Artists have been a major part of Cat Town’s identity — from the murals on our walls to the portraits created to help promote the cats who have been with us the longest. These contributions have helped us in our mission to save Oakland’s at-risk shelter cats. Today, we’re highlighting one such artist, Kara Kansaku.
““It’s important to have passion projects outside of your day job (or client work) to keep life balanced.”
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Art by Kara Kansaku
Cat Town: What made you become an artist?
Kara Kansaku: I have been drawing and making crafts since I was little. I moved from Honolulu, Hawaii to the Bay Area in 2009 to attend the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) for Graphic Design, and attended California College of the Arts (CCA) for my undergraduate in Printmaking. During school, I took a variety of classes that range from design, sewing, and screen printing since I love learning different ways to create images.
CT: What inspires your art, and what artists have influenced you?
KK: Things that happen throughout the week tend to be my source of inspiration. I scribble and write notes of my train of thought a lot (usually on sticky notes), and having a very dramatic Siamese with quirky habits at home is an amazing source of inspiration.
As for other artists, Yoshitomo Nara is an artist that I've followed ever since I saw a solo exhibition in 2006. He's best known for his paintings of sweetly sinister looking children and animals. Nara helped influence me in seeing art as a form of meditation. Horitomo (a tattoo artist famous for Monmon Cats) and Konatsuya are artists who also share my love for cats in their work, and I love their line work and color palette. I'm also a big fan of autobio comics, and draw a lot of inspiration through people's stories. As of late, I've been reading comics by Lucy Knisley, fishball, and Johnny Wander.
This sketch perfectly captures her cat’s mood after a long week.
CT: How did you first get involved with Cat Town?
KK: I adopted my cat, Bee (formerly Dawson), during a time of transition for me, and seeing him grow from such a distressed state to the cozy cat he is now inspired me to further support and give back to the Cat Town. I started out volunteering during closed days to help socialize the cats. While helping out with a photoshoot, I mentioned that I would be more than happy to do design or illustration projects. Along with designing this shirt, I also illustrated and designed some signage for the Adoption Center.
CT: Have you always loved cats?
KK: My mom is a huge cat lover, and that definitely was passed onto me. I grew up in a two cat one dog household (there was even a rabbit at one point). When I go on trips and there's no resident cat around, it feels really strange! When I finally moved into an apartment that allowed pets, I immediately went out to adopt a cat.
Kara designed this shirt for our 2018 Second Chance Soirée. It’s been popular ever since!
CT: You've made a few portraits for cats in search of hero adopters. What inspired you to help those cats?
KK: When I was younger, I went to the animal shelter with my mom to look for a kitten companion for our other cat. We were in the room full of kittens, and my mom noticed under the bench, there was a grey tabby hiding from everyone. She scooped him out and the rest is history — he ended up being a member of the family for 18 years! My mom giving a scared kitten a chance inspires me to show people how wonderful all cats can be, even if they need a little extra TLC.
Cat Town alum Buffy with her artwork.
CT: What is it like to see people wearing a shirt that you designed?
KK: It's surreal to see my design out in the wild!!! Thank you so much to everyone who has purchased a shirt!
CT: Do you have any advice for artists looking to get more involved with their community?
KK: It never hurts to call or send an email that you would like to volunteer your services! I believe that it's important to have passion projects outside of your day job (or client work) to keep life balanced, and community based work is an amazing way to fulfill that.
You can find Kara’s work on Instagram at @eykansaku, and find her Transforming Cat Rescue shirt in our online store. Do you have an artistic side? Perhaps your talents can help save a life! If you have an idea how your art can help Cat Town, reach out to us at volunteer@cattownoakland.org.