Getting to Know Your Fellow Artists - Q & A Interviews with AU Members

Get to Know your Fellow Artists from your Membership Committee

Q & A Interviews with...........

Donna Lynn Caskey
Karen Helen Szatkowski

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Donna Lynn Caskey

1. What town do you live in? How long have you lived here?
Ventura. Going on 8 years.

2. Where are you from originally?
Southeast Virginia.

3. What’s your background?
Not quite sure what you are looking for with this question...

I am the youngest of ten children in a family of bright, talented people. I am grateful I was encouraged and allowed to explore the arts growing up. At the same time, I was cautioned and questioned about the need to "make a living." I am still making up what I want to be when I grow up as I go along.
I opted to attend a liberal arts college instead of art school because I am passionate about learning in general, though a significant portion of my tuition was funded by art scholarships, for which I am thankful. I received a degree in studio art, but also studied writing, dance, physics, music, biology, psychology, Spanish, sociology and more. I took part in a wonderful program called the Imagination Studies Colloquium-- exploring creative process and imagination in all arenas.
After college, I traveled & couch-surfed & worked a string of "artistic retail" jobs-- as a portrait photographer, in a pottery studio, at a scrapbook store. I worked in libraries & bookstores. I was an intern at a drug & alcohol rehab home, a volunteer at a home for ill and orphaned children in Peru. I attended the Mythological Studies program at Pacifica Graduate Institute (the "bait" that lured me to CA), but withdrew the first semester declaring the creative process of life my school and major. I've worked in social services for nearly 7 years, from clerical staff to social worker.
Amid all that, I learned to play 5 string banjo and began writing songs-- nothing short of a life-changing miracle, in my opinion. Visual art continues to be a vital part of my life, as well.
If that is not already way too much information, there's more at www.donnalynncaskey.com

4. What kind of work do you do?
I have always loved to play and to explore the arts in general-- visual, movement, performance, writing, music, etc. I will be sharing music as part of Roe's "Tuesday Night Poets" series at the gallery on 5/11. Life is a creative process, an art, an interesting experiment. As mentioned above, I am employed as a social worker...

5. What do you draw upon for inspiration in your work?
Anything & everything-- life, emotion, people, connections, symbols, curiosity, that which I call God & don't pretend to understand, the creative force and process in general...

6. What’s your preferred medium?
Whatever is on hand, whether a traditional "art supply" or not. I am enjoying incorporating reused & recycled materials into visual art. I also prefer to use non-toxic supplies as much as possible.

7. How do you see your work evolving?
My work continues to surprise me while simultaneously being connected to what came before.

8. What social issues are you interested in?
The promotion of peace, understanding, love, compassion, dignity, justice... & the infinite permutations that takes!

9. What kinds of activities are you interested in supporting at the AUG?
Exhibits, performances, gallery talks... schedule permitting.

10. What would you like to see the gallery participate in?
More music/ performances from time to time.

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Karen Helen Szatkowski


1. What town do you live in? How long have you lived here?
I moved to Ventura with family in 1979 from L.A. (via Oregon)

2. Where are you from originally?
Eagle Rock, Los Angeles County

3. What’s your background?
CSUN Graduate in English, Insurance Broker specializing in Fidelity and Surety Bonds since 1992. Insurance Industry background since 1968.

4. What kind of work do you do?
I own S&K Bonds and Insurance Agency in Ventura since 1992. Right now struggling to rise above the muck of the economy.

5. What do you draw upon for inspiration in your work?
Since my youth I have been fascinated with the vegetable world and have been playing in dirt since I can remember. Inspiration is all around me!

6. What’s your preferred medium?
Dirt and an interesting Succulent.

7. How do you see your work evolving?
I am a novice at presenting my work to the world so envisioning the future of it is not easy. However, I do see some larger opportunities than originally imagined.

8. What social issues are you interested in?
All of them! I am a raving Liberal after being brought to my knees by the heartache of war and the many other horrors of the Bush Administration. I worked very hard for Obama and was thrilled beyond description at his win but I do worry that his first year, with his majorities, has not been stellar. I keep looking for his BEST efforts.

9. What kinds of activities are you interested in supporting at the AUG?
This will be easier to answer after more time with the organization and more knowledge of its capabilities.

10. What would you like to see the gallery participate in?
Everything seems on track to me, but again, I am a newbie!

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