| THE EPISTOLARIAN |

I came down to Tahoe for a few unexpected days with family this week, and will be returning for a more spacious vacation next week. In the meantime, I’ve found myself marveling at just how much Lake Tahoe has shaped me and my work. You'll also read a fair amount Tahoe's influence in my upcoming book this autumn.

A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed by The House That Lars Built. Their very first question was about where I grew up, and it sent me down a path of thinking about some things I haven’t shared very often.

I thought you might enjoy a few of my favorite questions and answers from the interview.

Where did you grow up? Were there aspects of your childhood that have influenced what you do now?

I grew up in Zephyr Cove, a small town on the Nevada side of South Lake Tahoe, and the place shaped both who I am and how I approach my work.

First, it instilled in me a deep connection to nature. I have always felt very much a part of it. I developed a close relationship with animals, plants, trees, and especially the water, and Tahoe’s extraordinary light, color, and atmosphere deepened that connection. Growing up in a place where the landscape is constantly changing sharpened my sensitivity to beauty and deeply influenced my aesthetic, particularly my love of vibrancy and color.

Second, the culture of Tahoe taught me to embrace risk. It is a place where many people participate in sports that are both physically demanding and genuinely dangerous. I was a freestyle skier, and from a young age I learned to do things even when they scared me. I got hurt a lot. There wasn’t a single year of high school when I didn’t end up in the hospital because of a sports-related injury.

Looking back, those experiences taught me something surprisingly valuable: as long as I didn’t die, I could always recover, get back up, and try again.

There is a vulnerability in putting your art into the world, especially when you’re trying to create something new or reimagine an existing category. It can be uncomfortable, but taking risks is already part of my DNA. The danger is no longer physical. The risk is creative. The fear is still there, but since I have held fear for so long in my body, it just seems like a necessary ingredient to a meaningful life.

What did you dream of becoming when you were younger?

For a long time, I imagined becoming a paleontologist. I loved the word “paleontologist” itself, but even more than that, I loved the idea of spending my days in remote and mysterious desert landscapes around the world, discovering secrets of ancient creatures.

Looking back, that impulse has never really left me. While I didn’t end up excavating fossils, I do spend much of my life uncovering forgotten traditions, studying historical objects, and exploring the stories they carry through time.

What is a piece of advice that you have carried with you and who is it from?

During my senior year of college, I had the opportunity to visit Chuck Close in his studio. He wasn’t giving advice directly, but something he said stayed with me. He talked about intentionally placing parameters around his work because he knew he had the ability to imitate many different artists. Rather than doing everything, he chose to create within a set of self-imposed constraints.

I’ve carried that idea with me ever since.

My own practice spans many different media, but I’ve chosen to see the wax seal as my primary canvas. At first glance, it seems like such a small format, almost too limited to hold much possibility. Yet I’ve found the opposite to be true. Within a single wax seal, an entire universe can exist.

The constraints of the medium have become a source of creativity rather than a limitation, continually inviting me to discover how much beauty and meaning can live within such a small space.

Is there anything more you would like to “become?”

Yes. An old woman.

I turned forty this year, and by half my age I had already lost many friends. Because of that, I don’t take growing older for granted. It feels like a privilege. More than anything, I hope to live another forty or sixty years, continuing to create, learn, and make beautiful things.

I’ve seen a future where the arts become much more central to everyday life, especially within the home. I hope I’m here long enough to help build that future and to see it fully embodied.

I also have a very personal hope. I’ve met four generations of my family, and I would love to meet seven. To become an ancestor while still being able to look into the eyes of those who come after me would be one of the greatest gifts I could imagine.

Ultimately, I don’t aspire to become anything other than myself. I simply hope to become an older, wiser woman who never stops creating.

In Case You Missed It: A New Hastings Penny and Étui Border Penny Released

The Reason & Intuition Penny - 12 remain, and no more will be made 

A talisman of balance, this two-sided design brings together the strength of reason and the wisdom of intuition. One side depicts an elephant and rider beneath La Raison Ma Fait Ma Force, “Reason Gives Me Strength,” while the other features a blindfolded woman, modeled after my visage, representing the ability to see beyond what is visible with the eyes alone.

Together, they remind us that we need both: reason to understand, and intuition to guide us.

Flower Étui Border  Only 10 Remain 

The Floral Garland Border is a delicate ring of flowers and foliage designed to encircle your penny.

It pairs beautifully with both symbolic and botanical pennies, adding another layer of ornament and meaning to the finished impression.

This border is gorgeous plain or painted and fits all Hastings Étuis, whether First Edition or Second Edition Hastings Étui or the Kitty Book Pawn. I have engraved 49 at this time.

With love from Tahoe,
Kathryn