Meet the GallaRE Artist: Kassie Rougeau

In advance of our upcoming GallaRE Art Show on June 1st, we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to another of our featured artists:

Kassie Rougeau.

Read on to learn about what inspires Kassie, why she loves Louisiana, and more about her artistic style.  Then be sure to join us on June 1st to meet Kassie in person!  Click here for all the GallaRE Art Show event details, and here for the Facebook invitation.

HCM: Where did you grow up?

KASSIE: I grew up in Richard, Louisiana.

HCM: How does living in Louisiana inspire your art?

KASSIE:  I’m inspired by the country, by the openness of the fields that made up my backyard, by the “bitter sweet” smell of the mud that reminds me I’m home It may not objectively appear in my work, but having that space and scenery is a comfort that inspires thought and definitely pushes me to make something.  

HCM: How long have you been an artist?  Have you always worked in the media you work in now?

KASSIE: I wouldn’t say I’ve been an artist for very long. There are only 20 years on this gal, then you have to take away a few for, y’know, walking and talking and such. But I believe I’ve been an artist for as long as I’ve been able to express my imagination, and I think that goes for everyone.

HCM: What other things or circumstances inspire you?

KASSIE: Religion is definitely an inspiration. Not only the subject, but the act of learning about Christ is a great influence.  I am here, doing what I do, because He has given me the ability.  I’m finding a way to make Him part of the pieces, whether they be about Him or I simply keep in mind that He is guiding my hand.

HCM: Do you have a routine for making art: a certain time of day, or a favorite place to go?

KASSIE: I don’t really have a routine. I try to attack things a little differently each time, hoping to figure out what works best.

HCM: Are you inspired by the work of any other artists?  If so, who?

KASSIE:  Since I’ve been in college, I’ve found inspiration in other artists from history.  Learning the origins of their concepts and how different techniques express different things, it helps me to figure out better ways to get my own thoughts across. And of course the other art students! Being able to witness some of their discoveries and arriving at conclusions with them is pretty valuable.  I just imagine seeing a piece in a gallery years from now done by someone I know and having an understanding of it that a stranger might not.

HCM: What do you hope viewers take away from your art?

KASSIE:  It’s hard to say. Before, I used to think, “would someone hang this in their living room?”, but now it’s about thinking in different ways.  I consider most of my work right now “studies”, I’m allowing my thoughts to become visual, and hoping that it provokes thought from viewers. I want someone to look at it and see that the picture is an idea, fully developed or not. I want the beauty to be recognized in the possibilities.

HCM: Are you interested in any other kinds of art besides visual art?  If so, what?

KASSIE:  I enjoy literature. I think there’s nothing more powerful than when someone finds the perfect combination of words that makes someone say, “that’s exactly what I was trying to say!” I feel like the following quotes are exactly what I’ve been trying to say by choosing to study art.

HCM: Do you have an artist’s statement or a motto?

KASSIE:  “The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them — words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they’re brought out. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you’ve said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That’s the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear.”
— Stephen King

“I am one of the searchers.. We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content. We continue to explore life, hoping to uncover its ultimate secret. We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand.. We like forests and mountains, deserts and hidden rivers, and the lonely cities as well. Our sadness is as much a part of our lives as is our laughter. To share our sadness with one we love is perhaps as great a joy as we can know – unless it be to share our laughter. We searchers are ambitious only for life itself, for everything beautiful it can provide. Most of all we love and want to be loved. We want to live in a relationship that will not impede our wandering, nor prevent our search, nor lock us in prison walls; that will take us for what little we have to give. We do not want to prove ourselves to another or compete for love.”
— James Kavanaugh

Now that you know all about this talented young Louisiana artist, you should definitely stop by the RE Showroom on June 1st to see her work in person!  Relax with other local art patrons in an open-house atmosphere, while we snack and make good conversation.

Hope to see you there!