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

Hi Qathryn, how do you think about risk?
Recognizing a risk means you already have one foot in, then you have to make the decision to add the other foot. As an artist, risk is a measure of excitement and a means to explore quick and hopefully accurate decisions. When I was younger risks meant exploring new ideas, new frontiers, and that the taking of a risk was also measured by integrity, ethics and values. My being older means risks are measured by the same values, but also what play big, are health, time and safety!

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.
Growing up in Wisconsin, with long, long winters, created lots of indoor project time. So craft-time was abundant. But at an early age I developed an interest in photography. My Dad, who worked for a newspaper, helped me set up a small primitive darkroom. This photo developing experience later became an easy job entry occupation as I traveled and went to school. The photo processing also became part of my art as I worked with high contrast images and created my first interior wall murals in Venice and Santa Monica, California. 1970 From the beach, I moved to Downtown Los Angeles in 1979 into a 3,000 sq ft loft for $350. Along with my art as a fine artist and mural experience I created a business doing interior painted finishes and murals. Also in this large working/living space I was able to work with many other artists on many projects, set up a silk screening and painting studio. Over the next couple of years I moved to the Arts District, also in Downtown Los Angeles, and retrained skills with a non- profit administration working for a business improvement district. In 2010 I was hired by the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk as operations director and later was asked to fill the executive director role. This opportunity has been a wonderful fulfillment of working with so many amazing artists. Over the years of Art Walk thousands have attended and hundreds of artists have participated. My art work for the last several years has involved toys. In 2015 my toy series of dioramas was published in the book ‘When Good Toys Go Bad” A more recent series of toys use repurposed children’s small scale playsets. I have a current exhibit at the Fine Arts Building in Downtown Los Angeles. Titled ‘Story Tyme’ “where toys and legends take the stage with stories not always coming from a happy place.” The beautiful interior of the Fine Arts Building on 7th Street in Downtown LA, has been closed to the public. The exhibit would have opened on March 12th, but on March 11, 2020 the COVID-19, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. So my exhibit has been locked in amber since March 2020. A most recent book of website columns I wrote under my alter ego, Ramona Crimson, for the Arts District website from 1992 to 2008. The book is titled ‘If You Ask Me…Ramona Crimson. “The book is interesting for the grass roots history of the Downtown Arts District in Los Angeles. Books are available on Amazon.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Take the Metro train almost anywhere in Los Angeles and vicinity, get an Metro art map to the wealth of public art, LA Public Library, Mercado in Boyle Heights, LAX-C in Chinatown, San Bernadino Mountains communities and trails

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Well there are so many but long time friends for sure Karen, Tara, Nat, Katie, Lucy, Martha, Jonathan, Carol, The Downtown Art Walk Board, the IAA USA Board, my siblings, my Margaret, Tom Gilmore, Los Angeles artists, curators, organizers, patrons and art supporters

Website: qathryn.com
Instagram: qbfoto
Linkedin: Qathryn Brehm
Twitter: @qathryn1
Facebook: qathryn.brehm
Other: info@qathryn.com

Image Credits
Dioramas are from series ‘When Good Toys Go Bad’ Art Walk Group photo-Qathryn Brehm, Jeremy Quant, Patrice Elizabeth, Bonnie Tseng, Britt Dixon Los Angeles City Honors LGBTQ Award

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