OFM Art: Tails Told From the Cat Coven
“Creating certain artwork is like crafting a spell, or setting an intention. Through its creation, that energy comes forth into our physical world and helps us materialize that change we desire. By imagining a better, gentler world, we can begin to bring it forth.” – Kjersti Faret
Meet art witch Kjersti Faret. Faret uses materials like ink, embroidery, and paper cut to craft enchanting artwork. She lives in Pennsylvania with her wife and two cats. Faret is the founder of Cat Coven, a brand that features her artwork on products like art prints, mugs, t-shirts, and stickers.
OFM caught up with Faret to see what kind of magic was happening behind the scenes in her studio this Halloween.
What are you inspired by in your art practice?
The main things that inspire me are fantasy, medieval manuscripts, my spirituality, humor, fiber arts, and ornamental and decorative art. I love anything with a lot of detail. If it has a handmade look to it, all the better. I am realizing that I’m drawn to art and people that don’t take themselves too seriously. For example, I love medieval manuscripts because the text in these documents is very religious and important but the monks decorated the sides of the pages with things like farting animals and nuns picking penises off of trees. I think these manuscripts are a wonderful reminder to not take life too seriously.
What creative projects are you working on this Halloween?
For my shop, Cat Coven, I have a bunch of fun illustrations that I am putting on t-shirts and selling as art prints. In my personal creative life, my wife and I are planning to do a fun cosplay for our costumes on Halloweekend. We’re going to be Jack and Rose from the Titanic, but we’re reimagining Jack as a soft butch lesbian.
I am also branching off into a new direction. I recently designed a medieval inspired clothing line for all genders—It comes in sizes small through 5XL and is made in the USA. This is my first time designing structured garments or creating something where the bulk of production is outside of myself. I’m excited to get into it!
What do art and magic have in common?
What art and magic have in common is intention. When you’re making artwork, you’re bringing an abstract idea from the intangible realm of your brain into the physical plane. I think spellcraft is a similar process. If you do a ritual in the physical realm with physical objects you’re doing it to bring about a desired outcome. In creative pursuits like drawing, embroidery, or playing music, you’re spending so much time focusing on one idea or one action. That affects who you are and what you think about. Creativity has a very magical aspect to it in general.
What relationship does your creative practice have to the occult?
I refer to myself as an art witch because art-making is part of my spiritual practice. My own spirituality is a mishmash—an inexplicable journey that includes a lot of occult beliefs. I don’t have a label for what I believe in because I’m still learning and figuring myself out.
Could you describe your art-making process?
Sometimes when I make art, it is like going into a trance, and I let the work flow through me without a direct plan of what I’m going to create. Other times, I have an idea of what I want to create, and I leave room for spontaneity. Being spontaneous when I create artwork is important to me because it helps me move away from perfectionism—It is grounding in a way. I use my creativity as a way to remind myself of the here and now.
What is one thing that you would share with people who want to start or expand their own creative practice?
Starting simple is important. You don’t need fancy stuff. For example, if you have a sketchbook you could commit to drawing for 10 minutes a day. If you can, slowly bulk it up to 20 then 30 minutes. Creativity is like a muscle and the more you work it the easier it gets to sit down and create.
You can find more of Faret’s art on Instagram through @cat_coven or head to her website catcoven.com.
