Visiting my painting pal, Katie Dorame

My new article for The Coastal Post is hot off the presses! You can read my conversation with fellow CCA MFA alumna, Katie Dorame, titled "Somewhere between Mulder and Scully." We talk about science fiction, monsters, indigenous politics, and painting. It’s pretty awesome.

“A studio visit with Katie is a breath of fresh air. She is a rare friend for me as we share an intersection of painting strategies, indigenous politics, a complicated relationship with religion, and an offbeat interest in monstrosities. Katie grew up in southern California and is a member of the Tongva (or Gabrieliño) Tribe of California. Her studio in Oakland is filled with paintings, drawings, a sculpture here and there, and newer installation work.

Katie poses a question in her work, “What if westward expansion went all the way into the ocean, into outer space?” Her question lands her in the rich territory of science fiction. In comics, books, and movies, indigenous people have these special connections to nature, to mythical spirituality, and to other equally strange aliens. (If that’s true, I am missing out.) Space travel always seems to be about manifest destiny anyway.”