Bachelor of Arts from University of Alabama, but my concentration was digital media. I did take drawing and 3D classes, but I was already creating art before I started college. My family always told me to create a masterpiece for them, and I also have artists on both sides of my family. My dad with drawing and metal sculpture and my grandpa’s great aunt Geneva Mercer. She was apprentice to Giuseppe Moretti (who designed Vulcan in Birmingham, AL) and her famous piece “Flimp Fountain” is celebrated with a festival in Demopolis, AL in the spring. " Working in quite a few mediums, including watercolor, acrylic, alcohol markers & ink, sculpture with paper clay and anything that you would normally throw away. Katie dabbles in paper making, notebook making, as well as drawing and painting and as she puts it "Anything, my hands just like to make things." A love for surrealism and most art in general inspire her works of flashy vibrant colors, whimsical characters and pieces that make me think "yeah why the heck not" and stirs a chuckle. Katie says she finds inspiration in "I am inspired by the world around me, including colors in nature, animals, my artists friends and children’s book illustrators. I love making people happy with my artwork. If someone smiles observing my work, then I’ve done my job. Observing animals, colors in nature, and children's book illustrators. Her favorite is the work of American children's book illustrator Richard Scarry." Katie's works are bright, colorful, come in all manner of size and will catch your eye in whichever room you place them in. We all need a little whimsy, and Katie is certainly providing that.