Haiga Showcase: Katja Fox

Commentary by Ron C. Moss, Haiga Editor

This is the second time Katja’s work has been featured in a Showcase Gallery, and this new selection shows how she continues to grow as an artist. I always look forward to her new work; in it, I see the passion, creativity, and sheer hard work that ultimately produces joy. As she explains in her artist’s statement below, her haiga stems from moments that have touched her deeply, and it’s easy to see that love in all her creations.

In I dream we have two separate painted images, each abstract. But, like all great haiku, the individual components come together to express what it is to be alive and in the creative flow. What better way to dream than in dancing brushstrokes!

And what joy to see, in family ties, a paper sculpture that also has finely inscribed motifs and brushstrokes. What imagination! The senryu has wonderful associations and links to the sculpture, and the feeling of connection is well portrayed on many levels.

cherry petals offers a simple and very delicate rendering of the classical motif, with just enough brush strokes of colour and black ink to capture the feeling in the haiku.

While Katja’s haiga could be described as minimal expressionism, and when we held her defies description. The image unveils new impressions at every viewing, and the haiku is full of the same mystery. I’m left somewhat in awe of her vision, which rather than explain I can only applaud.

Katja Explains in Her Own Words…

I create haiga because I have the need to express a feeling, based on moments in my life that have touched me deeply.

I begin by selecting a material, sometimes paint, fabric, or even metal, that enables me to make a piece that confers with my initial experience.

The finished object then dictates the words for the complementing poem.

When occasionally it all comes together and I have given Gestalt to a moment, by literally cradling the moment in the palm of my hand, I can move on.

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About the Artist

Katja Fox is a full-time visual artist, who lives in Cambridge, UK. She loves creating short-form poetry, especially haiga. She also enjoys hiking and playing Mahjong with friends and family.