Get to know Emily Sullivan. She is a local artist and has been an LBSPY -> Hashtag contributor for over a year sending us very funny and refreshingly witty cat comics, “Catastrophe”. Emily graduated from WVU with a degree in sculpture and art history. She has 3 cats, a puppy, a husband, and a 9 month old baby. She currently works with Communities in Schools of Greenbrier County. She loves drinking tea, laying in hammocks, and pretty much anything conventionally enjoyable and outdoors. According to her, everyone is an artist! Learn how Emily describes her palette and how she finds her inspiration, which might be cats. Here is our Q&A:

1. How do you describe your palette?

My palette is… Dusty. Charcoal dust. Or fountain ink pens. I really admire the contrast of simple black on white. It’s grand.

2. What is your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment is finally realizing why I create. It’s a horrifying feeling when your work is critiqued and the question is “alright, but why. What does it mean” and you’re staring at the tiny doll clothes you made out of animal flesh tacked to the wall and your heart stops when you realize you don’t know. That. And keeping a tiny human alive. Parenthood is gold medal worthy.

3. What obstacles do you need to overcome to find your creative space/muse?

My desire to lay around and drink tea being completely useless coupled with finding an artistic task that requires absolute silence…since my creative time is held during babies naps. And once that time is acquired and my paper ready, the ability to not fall into the black pit of monotonous easy scribbles. To challenge myself.

4. How do you find your inspiration?

If we’re talking about the comic, my cats! If we’re talking about my art I’m most inspired by things that are uncomfortable. If I’m going to make you look at something it’s going to make you shift uncomfortably or laugh nervously. That’s my favorite type of art. I had tortured withered old faces hanging in the wild bean for awhile and I’m still on an old faces kick. They’re unsettling in the way they force the viewer to look at or relate to the inevitable decline of their mortal selves. Memento Mori or in this case remember the old. Not many are spared. Too dark? Is this getting too dark? Lol

5. What advice do you have for other artists?

Everyone is an artist whether you claim to be or not so draw! Everyone draw! All the time! Or build! Hot glue. Bake. Tape. Whatever your medium do it even if you feel like what you’re looking at is a pile of rubbish. Don’t just lay about and drink tea. Create! Do what you were made to do.

– Hashtag WV, August 2016