Katie Benn is a San Francisco-raised artist, writer, and psychic medium now living in rural Oregon. Her work is as intuitive as it is expressive—deeply personal yet instantly resonant. With a style that refuses neat definition, Katie invites us to embrace change, contradiction, and the quiet truths waiting to be heard when we tune in. She reminds us that creativity isn’t about streamlining who we are but rather, it’s about honouring what moves us.
Can you tell us a little about your first few steps in your career. Was there a moment or experience when you realised this was what you'd do as a career?
I've always been an artist, making things, writing, playing instruments. I spent much of my young adult life doing these things in my downtime but only in my late twenties did I realize I really should be doing more of it. I remember working an office job and looking at art on Tumblr at my desk during my lunch break and thinking, "This is ridiculous." I was and am so interested in so many things that there are never enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do, and I just thought, you know, I need to do something about this. I don't think I'm supposed to be bored and exhausted by what I spend 40+ hours of my week doing. It was during a time where many things in my life were ending or coming to a head, and I was in therapy at the time (thank goodness for that) and my therapist also suggested to me that I should try to do what I love.
I may have received that feedback before in my life but I truly don't think I ever heard it. Sometimes all we need is the simplest encouragement to come from outside of ourselves to feel like we can do something. And sometimes we need to hear that exact message multiple times before it really sinks in. The moment I decided to dedicate my life to honor what calls to me (creative work and beyond), was the moment the world opened up and opportunities just began to drop in around me. I began to feel more like myself, day by day, project by project, and the more I listened to my inner self the more interesting and beautiful life began to feel. Those were indicators enough for me that I was on the right path.
What lessons from your career have most shaped your style and approach?
Getting back in tune with my intuition was crucial. In the beginning there was a lot of work I was doing that may have looked good on the surface, but there were elements to my work then that I don't love to look at now. I was doing a lot of things unconsciously, such as wanting to achieve a mass appeal, trying to please and be liked, feeling like I had something to prove. I think that's super normal for anyone in the beginning, and we should give ourselves and each other a bit of grace around that.
But also, I wish I learned sooner rather than later that if you're creating art to please anyone but yourself, I mean, I know we all have to eat, living a life under capitalism is a path paved with blood and compromise, but if ALL the work your creating is for the gaze of another, I'm not sure true satisfaction can find you. So I suppose the lesson I learned that affected me and my work the most was basically do everything you can to be true to yourself as much as possible and as often as possible. The way unfolds from there.
Tell us about the core values or philosophies that guide your creative practice.
Be true to yourself. Be kind but stand up for your ideas if you feel they are worth standing up for. Please and thank you's go a long way. Support other artists. Listen to what calls to you as often as you can. Experiment. Allow for time and space to change you and your practice. Feeling stuck creatively? Think of your work as a product of exorcism. What inside of you is seeking expression? Do not make a goal of streamlining who you are and what you produce. We are all weird little beings. We are all frayed at the edges. Notice when you are hemming yourself in or living by a set of self-imposed rules and ask yourself why.
What needs to change, so emerging and under-represented creative professionals have more opportunity, are seen and heard?
What needs changing to make life more safe and equitable for us all is too long an answer to share here but to boil it down to specific areas, I would say capitalism isn't serving us, the wealth inequality in this world must cease, and we must not let the bleakness within our human experience overshadow the fact that a better world is possible. We must never stop listening to each other, learning, and finding creative ways to share, build community, and impact positive change.
How important is it that creative professionals find their unique voice?
I don't know anything more important creatively than finding your voice. “Man, sometimes it takes you a long time to sound like yourself.” Miles Davis said that once, and it's so true. You gotta keep going. You have to see what comes out of you to get there. And you have to know that sounding like yourself, creating work that is unique to you will be a thing that will change over time. It is about continually tuning in, latching to a thing within that wants to move, wants to sing, and allowing as clear a channel as possible for that expression.
Looking ahead, what do you think are the key factors that will influence change for creative professionals?
I think those of us dedicated to our creative work will have to double down on our efforts to be true to what calls to us. The rise of fascism, nonconsensual AI in the arts, anti-intellectualism, and overconsumption are challenges effecting us all in different ways, whether or not we're conscious of it. But this is not the first time creative work has been devalued, nor is it the first time there has been a considerable attempt to squash unique creative voices with real world consequences. We must continue to support one another, create, and practice sharing our voice in an effort to build a better world.
How much does your city influence your work?
Coming from the Bay Area in general, I would not be able to tease out all the ways I have been influenced by the land, the various cultures, people, and creative minds and works available there. Growing up in the Bay, San Francisco and Marin specifically, I was offered an embarrassment of fascination and beauty at a young age. Growing up in this kind of wonderland, you can't help but be inspired and want to contribute to its evolution of art and experimentation. Being in rural Oregon now for some years, physically far from my community in San Francisco, has helped me see with even more conviction and clarity just how much it still has there for the creative person, regardless of the changes that came with the tech boom and the all the rest of the past 20 years.
How much does your culture influence your work?
My family line on both sides is very creative. We are painters, theater people, seamstresses, designers, musicians, intuitives. The list goes on and on. I think growing up in a house that values art was and continues to be an inspiration and an enormous privilege. Being exposed to these things from childhood, even if most of it was seen being created in family garages or behind closed doors and often uncelebrated by the outside world, it does something to you. It makes being an artist an easy title to give yourself, because you get to experience your own creative lens at the beginning of life. You experience its value firsthand because it is enriching you, and you can feel that. You can sense the art working on you before you even begin to work on the art. To put it simply, the culture I grew up in offered me permission from the outset to explore being alive through art.
Tell us some of your favourite, creative professionals and inspiring places in your city!
There are too many to list. Quite literally I would need to list at least 200 artists in San Francisco whose work I appreciate and admire. That being said, I love everything my friends are doing (together as a network as well as independently) associated with Tight Quarters, a collective and gallery space in San Francisco. My old studio mate and friend, Charlene Tan, continues to blow my mind with her work exploring the Filipino diaspora. Chris Martin's works are beautiful, haunting, and important. Drew Bennett's paintings help me take deeper breaths. Gina M. Contreras continues to gift us all with her vulnerability and charm. Inspiration is all over the place if you're looking. The Bay Area asks of you to have a sense of adventure. Go out and walk around. There are things to see on every corner. And some of the best food of your life.
What should emerging creative professionals keep in mind as they begin their design career?
At the beginning of your career in art or design, I think it's important to remember that you can always change your mind. If you love commercial work, beautiful. If it starts to grate on you, that is information you should do something with. If you enjoy a balance of the editorial and personal work (like myself), do your best to set up your life in a way that allows for both. No one way of doing things works the same for everybody. Paving your own path can be terrifying, but the treasure you find is yours, and it will lead you to a life that is unique and best suited to you.
Working on personal projects can help you remind yourself where you truly want to go with your work. Go offline as much as you can. Keep a good offline record of your work. You never know when someone will need a hi-res version of it for a magazine feature or licensing. Oh and that. If you work in photography, design, or illustration, try to get into licensing some of your work early on. The monthly, quarterly, or biannual royalty checks will be a much needed help when dry seasons come.