Myths, magic and child-like wonder in Katherine Guest’s artwork

Katherine Guest, 29, is in her second year of an MA in Integrative Child Psychotherapy at The Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education in London.

She received her degree in Fine Art from the University of East London in 2008 and has worked with children and young adults with additional needs, learning and physical disabilities for the past 15 years.

Katherine works mainly with fine liner, graphite pencil and digital photography and she is beginning to work with water colour.

Katherine said: “I work organically, inspired by nature and the natural world around me looking at the detail in natural forms and working intricately with this. I grew up reading faerie tales and mythology, being curious about magic and folklore – the possibility of what might be. In my images, I aim to elicit a child-like wonder in the viewer, of faeries, ghosts, spirits and pixies and what could be behind the rustling of the leaves.

“Working with children, I get to see this playfulness first hand – an imagination uncompromised by adult logic, a sense of freedom and infinite boundaries.”

Katherine feels that this is sometimes lost in modern society and her art aims to offer an escape.

She added: “My work celebrates the gentle nature and delicate strength of femininity. I find that there is a sense of peacefulness and calm, a chance to dream and a chance to be curious.”

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