Meet Kathy Good | Author/Illustrator/Poet/Musician/Spacehuman

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kathy Good and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kathy, why did you pursue a creative career?
Well, I didn’t start out pursing a creative career because I was brought up that you had to have a regular job and health insurance. I wasn’t bold enough to divert from this mindset, and frankly, I didn’t know what I would do creatively to build an artistic career at that time. It was very difficult for me to work a regular job-it really wore on me and caused a lot of depression. I think my free-spirited soul was battling against convention. In my free time, I would draw or write or make music, but there was not too much time for that. So, later in life, I was unfortunately or fortunately, laid off from my steady job of several years. I had saved up enough money that I could now focus all of my time on this big project- a 300 page children’s chapter book that has illustrations and also music as well.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As I’ve stated before, I like to create my own world. I work non-stop on my project, but I don’t like to use the term “work” because I enjoy doing it so much. Right now, I tentatively have a show scheduled for next year in Manhattan. I’m very excited about that and am working towards that. Along with a big rewrite on my story, I continue to draw more illustrations and write more songs-I see this as a musical (it’s a gothic tale). I’m also creating a life-size sculpture of one of the characters to be displayed at this show as well. What sets me apart from others, is that I really can focus on my own world. I don’t like to have many influences, although, now thinking about it, one influence could be Tove Jansson’s, “Moomins”. She definitely created her own world there. I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned along the way is really listen to yourself. There are a lot of people who try to sway you for whatever reason (mostly it tells you something about them, not you). I know it sounds cliche, but you really have to be strong in your vision and be true to yourself. I’ve worked several years on this project, and I could have given up at any point, but I knew that I had something here and even though I had put it aside for a year now and then, I always saw the potential in it and now I’m working on it full force.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live outside of Manhattan, but whenever I’ve visited the west coast, I always have stayed in Venice. I would definitely make a trip to Joshua Tree. I’ve been there several times.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To be honest, I live a very solitary life and have created my own world. I don’t really have mentors or much support, as such. I also don’t like to be influenced by others while creating. I want to do my own thing.

Instagram: @kgoodart