Adam Mankoski of HawkMan Studios spent an afternoon with friend Katie Nichols in her Redding studio, chatting about her life, her artwork and her inspirations.
I love coming to your studio. There is always so much to look at. Have you always been a collector?
I’ve collected pictures, clippings and objects that have captivated me in some way since I was a teenager. They found a way to the walls of my room & grew till you couldn’t see the wall anymore. This habit persisted throughout college and after — whenever I have a space that is mine, I like to keep these little meaningful tokens of my personal and artistic journey. Now I incorporate some of them into my work.
Your studio always smells great too – a deep rich smell of wax – one of the materials that is prominent in your work. Tell us about this medium.
I use wax — more specifically, encaustic — as one of my mediums because it complements my other techniques very well. It is pigmented wax, which when melted can be manipulated with a heat gun and then hardens, creating a beautiful & fascinating effect. I think it enhances collage by adding another dimension to it. It can also be utilized like paint, if that is where a piece takes me. It is a versatile medium. I’ve always enjoyed the physicality of the mediums I use, and it is a very physical medium. Its texture is intriguing. It can be modeled into a three-dimensional piece. You mentioned the characteristic smell, and even the process of making the medium from the raw materials of resin and beeswax is all what makes it more unique than other out-of-the-tube materials.
After a year of experimenting with found objects and dolls, you are back to some collage-type work. What brought you back?
I wouldn’t say I ever left collage. I just experiment with different avenues and techniques, but I always eventually continue with the other mediums I love. Often I will incorporate new inspirations with my established bodies of work. Lately I’ve been using some old ads I found in Life magazines from the ’50s and ’60s that I’ve been hanging onto. I’ve wanted to use them for a while and am just now getting to do so. Often the found photos or objects I’ve collected guide the piece, and I build the concept and composition around them. I usually have more ideas and material sitting on the table than I have time to use. But I suppose that’s a good problem to have. I figure I’ll get to them all eventually.
You have described your work as emotional and deeply personal. What are some of your motivations and inspirations?
The emotional inspirations expressed in my work are usually things I’m currently dealing with when I make the piece. If I happen to be thinking about an issue or experience a lot at a given time, chances are it will somehow find its way into my work in some way. Sometimes the theme of a piece is more blatant than others. It seems like I’m being less and less subtle these days. In general, I would say my top inspirations tend to be family, women’s issues, memories and personal experiences.
You mentioned women’s issues as a recurrent theme. How do you feel if someone calls your work “feminist?”
I wouldn’t classify my work as feminist or anything that extreme. My goal is simply to start up conversation for people or get an individual thinking. If someone interprets one of my pieces as feminist, that may say more about that person than me. I suppose if someone is offended by something I made, I have some guilt about that, but my hope is that people will be open-minded enough to realize that art is about different interpretations and conversation. In this era of non-stop imagery where everyone is desensitized to concepts in that imagery, an artist almost has to be drastic if they want to catch a viewer’s attention. As for myself, when I view my own work I enjoy finding multiple interpretations in each piece. I feel it may appeal to more people that way. I suppose that may sound noncommittal to some, but I don’t care.
Speaking of roles, you also added a family member this year. What’s it like being a new mama? How does seeing the world from a parent’s eyes affect your work?
Being a mom and an artist is tough. Art has always been so much a part of my identity that once this little person came along and demanded more attention than anything else, there was an internal struggle for me. Of course I consciously choose to put my family first, but there is always that feeling in the back of my mind that I’m neglecting a part of myself since I have less time to devote to making artwork. I just do what I can & I’m grateful I can still get some time in my studio. I’ve learned to work faster, prioritize and make better use of the time that I have. Like I mentioned before, you can expect to see some baby-related domestic themes in my new pieces. But I’m still me, and my work hasn’t changed so much that you can’t recognize it.
Did you take some time off from your work?
I did take some time off to recover, physically, mentally and emotionally. Having a newborn just takes so much attention and time that I could barely make time to shower let alone sit down and create anything. But even when I’m not in my studio I’m always mulling over ideas in my head and keeping them ready for when I’m there. A large percentage of my process is thinking through a piece conceptually and technically, so in that sense I was still working.
We’re glad you’re creating again. What are your plans for shows this year?
As for upcoming shows, I hope to have enough new work to participate in an ArtHop in the fall. I also hope this proves to be the year I get contracted with a gallery in one of the bigger cities. That is my next step in the ultimate goal of becoming a successful working artist.
Adam Mankoski is a recent North State transplant who feels completely at home here. He enjoys experiencing and writing about the people, places and things that embody the free spirit of the State of Jefferson. He and his partner own HawkMan Studios and are the creators of Redding’s 2nd Saturday ArtHop.
