Growing up in Savannah, Georgia allowed an excess accessibility of creative juices at any turn. From SCAD to the Telfair Museums, Savannah Art Walk to the first Saturday on the River, Savannah Arts Academy's Junk2Funk Fashion show to Sidewalk Chalk Contests-- Savannah has always been a hub for creative expression.
Like many beautiful things, you must experience another before fully realizing their charm. After living in Savannah for 18 years, when college came I decided it was time for change. I moved to New York City, not knowing a soul and not minding one bit, I followed my dream to become an artist. I studied for four years at Parsons School of Design in the middle of Manhattan, an experience that was invaluable to not only my art career but my being entirely. A fresh start in a new city allowed me to discover who I wanted to be, explore my passions and create who I am today.
Kara Haywood
Artist
KARA HAYWOOD
KARA HAYWOOD
Education
Experience
2018
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Parsons The New School of Design
New York, NY
2014
Diploma
Savannah Arts Academy
Savannah, GA
Paint-and-sip class instructor at ARTini's Art Lounge in Athens, Georgia
Interned at "Art By Megan", a Brooklyn-based artist known for her acrylic abstract ocean-scapes
Painted long-term shelter pets to aid with their adoption process at the Humane Society in Savannah, Georgia
Interned at the Jepson Center for the Arts, Telfair Museum in Savannah, Georgia
2018 Thesis Exhibit
Mixing studio art with play and craft, my work maps the transitional period between adolescence and adulthood. Often using my personal experience of growing up as a middle-class, self-identifying female, painting becomes used as a process of understanding feelings of loss when grappling with societal expectations around letting go of one's childhood.
In 2017 I interned with Megan Elizabeth, a Brooklyn-based artist who runs her one-woman business, Art by Megan. From experiencing in-studio work time to photographing artwork to attending her paint classes throughout the city, the time I spent learning about entrepreneurship, community, and especially the hard work and determination it takes to run a business was inspiring yet gritty. Every day since I work to be a similar powerhouse-of-a-woman artist.
