Q&A: How Athens visual artist Paige Walcott combined passion and practicality
In Athens, supporting the city's vibrant artistic culture is often as simple as going to one of several weekend markets and buying something from a local vendor's booth. But when it comes to e-commerce, the proliferation of artificially-generated and outright stolen artwork can make the online experience a tricky endeavor for creators and shoppers alike.
With the launch of indigothebrat.com, Athens native and University of Georgia graduate Paige Walcott has made the leap from art as a means of personal expression to using their graphic design skills and education as an advertising major to create a gallery of their original artwork that is also available for purchase.
For this Q&A, Walcott spoke to Banner-Herald arts & culture reporter Andrew Shearer about overcoming self-doubt by focusing inward to produce images that reflect the one-of-a-kind individuality of the artist.
Andrew Shearer: Did you study art in school?
Paige Walcott: No. I liked making art, but I didn't consider myself to be an artist. And art wasn't seen as a practical way to earn a living. At UGA, I majored in advertising and my minor was in fashion merchandising. I felt like advertising was one of those majors that you could do a lot with, and since I'm more of a creative type of person, it seemed like the only thing that would suit me. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I began using an iPad to make art, and I concentrated on learning different programs and experimenting. I started pushing myself to try new things and became really passionate about it, spending hours and hours working on getting better.
AS: How did you gain the confidence to get to where you are now?
PW: That part only happened recently, like within the last year. I set a lot of mental benchmarks and told myself things like, "You need to have a unique style before you can actually say you're an artist," or, "You need to know anatomy first." I thought I needed to sell something before I could call myself an artist. But when you get out of college, reality slaps you in the face, and you have to wake up and start trying to figure out who you really are. I started showing my art to people, and they thought what I was doing was really cool. The response I got on Instagram lead me to create a website to sell my work, and that launched on June 14.
AS: Where do you find inspiration for your artwork?
PW: My dad is from Barbados and my mom is from New York, and I take a lot of pride in my heritage. My dad is a professor and he really loves science, so I have this combination of things that really resonate with me like ocean wildlife and microscopic organisms. There's an aura about those things that really inspires me and sparks a lot of my more abstract work. When you start making those connections, it's hard to stop. I feel like translating those connections from my perspective added another layer of uniqueness and authenticity to the work that I do. Artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kezia Harrell, Nora James and Dian Lang have also played significant roles in shaping my creative vision.
AS: You use the name "Indigo the Brat" on your Instagram and your website. What's the story behind that?
PW: In the 1970s, a New Age concept was introduced that used the term "Indigo Children" to describe children born with special traits or abilities. Many of those traits overlap with formally diagnosable characteristics of conditions like autism and ADHD. The term "brat" adds a provocative edge to the name that signifies a commitment to being unapologetically authentic. Together, "Indigo Brat" encapsulates my quest for self-discovery, acceptance, and empowerment. It's like a manifestation or a reminder for me to embrace my individuality and pursue my desires boldly, without hesitation or apology.
Follow Walcott at instagram.com/indigothebrat.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Q&A with Athens visual artist Paige Walcott
