Meredith Williams
Arts and Entertainment Editor
Art has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. Katie Knight (C’ 25) who is double majoring in Art and Art History, has had a passion for art since she first picked up a pencil. While Knight came to Sewanee intending to solely study art, she explained, “I took an art history class and loved it, so I decided to do both.”
Knight supposedly had a passion for art when she was in preschool. Her parents explained to her that her preschool report card contained notes from the teacher regarding Knight’s artistic abilities. Knight retired from this hobby until her freshman year of high school when she began to make art again. As she continued to create art throughout high school, Knight realized that this was what she wanted to do going forward.
Currently, Knight is taking ART 352- Advanced Studio Seminar in Drawing and Painting with Jessica Wohl. Knight explained, “We have a lot of freedom on what we want to work on, so recently, I’ve been working on stuff that has a lot of pop art influences.” Knight mentioned, “Last week, I painted beer cans and made them look crushed. Right now, I’m working on a label on a fire extinguisher, and it’s very colorful and drippy.”
The most recent prompt for this class was ‘looking and seeing.’ Knight explained, “I wanted to paint a label of something people walk past and don’t really think twice about when they see it, just to kind of bring attention to the overlooked.” With such attention to detail, Knight brings these overlooked objects forward– whether a fire extinguisher label or a sticker on a water bottle– and embraces their beauty.
When asked about her future, Knight explained that she wants art to remain in her life as a hobby or a job. Knight said, “I do want my career to be focused around art. I don’t know if it would be in practice or in a museum or gallery, but it’s my goal to have a job sitting around art but still have my own practice and studio on the side where I can do that for fun.”
Knight explained, “Art has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I’m very glad it’s going to continue to be a part of my future.”