Kaia Bachmeier

Interview by Doris Abdolian Edited and Transcribed by Maya Ash

Grade

11

Mediums

2-D Art, Metal Arts

Classes Taken at Harriton

IB Visual Arts, Ceramics, Metal Arts

Self Introduction

Hi I'm Kaia and I am a junior! I spend my free time drawing, reading, or hanging out with my friends, though I don't have much free time as an IB scholar ;). I love animals and anything nature-related (hiking, camping, the beach, etc). I am also a coxswain on the Harriton crew team and am part of the mock trial and debate teams. I enjoy using art as an emotional outlet and mostly draw portraits.

Interview

DA: What is your favorite medium to create with?

K: I primarily work with graphite, metals, and printmaking. I also like drawing portraits. 

DA: Are there any media you experiment with more than others?

K: Yeah, I would say metals. I like to experiment because there is so much you can do with metal and create. I took it for a semester, and I enjoyed it.

DA: What was it like working with metals?

K: Working with metals was difficult and came with lots of struggles.

DA: What is an art style you find underrated?

K: Underrated? Probably printmaking. 

DA: Why do you say that?

K: Not enough people experiment with it or even know what it is. There is so much you can do with it. 

DA: What other art styles are you interested in?

K: I try to dabble in painting a little. I am determined to improve at painting, even though it is difficult. 

DA: What introduced you to painting?

K: During Covid, I had a phase where I was painting a lot, but I was not great at it. This year, I am in the IB program. I have been encouraged to experiment with many different things, so I did acrylic and watercolor.

DA: Who are your favorite visual artists and inspirations?

K: I like Turner. I love his work—mostly his landscapes—he also has a lot of watercolor landscapes that I love and a lot of graphite sketches.

DA: Is that who you derive your inspiration from, or do you get inspiration from other places?

K: I get inspiration from other places, but Turner is my main inspiration because he has worked in so many mediums, so I can get inspiration from him no matter what I am working on.

DA: You said that you are in IB. What is your thematic exploration?

K: My common thread is emotion, and I picked that because I have always struggled to express feelings and differentiate between things I am feeling, and art, for me at least, does that. 

DA: How do you develop your ideas to create that artwork?

K: My ideas usually come from personal experiences, things I have trouble processing or something I want to process even further. They can be events happening to me currently or ideas I am entertaining.

DA: Do you plan on incorporating art in the future?

K: I don't know, not as a career or anything, but art is an effective way to express emotion, and I want to continue it as a hobby. 

DA: How do you think your artistic journey will develop or evolve?

K: I'm not sure, I'm excited to find out, but I hope to continue experimenting and learning how to do new things with art and things that I might not be so good at.

DA: Do you think the IB program helped you see a new way of visualizing art?

K: Yeah, for sure. IB encourages students to experiment and go beyond the boundaries of what they do with their art, which is super helpful. It has also inspired me to think about different ways of creating art.

DA: Okay, now I will ask you five less art-focused questions. What is your taste in music?

K: Honestly, everything, except Country.

DA: What is your favorite high school memory that you have?

K: I do not know. I think about the new relationships and memories I made with my friends. 

DA: Do you have a favorite place in the Philadelphia area?

K: I really like Manayunk. I think it is underrated and that people should go there more.

DA: What would you do if you could be anyone or anything?

K: I would want to be a fish.