In this episode I collaborate with artist Koi The Creatrix to make mini zines. The challenges we faced included our zines going missing in the mail for extended periods of time. Links @koithecreatrix on Instagram Koi’s monthly Postcard Club @katcurio on instagram @brattyxbre on youtube @brattyxbre: Your Zine Sucks (And That's Okay) PythagoraSwitch Hedy Lamarr biography Emilie Wapnick’s TED Talk on multipotentiality B0ardside Art Collective When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön Some of these links are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission from them. Mini Zine: "Who Am I?" Mini Zine: Ren Soul Transcript Thomas: My guest today is Koi the Creatrix. Koi is a mixed media artist who identifies as Japanese American and Queer. In her art, Koi engages in sociopolitical discourse. She enjoys using bright colors and bold patterns, invoking pop art vibes. Her exploration of emotional themes, coupled with her seemingly chaotic displays, offer a deeply personal feel. And her Instagram handle is @koithecreatrix. Welcome to the podcast, Koi. Koi: Hi, thank you so much for having me, Thomas. Thomas: Before we get started, I wanted to ask you, you just finished a solo exhibition. It was at the Taube Museum of Art in Minot, North Dakota, is that right? Koi: The Taube Museum, yeah. Thomas: The Taube Museum, thank you. Tell me how that went and also how you felt about it. Koi: You know, it was absolutely nerve wracking leading up to it as I think all events that I participate in tend to be, a lot of nerves and getting everything prepared and making it a cohesive collection. One challenge I face as a mixed media artist is that pieces may not have like a single theme or even a single medium throughout all of the art. And so it was a challenge to keep some commonality between all of the work. But it went over really well. I heard from the museum director that they received a ton of positive feedback, and the Taube Museum, I have to say, is like my artistic home base. This is the first space that I felt an artistic community and support for my work, and really for the first time, saw myself considered as an artist to someone outside of my family, you know. Thomas: Oh, that's wonderful. Isn't that a wonderful feeling when that happens? Koi: It was fantastic. And so I have very deep ties to the folks there. Thomas: I want to follow up on that. Did you have trouble saying the A word? Meaning artist? Koi: Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely! Oftentimes I don't consider myself an artist, more of a creative. And I really resonate with… I'm racking my brain trying to remember the term, the people who are really into a lot of different activities. I know you identify closely with it as well. Thomas: Multipotentialite. Koi: Yeah. Thomas: Yeah. Koi: I think as a multipotentialite, I can enjoy many different activities and there's never really a sense of sticking with anything for too long or developing what I would consider, perhaps incorrectly, as expertise. And so there is definitely that imposter syndrome leading up to it. And even now, even after the show I'm like, “Was it good? Were they just saying that?” Thomas: Yeah, another term that I like to use for multipotentialite is Renaissance Soul. And it actually was considered a good thing in the Renaissance to have many different interests and try many different things. So in some ways, this idea of niching down or specializing is more of a recent phenomenon in our culture. So I've come to the conclusion that, at least for me, there's nothing wrong with dabbling here and tinkering there and trying this new and trying that new. And in fact, part of the reason that I'm doing this podcast You And With Make A Thing is for that exact reason, I like to try new things. I like to do something that I've never done before because it feeds our curiosity and it feeds learning and it just feels wonderful. Koi: It really does. I love learning new things. At times get frustrated with it. Absolutely, but it is so enjoyable. I tend to not like doing the same thing over and over and really do like some sort of variety. Thomas: Well, I think that's a great segue into jumping right into what we want to do. And I know that I had asked you to come up with three things that you might like to do, and I've also come up with three things. And, I was thinking we could do it one of two ways. We could either bounce back and forth, you say a thing, I say a thing. Or, we could just say the three things, you know, you could say your three things, I could say my three things, and then have a discussion. Do you have a preference? Koi: I think I like the back and forth. Thomas: Let's do the back and forth. Koi: Yeah. Yeah. Thomas: Do you want to start or do you want me to start? Koi: I am happy to go first. Thomas: Okay. Yeah, what do you have? Koi: So the first thing I came up with was a mini zine. And actually this idea comes from another artist who I've been seeing on ...
