Portland/Brooklyn Artist Series: Kate Bingaman-Burt

I'm thrilled to be partnering with Art Hound in a six-week series featuring some of the foremost independent artists from Portland and Brooklyn.  Each week,  we will be interviewing a different local artist from our respective hometowns.

This week's featured Portland artist is Kate Bingaman-Burt.  To young aspiring artists at Portland State University, Kate is called "Professor."  But she is known to many of her fans as the artist behind Obsessive Consumption, a blog documenting the daily drawings of personal consumption.

photos: Anthony Georgis

How would you describe your work?

I like to incorporate a variety of materials and create an environment, but I don't get the chance to do this very often.  For the past eight years my work has been about personal consumerism, guilt, excess, silliness, and the mundane.  I try not to take myself seriously, but I take working hard seriously.

Kate's drawing of Anthony's camera. She only draws with Faber Castell pens and uses Strathmore paper (8" x 10" to be exact.)

What are the greatest challenges of being an artist today?

One challenge that I have is balance and knowing when to stop.  I have a hard time stepping away from a project.  I also have problems with saying no.

Sometimes focus is a challenge for me, so I created a system of rules, such as daily drawing and a schedule.  This helps me create in ways that I need to create while still having a structure.

Layers of Kate's favorite images.

Tell us about the biggest risk you've taken as an artist.

Moving to Mississippi after graduate school.  I exited a community of friends and makers and entered totally new territory.  It was scary, but I am so glad that we lived there for four years.  It really taught me that you can make your own space wherever you are.

Kate dreams of a room filled with plants.  Fortunately for her, she lives across the street from a plant shop. 

What do you love most about Portland?

I like that I can sit at my desk all day and still feel like I am part of the neighborhood.  I live in an area that is pretty active.  I live above a coffee shop, so I can hear the patrons in the coffee shop and I don't feel like a total recluse.  I also love the fact that I can go to the ocean in 90 minutes and the mountains in 60 and into the forest in 10.  Amazing.

One of Kate's favorite Portland food cart items.  Mmm, they are delicious!

What makes Portland/Brooklyn such a great place for independent art?

Even though I have only been here for a year and a half, I feel really supported in what I do.  I don't feel negativity or competition, but more collaboration and support.  

Kate is releasing her first book, "Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?" this spring.  An upcoming show and book release is scheduled for April 2 at the Land Gallery in Portland.  

Maybelle, Kate's studio buddy.


This week's featured Brooklyn artist is Jacqueline Bos.  Read her interview here.

As part of the artist interview series, we are inviting readers to participate in a dialogue about Portland and Brooklyn's art communities.  Both cities are considered epicenters of the independent art scene, but how do you think the two art communities differ?