Q: Originally from Maryland, what are some of your favorite things about living and working in Richmond, VA?

A: There’s a lot more to do and see in Richmond, and a ton of other people making things. There’s a lot of galleries and venues and it’s really easy to find people to talk to about making things. I feel very at home in that sense. 

Q: Do you keep a sketchbook? What is the balance between art you create on paper [or other analog medium] versus in the computer?

A: I primarily make work on my iPad, but in the ideation stage I work in a notebook. I take a long time using just words to come up with concepts, and I just find this more fluid on actual paper. My day-to-day drawings doodles and ideas are mostly digital, as I feel this makes the drawings easier for me to revisit and turn into fully fledged pieces. I also love collage, so I definitely have piles of paper and cutouts and patterns that look suspiciously like a big pile of trash.   

Q: What is the most important item in your studio?

A: My dog, because he needs me to walk him and play with him, and I need time to step away and think and run around. It’s a lot easier to work when you’re not trying to work, if that makes sense. 

Q: How do you know when the art is finished—or when to stop working on it?

A: I’m not one to sweat minor details, but I work until there’s nothing left that’s bothering me. I usually hold the piece up to a mirror (to kind of emulate fresh eyes) and see if at a glance it hits the way I want it to. 

Q: What was your favorite book as a child?

A: The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaimen, illustrated by Dave Mckean. Visually, this book blew my mind as a child. Kid's books are usually soft, with pastels and watercolors. This was dark and distorted and a little scary but so beautiful. It’s what I want my work to be.

Q: What is the best book you’ve recently read?

A: The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt, a really cool book about moral psychology. It explains how morality works in a logical sense, and explains different systems of values, and how our brains use logic to justify our emotional decisions. And a bunch of other things. I initially read it because I felt I had absolutely no foundation for understanding the political views of roughly half the country and the president. I still don’t, but it’s a really fascinating perspective on people and their capacity for goodness (or evil).

Q: If you had to choose one medium to work in for an entire year, eliminating all others, what medium would you choose?

A: Collage! It’s fun, it’s a mess and I think it would make me a better designer. There’s a lot of intention and planning in good collage art, but by nature of what it is, there’s a lot of accidents and things you can’t control. I love how our brains have to do some of the work in reading the image, and I love the act of collage making, it so satisfying to physically make something. 

Q: What elements of daily life exert the most influence on your work practice?

A:  Making things is an element of daily life, so this is difficult to articulate. I think almost everything I experience finds it’s way into the things I make one way or another. 

Q: What was the strangest/most interesting assignment you've taken that has an important impact on your practice, and what changed through the process?

A: This was a school assignment, but I spent a semester early in college painting the same still life over and over in black and white. I think about things I learned doing that every time I draw literally anything. It taught me to be intentional, and made me think about design in a way I never had before. 

Q: What would be your last supper?

A: A giant pot of curry with my friends. We’d eat outside and there would be no mosquitos because I’m making the rules. 

I Llve in Richmond, Virginia with my friends, a kitty and my dog Murphy who I love more than anything. I like cooking, baking and riding my bike. My work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, Latin American Ilustración 4 and American Illustration 36.
Website: www.kaligregan.com
Instagram: Instagram.com/kaligregan