Meet Caitlin Clawson, the artist behind Cat & Crow Studio!

Tell us a little about yourself!

My life is fueled by coffee and filled with people I love and who love me. I live in Charleston, WV but I’m originally from Spokane, WA. Moving to West Virginia was a huge decision for my family but I am so happy we did, my family and the folks here have helped me get me to where I am now as an artist and I will forever have a special place in my heart for Appalachia. I stop whenever I see a cat, and I am determined to befriend a murder of crows. The inspiration for art comes from the everyday and the whimsical and I just hope to bring a little happiness into someone’s day with what I create.

What drew you to your craft?

I love everything about block printing. Block printing is tedious, time-consuming, and challenging. I have to work hard while carving, I feel the physical fatigue by the end of it. But when I roll my ink onto a block for the first time, I see something come to life. The hours of designing, carving, and preparing come to fruition in that moment and express the things that I cannot describe with words.

What is your favorite thing you have ever made?

I am most proud of a painting I did my final year of college. It was an oil and acrylic paint piece on a 4x5’ canvas that I built and stretched myself. It was a painting of a red umbrella with the rain pouring down, but under the red umbrella the canvas was raw. I did nothing to prep or prime that part of the canvas, I trusted the umbrella to protect that section. And that umbrella just popped on the canvas. I have never been so satisfied with a piece of work I’ve done since, and it was very symbolic to me at the time.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I don’t know if I ever landed on anything, but I was always excited about the idea of being a Paleontologist, mainly I just wanted to dig in the dirt and discover something new.

How would you describe your creative process?

There is a lot of thinking. SO much, if not all, of what I create stays up in my head for days. I let it steep, evolve, crumble and crawl back out over and over again. Once I have the core idea, or the anchor of that project, I try and get it down and flesh it out. I’ve never been someone who relies on sketches too heavily, the one or two I patch together tend to do the trick. I also work quickly once I have the idea, tunnel vision is a common thing too. Time will go by and I’ll come out of it long enough to realize I haven’t eaten but then get pulled back in before I care enough to do anything about it. I know I’m not unique in that, but it’s part of the process!

What advice would you give yourself 10 years ago?

I would have told myself that it was worth it, that getting a studio degree was going to pay off. I got my degree and for years I did nothing with it because I never thought of myself as a “real” artist. I still struggle with that today, having a supporting spouse and an artist community that’s so uplifting has helped me see myself differently than I did when I graduated college.

Why is it important to support local artists and makers?

I feel like artists and makers are the spice of life, we put the quirky, creative, whimsical and heartfelt moments we all have as humans out there into tangible things that help us feel connected, seen or heard. That’s powerful.

Why do you love doing what you do?

I love getting to meet other artists and those that support us. To have a conversation as an artist with someone about what you create is magical. Hearing that something I created means something to someone or makes someone feel something is wild. And I love that.

What advice do you have for other makers who want to start their own business?

Do it. Don’t hesitate. You are an artist, and it’s possible to do what you love. It’s going to be hard sometimes, but don’t let those hard times extinguish the spark. It’s intimidating doing your first event, opening up your first website or listing things on Etsy, but you won’t know until you try. And get out there and meet other makers. Go to events, join groups, get the support network that suits your needs so that you can ask the questions and get advice from those who have been doing what you’re doing for years.

You can find a selection of Caitlin’s prints in the shop!