Painting Colorful Life Stories.
attended West Allis Central High School, West Allis, WI | graduated 2004, BFA Painting
currently a studio painter: www.katiemusolff.com
Katie Musolff
“MIAD was the first place where people put value on intuition.”
Q. What did you want to be when you grew up?
A. I always knew I was going to be an artist. My grandmother painted, my dad is a notorious doodler, and my older sister paints as well. Art was all around me.
Mic at Window, oil on canvas, 2006
Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today?
A. MIAD was the first place where people put value on intuition. It was the first time I realized that my intuition deserved a main role in my work.
Q. What’s the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you’ve experienced life after graduation?
A. The funny thing about art school is that it made such a deep impression on me and shaped my work. While I attended MIAD, someone (actually a number of people) advised me on the fact that I would have to ‘unlearn’ everything learned in school. I am now beginning to understand that. My work and way of thinking is drastically different than it was in school, but without a foundation, I wouldn’t have been able to grow and change.
Jenny Marie on Bed, oil on canvas, 2006
Q. If you had to sum up your job in a single sentence, what would it be?
A. Currently, I’m working as a full-time painter.
Q. What are your goals for the future, in art/design and in life?
A. I paint people from all around the community, sometimes on commission. My goal is to continue doing so until I am old and gray, and keep doing it some more. I would be completely content if I could paint full-time for the rest of my life. Painting brings a richness to my life. It serves as a constant education.
Q. Are there any specific parts of your resume that you’d like to share?
A. I have solo shows scheduled at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Brookfield, WI) in October 2007, and at the Watrous Gallery at the Madison Overature Gallery (Madison, WI) in March 2008. I recently had a solo show at Elaine Erickson Gallery (Milwaukee, WI) in March 2006.
Ron the Miracle Man, oil on canvas, 2006
Musolff spent three months painting Ron Greenlaw [nicknamed ‘Moses’] at the St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care (Milwaukee, WI). Greenlaw, at 47, has been confined to a wheelchair since 1982 after shooting himself in the head.
