'What creativity is to me': We chat to multi-disciplinary Canberra artist Katie McAuliffe

Talking to Katie McAuliffe has been like having a warm conversation over cold drinks with an old friend I know all too well, but somehow still surprises me.

Except that we’ve only ever “e-met” and our conversations have been limited to back and forth ramblings over email.

But I’ve still come to know her as a talented industrial designer, painter, and ingenious thinker that’s stepping into the Canberra creative scene, one foot in front of the other.

“I like having the power to put into existence something that didn’t exist previously,” McAuliffe says.

“Participating in bringing something into this world, or combining different things, that without your interventions wouldn’t have existed, that’s what creativity is to me.”

McAuliffe was one of three University of Canberra Industrial Design students chosen to exhibit in Craft ACT’s current Emerging Contemporaries exhibition.

There’s plenty to lust over in the exhibitions, so if you have the time I implore you to check it out and pay special attention to her piece Spectre. 

It’s this single piece of dynamic furniture that can shape-shift into a chair, a bench and a dining table, and it’s not lacking for minimalist style points either.

“The shrinking spaces we’re inhabiting and the de-cluttering movements that run parallel are challenging the way we think about the objects we surround ourselves with,” McAuliffe says.

“Through transformative design, spaces can become places that are diverse in usability … I went through so many iterations to figure out how on earth something like this could work.”

The fabric, foam, steel, and wood furniture ensemble weighs less than six kilos and can be packed down to take with you pretty much anywhere – hello, glamping!

Your packing essentials should also include Hearthstone; McAuliffe’s answer to our depleting backyards but longing for the outdoors.

“Hearthstone re-imagines the age-old human experience, the humble fire,” McAuliffe says.

“It’s both a dual-action fireplace and a gas barbecue where you cook, where you gather for warmth, for light and for company.”

McAuliffe’s keen awareness of how we, as humans, interact and intersect with physical objects is so very acute, you may be surprised she fell into and love with making things almost by chance.

A friend’s recommendation led her to industrial design, and she must have been an amazing advocate because it worked.

“It was this awesome mix of the creative and the practical and I felt like it was talking to so many of the things I loved at the same time,” McAuliffe says.

However, painting runs in the family blood. McAuliffe has put paintbrush to canvas many times over as a way of instantly connecting to the act of creation. A skill of which she’s lent to Impressions Property Styling Canberra.

You’ll see her bold and brightly coloured nature scenes pull together the essence of a room, staged for sale. What you won’t see from McAuliffe is repetition.

‘I fluctuate wildly as to how or what I feel like painting … or creating,” McAuliffe says.

“I get bored fairly quickly, of styles, mediums and even themes.”

When creating, McAuliffe admits she has one of two days, abundantly fruitful or something that contains no fruit at all; creatively or consumed. At times she says she feels like a fraud then other moments are so blissfully accomplished she goes to bed grateful for her talents.

McAuliffe says it’s all a part of her “confused narrative” but I say it’s more like a breeding ground for original ideas that can span across a multi-disciplinary skillset. If my word is anything to go off, she is one to watch.

Emerging Contemporaries is exhibiting at Craft ACT until March 21.