Q&A WITH KATHY BRADSHAW: "One small part of a collective process!"

The cover of the first edition of Sincerely, Us is a credit to Kathy Bradshaw, an award-winning artist from Saskatoon, Canada. In an interview with us, Kathy talks about her ties to Ukraine, the impact of the war on artists, and the symbolism of sunflowers.

Kathy Bradshaw, Thinking of You (Ukraine), 2022

How did you happen to produce a piece about Ukraine?

I do a lot of floral imagery. I had this pressed flower that just looked like a sunflower to me. So I capsulated that in the beeswax and the encaustic, and layered it up trying to give it a lot of life and movement. Thinking of You (Ukraine) is the preservation of Ukraine, of the country, and of the vibrancy that we must focus our attention on to ensure that it goes on. The flowers are encapsulated in the wax to symbolise it.

I completely agree with the point you made about preservation, this is such an important thing to do now.

It's horrific. I think we’re beside ourselves. What can we do? We’re experiencing a sense of hopelessness but also by working with art, we’re trying to convey a sense of hope. I’m losing my words but it is just the fear of what we’re seeing and the fact that it’s escalating. Something has to be done more drastically than what we’ve done so far.

Do you have any personal connections with Ukraine?

KB: Through my grandparents, there is some Ukrainian ancestry. Canada, outside of Russia, has the largest Ukrainian population in the world. Out of all the provinces, my province Saskatchewan has the largest Ukrainian population. In my city, there is a Ukrainian language school. Even our diet is based on Ukrainian food. Pierogi, cabbage rolls, sausages — people eat them here a lot. It’s a part of who we are whether we have that ancestry or not.

I have noticed that a lot of your pieces mix different blue and yellow shadows. Is Thinking of You the only piece about Ukraine that you have produced?

Ukraine is constantly on my mind, absolutely, I’ve noticed that a lot of my works have had many blue and yellow colours recently. I’ve participated in a few auctions already. I painted some bees using the yellow and blue palette for those too. I cannot go down into my studio and not think about the war. Yellow is about happiness and blue is my favourite colour. When you put the two of them together, it’s a joyful colour combination.

The sunflower is just such a symbolic flower. How can you not smile when you see a sunflower? People speak about life in Thinking of You, Ukraine so I’m trying to convey it in different artworks to raise awareness. Two of my pieces have gone on an auction — one was a local Facebook auction, for my province. The other one was in an international auction, Canadian-American. My piece was sold in the first minute. Altogether, we have raised over 40,000$ for Ukraine.

Artists from the US and Canada came together and the entire auction was sold out in 30 minutes, almost 300 pieces. There is overwhelming support for Ukraine, especially in Saskatchewan because we have such a large Ukrainian population in the province. If you are distant, it doesn’t touch you that much. But there’s so much heritage, the food, the culture that it touches us very deeply. I see a real come-in-together in my province.

Have you welcomed any Ukrainian refugees already in Saskatchewan?

Yes, and the support has been huge. People keep asking for donations. I haven’t seen the statistics but there are several thousand people coming to Canada and to Saskatchewan. Even though we are quite a large province, we are fairly unpopulated. There is room, there are jobs but the climate is rough and extreme. If people can deal with that, there are a lot of opportunities in Saskatchewan. We say that it’s cold outside, but warm inside.

What kind of feedback have you got so far on Thinking of You (Ukraine)?

Incredible. It was really supportive to have that one sell in the first minute. It went through far more than the value was. And yes, obviously, people do get a piece of art but it’s all about donating. Altogether, my pieces have raised around 1,000$. Remember that it’s just one artist, one small part of a collective process!

Was painting Thinking of You (Ukraine) a form of personal therapy for you?

There is no doubt that art is therapy. Most artists are working on their feelings through their art. Once you bring your feeling into the art, it makes all the difference. If you don’t have that, the viewer can’t feel anything either. There are a lot of feelings and emotions in my little piece about Ukraine and it is so gratifying to hear that people can feel it as well. That is the difference for an artist if you can be invested emotionally.

Did you paint this piece with an intention of selling it?

I just needed to paint it, it wasn’t about money. When I was in my studio, I pulled out the flowers and that is what came out.

What gives you hope now?

I am just so inspired by the interviews of Ukrainian people and how they’re so determined, they are not backing down. There is no alternative rather than the idea that they can beat this war and it gives me immense hope. I am also heartened by what the West is providing for them. The will of the people is mindblowing.

What do sunflowers mean to you?

Definitely happiness and joy. The happy faces of people. They are hopeful flowers. Such an interesting thing to see is that they turn to face the sun, the day, and the light. It’s just so symbolic. There is an inner glow in sunflowers and in the Ukrainians.

You can find more of Kathy’s artworks on her Instagram @kathybradshawart and on her website at www.kathybradshawart.com.