Painting by local artist Kat Martin, who will display her solo-art exhibition “Joie de Vivre” at the Leigh Block Gallery located at Hospice of Santa Barbara, beginning Feb. 9.
From February 9 until May 12, local artist Kat Martin will display her solo-art exhibition, “Joie de Vivre” at the Leigh Block Gallery at Hospice of Santa Barbara (2050 Alameda Padre Serra Suite #100). From 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 9, Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) will host a wine and hors d’oeuvres open house reception for the exhibit.
Holding a B.A. in Installation Art/Art as a Forum for Community Voice and Vision from Goddard College (Plainfield, VT), Martin has called her art her own “visual journal,” providing a reflection of life through nature. While living in Waterville, Maine for 35 years, she fell in love with its landscape, people and way of life.
Martin states, “In my struggle to survive, a mixed media artist evolved using whatever materials were available to express my emotions. More than art, this was a vehicle to capture memories. These moments of creative meditation became a place of solace that welcomed me daily.”
Martin and her husband moved to Santa Barbara two years ago, hoping that the warmer climate would help her personal health matters. This hope was soon granted, as her health began to recover after the move, leading her to volunteer for HSB.
“My first patient was a woman my age with ALS,” Martin states. “She was bedridden and only able to communicate via text to talk. My weekly visits began a unique relationship sharing stories and our experiences of being mothers. She was French and when I shared my paintings with her we decided to give them all French titles.”
Santa Barbara has not only improved Martin’s health but also influenced her paintings. Her palette knife paint strokes are now broader and full of joy. Of this change, Martin states, “It was almost as if I was appreciating life through a different lens. I truly was experiencing Joie de Vivre —The joy of living.”
Martin’s artwork has been featured by Mind, Body and Spirit Studio in Maine, Musewood Arts in New Hampshire and locally at Art From Scrap (302 E. Cota St.).
For more information about Hospice of Santa Barbara, call 805/563-8820 or visit www.hospiceofsantabarbara.org
—Kathryn Shim
http://sbseasons.com/2017/02/local-artist-kat-martin-brings-joie-de-vivre-to-hospice-of-santa-barbara/