My Story

My name is Katherine Babcock this is my story.

From the age of six I knew that I wanted to be an artist. I spent endless hours drawing in my notebooks and constantly looking at the world from an artist’s eye. As time went on, my goal of being an artist faded with the growing doubt that one could ever make a living as an artist.

Jump forward several years (but not too many! I am not that old :P) and I headed off to art college because I simply didn’t know what else to do with my life. I spent three years studying art when all of a sudden my major changed from painting to motherhood.

I ended up leaving art college and with becoming a mother to a beautiful daughter, creativity took on a new form, along with my mental health. Time passed, I eventually met my husband and found myself diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Life was totally upside down, but in the thick of it I still found a way to create. My mom had an old sewing machine and learning how to quilt was always on my list of things to do. Paint brushes were replaced with miles and miles of colourful fabrics and notions and thus I began my journey as a quilter.

That came to an end when my quilting studio was needed to become a bedroom for our soon to be born twin boys. If I thought life was totally upside down before, I was so sadly mistaken. Life was now full blown crazy and my creativity took a back burner in the basement of my mind. I moved through the busy days with countless diaper changes and sleepless nights longing to have that creative outlet. (There was more than one time that I snuck down in the middle of the night and used my daughter’s finger paints and art easel just to paint something!)

I would draw from time to time but there was nothing great enough to feed the hunger in my soul or quiet the negative voices in my head. I was not in a good place mentally that worried me. I turned to exercise, praying that would fill the void, it didn’t. Then lo and behold, we were now expecting our fourth child. This was my breaking point.

I had full on prenatal depression. I had 3 small children depending on me and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and never escape. My soul ached and my heart felt broken. What had happened?!

Then, I remembered the part of me that I had forgotten for so long. I am a painter. I am an artist! My six year old self jumped for joy when 24 years later I had figured it out! On the days where the sadness consumed me, I painted until my mind went numb. On the days when I just couldn’t sleep, I painted until my eyes would no longer stay open. On the days when I just didn’t think I could make it until the end, I painted and painted and painted. I lit my soul on fire with exactly what I needed.

Now, I am not claiming that painting can heal depression, it was just what I turned to help me come alive again. As time went on and my painting happened more than it didn’t, my wonderful, supportive husband suggested that I start selling my work. West Island Designs was born. From a childhood dream and prenatal depression I came to realize the truth about me. That I am an artist.

Thank you for joining me on this journey! I hope you receive as much joy looking at my paintings as I do creating them.