Kait O'Connor

While drawing and visual arts have always been a focus of mine growing up, I did go through a rough patch as a teenager when I realized that I was genetically advantaged for contortion. I fell into the wrong crowd (circus people) and spent my high school years juggling (no pun intended) between school and training with a Mongolian circus trainer. I retired from the circus at 19. I had spent my junior high years living in Barcelona with my family and I was itching to get back to Europe. I studied fashion design and quickly realized that my interest and talents were in textile and pattern design. Somehow, despite not knowing what a JPEG was, I got myself a paid internship and then a job as a graphic artist at a Barcelona based clothing brand, Desigual. I worked there for most of my 20's until being paid to travel and finger paint and 2 hour lunch breaks were "not challenging me." I had also gotten a few editorial freelance illustration gigs and wanted to prove to myself that I could do work outside of fast fashion. So I decided I would "Make it in New York." Yikes. After 2 years working very boring, demanding and soul sucking jobs in graphics for fast fashion, I decided that I would rather work in the service industry and go back to school for what I really wanted, Illustration. I was very fortunate to get a scholarship to SVA. While being in my early 30's studying with classmates who were barely pushing 20 was a major challenge, its one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Two years out of school I am still trying to cultivate my own visual voice, find work, make contacts. I live in Brooklyn with my two cats, Pila and Rudi. My goal in the next year is to solidify my confidence in my work, continue to gather a base of clients, and get the hell back to Europe.