Kat Walters

Kat spent the first 2.5 decades of her life lost at sea. Her metaphorical ocean was filled with autism, mental illness, and trauma. In her mid-twenties, she swam to the shores of creativity, positive thinking, and mindfulness. There she found her footing, and began to turn her eyes outwards to the world, looking for what she could give back.

As long as Kat can remember, she was drawn to art and creative expression. She started writing short stories in 4th grade. Her grandmother took her to watercolor classes during the summers of her elementary school years; where she sat among senior ladies learning to draw and paint. Starting in middle school, Kat jumped towards any opportunity to express herself creatively, taking every art class her school offered. Her middle school started an after-school art club due to her and her friends’ deep interest in art. Her high school formed an Honors Art Class because her and a handful of other students had taken every art class offered and still demanded more. While college pulled her attentions away from visual arts temporarily, Kat continued to infuse her life with art through early adulthood by learning to create soap, practicing photography, and still drawing and painting. In 2015, she accidentally moved to Columbia, MO and was quickly introduced to fiber art. In under two years, she learned to crochet, needlefelt, weave, and knit. Then she picked up embroidery. Now, Kat cannot commit to a single medium of art and expresses herself through the many forms of art she has picked up so far. Since 2017, Kat has had a booth of art for sale at Artlandish Gallery, and has reveled in the community of artists there. She actually refers to herself as an artist now, and is so thrilled to be embracing her creative self.

Kat’s other major interest is psychology. She holds a degree in psychology and is a Certified Peer Specialist in the state of Missouri. She finds great fulfillment in helping her peers find recovery from mental illness and substance use disorders. She helps her peers practice mindfulness, build resiliency, and gain whatever skills they deem necessary on their self-directed path to recovery. Kat is searching for ways to combine psychology and art. She promotes creative expression with her peers as a way to examine their personal metaphor, and also to build problem solving and critical thinking skills. Personally, she is exploring imagery for the art she creates that communicates aspects of mental wellness, curiosity, hope, positivity, and self care.

Kat’s other interests include her many pets, gardening, video games, tabletop roleplaying, and adventure seeking. Kat lives with an orange tabby, a Siamese, and a canine agent to chaos. She is determined to turn her house into a jungle, through having just over 100 houseplants. Kat is also a voracious reader and eager learner. She enjoys spending time in nature, and going on spontaneous adventures in futile attempts to satisfy her insatiable curiosity.