Meet Katherine (Kat) La Motte | Artist, Photographer, Animal Rescuer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katherine (Kat) La Motte and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katherine (Kat), why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I chose to pursue an artistic/creative career for multiple reasons. First, it is simply in my nature… I have always enjoyed and thrived in the creative arts, and I have dabbled in things ranging from theater and music, to visual art such as photography and painting. I never was able to “fit” well into traditional nine-to-five corporate type work. The freedom of being able to work at my own pace, on my own schedule, and on things that I actually WANT to work on is invaluable to me.

Being able to create my own schedule is also extremely important, because I am a mother of two boys, and I also have a little farm full of rescue animals to take care of (that is where all the money from my business goes). Now, more than ever, the ability to work at home and on my own schedule is so important because i never know when we will be doing “home school” for a week or two. Don’t have time to paint this week? That’s fine, because I am my own boss.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I took a photography class as an elective in college, and I enjoyed it so much that I took in up as a hobby and got pretty good at it! Friends and family started asking me to take photos for them, and after a while the feedback i was getting was “you need to charge for this.” So, i started doing portrait and event photography part-time while also attending school and working. After college, I kept up with it as a side hustle, and after my first son was born I quit my day job and continued to keep up my business (since it allowed for the flexible schedule that I needed). It was a long and sometimes hard road, but I became well established in my area, and it was a good supplemental income for our family.

After a few years I began to feel burnt out (particularly by weddings), and I started slowly moving away from portrait and event work and focusing more on the artistic side of things. While I got a lot of positive feedback on my work, I learned pretty quickly how difficult it is to make any money this way… trying photo prints just wasn’t working. That is when I started getting creative and dabbling in mixed-media art. Anyone can snap a photo and have it printed at little expense, so I took it in a different direction. I began taking my photos and putting them on things like old cabinet doors or furniture pieces (that I would also hand paint) to create one-of-a-kind, functional art pieces. This has also led to creating paintings and other crafts and an entirely new business that offers a wide variety of items (I even sell plants sometimes now). I love the freedom of being to make whatever I want and not having to stick with only one art form, and I also love being able to recycle old items and give them new life.

I most recently decided to combine my passion of animal rescue into my business, since my animals are where all my money was being spent on anyway. The theme here is, with a little love and creativity you can take an old piece of wood…or a business…or an even an unwanted pet with a disability… and give it new life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am in a more rural area (Hereford AZ), so if a friend was visiting I would venture out and take them hiking on some of the beautiful trails in the mountains near by. Day trips to places like Tombstone, Kartchner Caverns, and Bisbee are always great fun as well! For dinner, I would take them to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Ricardos, or maybe wine at one of the wonderful vineyards in Sonoita.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people that deserve recognition in my story, particularly my husband, Ryan. He helps with everything from the business side of things to assisting me with animal care, carrying heavy things, being a sounding board for my ideas, watching the kids, having a “real” job that pays the bills…. you name it he does it! He supports me in every way possible and I would not be able to do any of it without him (I am literally about to have him proof read this) .

I also have an amazing group of family and friends that help me with animal care, emotional support, and business related things as well. My parents, my friends, my kids, my sister and sister-in-law, and anyone who has ever purchased things from me and supported me…. words cannot express my gratitude to all these people in my life.

Instagram: @misskatsmenagerie

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misskatsmenagerie

Other: @misskatlamotte on TikTok

Image Credits
Photo Credit for the 2nd Photo (me with my Animals) is Pete Mecozzi Photography The rest are my own Photos