Citizen Spotlight: Kat Mckown

*Kat McKown loves to be surrounded by the wonderful art at her Bohemian Sage Gallery (photo S Jason Cole).*

Kat McKown was a creator from a young age, naturally drawn to the arts she loved to draw and paint especially fashion. Her mother recognized her talent early in her life and felt like she might have a career in art. She submitted some of Kat’s work to an art academy via mail, and the results were not encouraging. The “experts” said that Kat had no future in art. The experts were wrong. Although it took her a while, Kat found her way back to art.

Kat grew up in Camden and Orrick and was a sophomore at Orrick High School during the historic tornado in January of 1967. At the time of the tornado, Kat was in the women’s locker room during PE class. Because it was January the tornado was very unexpected. Kat said they heard the signature sound of a freight train, suddenly the window blew in and rain blasted into the room. Her friend Barb grabbed her and swung her into the shower. At the end of the event, two high school students were killed, a freshman and a senior. Although the high school was completely destroyed the adjacent elementary was left almost completely untouched.

Kat married at the age of 17 and had two children. By 30 she had divorced and lived in both Kansas City and Warrensburg for a time. While in Warrensburg she scratched her creative itch by opening her own hair salon. Kat then moved to Washington state and lived on the Colville Indian Reservation for two years before returning to Excelsior Springs in 2005.

While in Washington State she had a curious awakening of her artistic spirit. A beloved 18-year-old pet cat passes away while she was living there in the evergreen state. When she was preparing the grave she and her friends uncovered a large smooth stone. “I told them, ‘don’t toss that aside. I’m gonna make a tombstone for her,’” she recalled. She went to the hardware store and got some paint and brushes and painted a striking likeness of her cat on the stone. “It was just like something took over my hands when I painted that cat and then just kept on going,” Kat laughed.

*Much of Kat’s art features nature, animals, and feminine portraits. (photos S Jason Cole).*

She painted on drums, and rocks and began going to art fairs selling her work. When she moved back to Excelsior Springs she kept pushing forward with her artistic passion. In 2017 Kat opened Bohemian Sage Art Gallery with her friend Laurie Ahart. Since 2005 Kat has had to split her energy between hair styling and working at the gallery but she plans to retire from hair styling later this year and give her sole focus to the gallery.

In 2020 the pandemic shutdown took a toll on their tourist-driven business. But things are starting to click again. Bohemian Sage now is home to more than 30 local artists all with unique styles and approaches. There are paintings of course but there is also pottery, woodworking, textiles, jewelry, embroidery, and even crocheting.

*Painting by Kat McKown (photo S Jason Cole).*

Kat is also using her renewed artistic focus to pass on the love of art to a new generation, offering classes for youth and adults. She doesn’t want a child’s interests to ever be stifled the way her’s were. “Don’t ever tell a child, ‘you can’t do this.’ Because that’s what happened to me,” she stated. “Who knows where’d I’d be now if that hadn’t happened.”

Kat is excited to be a part of a resurgent downtown culture, providing a home for artists in a community that she hopes will become a haven for the arts. “I’m proud of where the downtown is going. Proud to be a part of it. And to all the people that are working to make Excelsior Springs better, I thank them, because it’s, it’s just getting better and better,” she concluded.