Artist Profile: Kathleen Craft Boehmig - Family Life Publications

A Perennial Student

By Heike Hellmann-Brown

I dont feel fully alive unless I am creative in any way be it through painting, clay works, jewelry design, mosaic, papier-mch, writing or any other creative outlet, states artist and writer Kathleen Craft Boehmig. Life is not long enough for all the techniques I want to explore.

Boehmig, an Atlanta native, started her artistic endeavor, As soon as I was able to hold a pen in my chubby hands, she says. As a 6th grader she published her own newspaper and was sure that one day she would be a writer or an illustrator. Later she studied linguistics and psychology and worked in the travel industry as a tour operator. Her appreciation for world languages opened her eyes for other cultures.

I was raised Christian, but I embrace Buddhism, Boehmig elaborates. I firmly believe that our level of happiness depends on how creative we are in every area of life. Thats why I am extremely inspired by ordinary people who show beautiful spirit in spite of unfortunate circumstances. Most successful people had pain and growth in their past, yet they draw strength from it and move forward.

Art and writing are Kathleen Craft Boehmigs way to make her voice heard. On a personal level, creativity can be a catharsis; on a public level, it can be impactful. Her quest to inspire and empower others with her art and her writing stems from a fear of failure that she shares with many aspiring artists. Instead of telling our kids to go as far as they want and to conquer the world, we try to protect them from failure. It took me almost half a century to learn that fear, not hate, is the opposite of love. Fear stops us from creating! Now that I overcame those restrictions, its my passion to help people see their own worth, and thus make the world a better place.

Most of Boehmigs pieces convey a story. As a writer she prefers a 1,000 to 2,000 word memoir style, while as an artist she focuses on uniqueness in her particular artwork. My all-time favorite is a clay figure called A Reptile Dysfunction that depicts an alligator on a psychiatrists couch for his fear of chickens, Boehmig states.

She still takes art classes and visits an artist retreat in North Carolina twice a year to honor her creative side. I was 48 years old when I submitted my first piece of writing, and it took me a long time to work up self-esteem and murder the editor on my shoulder. I am not quite there with my art, yet, though every sale is a validation for me.

Boehmig has served as a board member of the Atlanta Writers Club, she appeared on the Writers Radio Show, and taught at the Blue Ridge Writers Conference and at the Spruill Center for the Arts. Her pieces have appeared in local magazines and publications such as Chicken Soup for the Grandmas Soul.