and Culture ). Kay volunteered there and again found encouragement from both of them .
“ I had never met REAL artists – practicing artists who actually had quotes around their title – till then , and a whole new world opened up ( to me ). I was raising a family , so time was short , and at home , I was not encouraged in my art . My job was to run the home and family and do it well . I had also been told by other artists that I wasn ’ t a real artist if I cooked and was a homemaker . I have since found out that was a terrible misunderstanding of my generation . I am all that and more .”
but I started sneaking into the occasional art class and ended up getting a Fine Arts degree through Gonzaga . Going back to school as an older student was when others confirmed ( to me ) I was an artist and needed to start thinking about myself differently . It was this confirmation that moved me forward and got me involved in the arts here in Spokane .”
Kay ’ s road wasn ’ t easy . She had to overcome many stereotypes and obstacles both at home and from other artists . She credits Dick Ingalls , who was the head of the Art Department when she attended Gonzaga University , with challenging her to step into her role as an artist . “ He said he wouldn ’ t work with me if I was just a bored housewife and asked me – ‘ So what are you ?’ Well , I was a housewife , mother , and homemaker , but I told him I could not NOT do art , whatever that meant . Thankfully , he encouraged me from then on and gave me the tools to see myself in a new way .”
Kay also credits Harold Balazs , as well as Maxine Martell , who at the time was the curator of art at the MAC ( Northwest Museum of Arts
Kay was also told that her art was “ illustrative ,” which at the time meant bad , as conceptual and abstract were the popular forms . So , in order to keep her family afloat , Kay learned how to make her art fit the times . She didn ’ t mind doing it however , as she believes learning is a good thing for an artist .
“ To never get comfortable , you continually stretch and scare yourself to death . As I ’ ve gotten older , I have come back to painting what I want and , in my way , not caring what others think . If I ’ ve learned nothing else all these years , I ’ ve learned the public is fickle . What sells one day won ’ t sell the next . So , it ’ s always better to just be true to yourself and your art — being honest with your art — people sense that . I do think my best art has always come from the images that lodge in my brain and don ’ t go away no matter what , even if they don ’ t make sense . That feeling I get as I do them , makes me feel ecstatic and whole , and this is where I should be . I learned how to think about myself , and about who I am , and I learned to tell stories through my art .”
When asked what inspires her fantastic paintings ( e . g . hiking , reading , music , or
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