Meet the Mermaids: Kiana
If you hear us laughing at the Grit & Grace Studio Flagship store, there's a good chance Kiana is the cause! This G&G family member fills our days with positivity, laughter, and quirky interactions, and she also fills our shelves with gorgeous hand-painted oyster ring dishes.
We are so excited to feature Kiana in today's Meet the Mermaids profile! Kiana's first-ever art show opens this Friday, so the timing is perfect for introducing this talented lady. Join us at the Grit & Grace Studio Flagship as we celebrate this incredible artist on June 3, 4 pm - 8 pm.
You'll get to meet the artist and shop original artwork hand-painted on Gilded Oyster Ring Dishes and canvases. We'll provide Heart & Soul mojito cocktails and coconut cupcakes, and you won't want to miss the Stranded CHS hair tinsel station.
Congratulations, Kiana! We can't wait to share your vibrant work and personality with the world, and we're so blessed to call you family.
Grit & Grace Family: Kiana
Your very first art show, Jungle Gold, opens this Friday. Congratulations! What inspired this collection?
Thank you! I’m very grateful that Rachel has given me this unique opportunity to showcase my art. A lot of factors inspired this collection.
Firstly, the warm weather in Charleston and the blooming flora everywhere make me feel like the jungle is all around us already. Especially when I stumble upon secret garden spaces in the middle of downtown, and it just seems like a different world.
I also really love vibrant colors, bold patterns, and animals. They have always been a favorite of mine to paint and learn from, and I feel like the jungle itself is a symbol of abundance.
There is so much going on that you don’t see everything the first time. It’s wild to think that some creatures would even be camouflaged with how bold their patterns are. You may not see a tiger in the shadows of the trees, but you definitely would in the sunlight.
What motivates you to create? What are your favorite mediums?
What motivates me to create is that I’m very impulsive, and it’s difficult for me to sit on an idea. Once I have it, I feel the urge to bring it out, so my favorite medium is whatever I have readily available. It’s partly why I can usually be seen with a backpack because I don’t go anywhere without drawing materials.
I tend to prefer just black ink and paper, never graphite pencil. I enjoy just going for it and maneuvering around my mistakes to transform a drawing or painting rather than starting from scratch.
I also love watercolors, acrylic, Posca pens, and drawing on my iPad. Sometimes I bring my Fujifilm Instax Mini camera and take photos later to draw on later. It’s all about documenting things in the moment so the memory won’t slip away.
Where are you from? How does that influence your work?
The most simple, yet complicated question! I was born in Southern California and spent my childhood moving around Orange County every few years. Then my family moved us all to Fort Mill, South Carolina when I was 11 and I lived there until I was 22. I went through some dramatic life changes at that time. It was my first time fully letting go of everything I knew. I shaved my head completely bald and then I disappeared to Alaska.
I wanted to start fresh, go somewhere that nobody knew me, focus on myself, and become immersed in nature. I wasn’t happy back home, the summer was too hot for me, and I wanted to know life somewhere quieter.
I learned in Alaska that seasonal hospitality jobs existed in almost every state, and that they employ a lot of foreign exchange students, so I was able to network and make friends with people from all over the world. I traveled and worked in remote places for 3 years, and I wouldn’t have known when to stop if it weren’t for Covid. I’m very glad I landed in Charleston though. Out of all the places I’ve been, it has a little piece of everything, and my family is here.
I’d say all the traveling and bouncing around has made me addicted to completing many small works. If I have to pack up every 6 months, large canvases are a lot to carry.
All the changes of scenery got me used to being frequently inspired. I always lived in vacation destinations, so I like to think that I’m always living my life like a tourist in my own town. Everywhere I go, I act as if I won’t be there tomorrow. Some people live in the same place for 10 years, go to the same 3 restaurants, see the same people every day, and nothing changes. I learned that I don’t have to fly to Alaska to see something new. I could just walk a different route.
Who are three artists that inspire you?
Frida Kahlo has always been a favorite. I had a unibrow too when I was growing up. I plucked my eyebrows so frequently that now I don’t have one anymore. I love that she painted through her pain. She was always self-reflecting, she was bold, and she embraced who she was instead of hiding it.
Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese installation artist whom I discovered while at an art museum in the Netherlands. I walked into one of her “Infiniti Rooms” which contained a room full of mirrors and a bunch of polka-dotted phallic objects that made it appear as if you were standing in the middle of the universe. She also uses polka dots, faces, and amoeba shapes as motifs a lot.
Lastly, I would include Hayao Miyazaki because I am in love with Studio Ghibli Films. I love the relatable female characters, the way they animate nature and food, and the magical universe they create that seems not too far off from reality.
What do you do at Grit & Grace Studio?
I am a production artist half the week and an oyster painter the other half. So at the beginning of the week, I’m in the shadows helping create our main product, the decoupage oysters, alongside my deaf coworker, Jeni, who is teaching me sign language. We enjoy making dancing TikToks on occasion if we have extra time.
The later half of the week, I’m in store usually wearing something outlandish and often wearing a hat. When I present myself in front of people, I feel more comfortable wearing a costume. I feel like that’s the magic of clothes; they are what you put on to present yourself as whoever you want to be that day.
Visit our King Street Flagship to shop for more original artwork lovingly created by the Grit & Grace team members, and don't forget Father's Day is right around the corner.
Schedule a FaceTime appointment with a personal shopper to customize gift baskets for the dads in your life, and be sure to peruse the freshly updated New Arrivals section of our online store!
One Love & Blessings,