Interview with Catherine Knee – Creatoria Nyx

Welcome to the side of Creatoria Nyx that does not fit in boxes. Here you will find my thoughts on fantasy, gothic style, cupcakes, dragons, and everything in between.

Curious about the person behind the art? I am Catherine Knee of Creatoria Nyx, and this is where I answer the questions people always seem to ask me. Some answers are serious, some are cheeky, and some are a little of both. That is me in a nutshell really.

Q: Why fantasy? What makes it your first love in art?
A: I always say Reality is Overrated. In fact, I give a photography talk with that exact title. My mum used to tell me off for not living in the real world, but here is the thing: the real world is always there. If I want to see it, I only have to open my eyes in the morning. I do not need to recreate it in art because it is already far too present in daily life. Fantasy gives me freedom. It lets me escape, build new worlds, and create something beyond the ordinary. That is what excites me.

Q: Do you really like gothic and dark things in everyday life, or is it just part of your art?
A: I do love dark things in my life. But I also love light things. I love steampunk, I love princess gowns, and I love gothic. I have skulls in my bedroom (not real ones of course, it is illegal to keep dead people in your bedroom!) but I also have glittery, glitzy things that sparkle. I do not usually wear all the things I love unless I am dressing up, because I have been squashed by the expectations of the herd, and if I am honest, because I am lazy. But when I am brave enough to wear what I love, I am just as happy in a ball gown, Victorian steampunk outfit, Lord of the Rings fantasy gear, or dark brooding gothic clothing. And as for people who dislike skulls… well, you are walking around with one inside you right now… in the dark… in the wet…

Q: What inspires your art?
A: I wish I had one neat answer, but I do not. I even give a talk called Meet the Fairies where I show image after image where I explain what inspired each one. Sometimes I see something and it sparks me. Sometimes I dream it. Sometimes it is a feeling I need to get out, or an experience I want to illustrate. And sometimes, I just pick up my tools and begin, to see where it goes. Inspiration is messy, unpredictable, and sometimes very ordinary. But that is the beauty of it.

Q: Do you ever get creative block?
A: I do, but I would say I am blocked more by apathy and ennui and sheer laziness than by any muse abandoning me. I am a slave to the rhythm of my emotions, and when they go flat, I go into what I call the dead zone. Nothing happens there. It is not that ideas disappear, it is that everything else in me does.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure outside of art?
A: Cupcakes. No hesitation. If I was left in a room full of cupcakes with nobody was watching, it would not end well. There would be significant inroads made and I would not stop until the whole goddamn lot of them were gone. I do not have a lettuce-body and I have no shame in admitting it.

Q: Do you have a favourite mythical creature?
A: Dragons, of course. It is obvious, it is ordinary, but it is true. They are immense, magical, powerful, and beautiful. They are the reason the fantasy book series I am working on is set in a dragon realm. That said, I am also a cat person, so I created a fantastical cat breed in my Arach Eyrie series called the Nyx Cat. At first glance, it is only a little extraordinary, but by the end of the series it becomes as much a force to be reckoned with as any dragon. So yes, dragons win… but non-mythical (and maybe mythical) cats are snapping at their heels.

Q: How did you get started on your creative path?
A: I did not get started. I always was. I wrote stories as a child. I got the strapping of my life once for cutting up a new dress to redesign it into something I liked better. I learned embroidery and hand sewing, then a bit of knitting and crochet. In high school, I copied a drawing from a colouring book, got it dead on, and was shocked. That made me want to draw. I started making cards because I was broke, and would cut up old Christmas cards to make new ones for the next year. When I was 11, a cousin gave me a tiny camera and I loved it. I only learned how to take photos properly in 2013, but the love had been there since I was small. The truth is, if I do not create, I am plagued with nightmares. I dream in whole, cohesive stories. I do not create because I want to. I have to. I create because I am a creative. It is who I am, down to my very soul.

Q: What do you want people to feel when they see your work?
A: It depends on the piece. Sometimes I want people to think, Oh my god, I love that! Other times I do not want them to think at all. I want it to bypass their brain and hit them right in the heart.

Q: What is the most unexpected thing you have ever created?
A: That depends on who you ask. For me, nothing is unexpected. I never surprise myself because I follow wherever my weird mind takes me. For others, it was when I first photographed something dead. My other half said, “You cannot take a photo of that!” I said, “Why not.” He could not answer, except to say I just could not because it was dead. Who decided photography was only for pretty things? If you want to see one of those works, look at The Widower. It is not gory, it is not macabre, but it is deeply sad. It will make you feel, and that is what matters.

Q: How do you balance being mainstream and alternative in your work?
A: Balance? Nobody could ever accuse me of being balanced! I follow my whims. If I want to make it, I make it. If it comes out dark, so be it. If it comes out pretty, so be it. If it looks mainstream, fine. If it looks fantasy, also fine. I do not care about balance! Balance and moderation sound like fetters to me. Chains that weigh you down. I just make what I like, and I like everything.

Q: Do you think art should be beautiful, truthful, or both?
A: Art should make you look. If you look and see beauty, it should be beautiful. If you look and see pain, then it should hurt. It should hurt so much it makes your eyes bleed.

Q: What motto sums you up best?
A: Reality is Overrated. Always has been, always will be.

That is me in all my contradictions. Reality is overrated, but connection is everything. If you would like to see how all of this translates into art, explore my creations throughout Creatoria Nyx.

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