My Day with Kosmik Kandy
Meet Kandy: a beautiful, wonderfully creative, and kind artist in Seattle, WA.
I first met Kosmik Kandy at a Starbucks about a month ago. I was immediately struck by her sense of style. Kandy is always changing her makeup, her hair, her nails, and her clothes–everything colorful, creative, and unique. That’s the kind of person she is: a true artist and innovator.
But, it’s when you walk into Kandy’s apartment that you see her true passion: painting. Kandy is an art and business student hoping to open her own gallery, and it shows. Yesterday, she showed me a presentation with her business plan. The gallery will be called Kosmik. It’s purpose: bringing together smiles and new friendships. She said she wanted “people to feel included,” that Kosmik would be a “safe space for people to be themselves and express themselves.”
Kosmik will offer art classes and chances for upcoming local artists to feature their art each month. What makes Kandy’s gallery different from other art galleries in Seattle? She will have an inexpensive, monthly membership for artists to attend shows and receive newsletters on art promotion and upcoming competitions in Seattle and beyond! Kandy’s vision of art and artwork is truly inspiring and would open up a world where artists are valued as creators and welcomed into a vibrant community. In a land where art is often taken less seriously than other careers, such as tech (something Seattle is especially famous for), it was awesome for me to hear Kandy talking about the world she is already creating through her own artwork and all her future plans for Kosmik. She even spoke about wanting to host poets and musicians in her gallery.
Kandy is also a fierce mental health advocate. In fact, she intends to start a program at Kosmik offering “free therapy for youth and poeple who can’t afford it.” For now, she posts about her own experiences with bipolar disorder on social media (you can follow her on Instagram(see the link above) to join her on her mental health journey and learn all about bipolar disorder and how it affects her creative work. Kandy also has a YouTube channel and hopes to post more about bipolar disorder, her art, and also her wellness-centered lifestyle. Hear a brief synopsis of her diagnosis and post-diagnosis life by clicking the links below:
Kandy’s wellness routine includes vegan eating and a dedicated exercise plan. Watch her talk about veganism and even make me a meal!
Beyond the gym, one way that Kandy stays fit is by hula hooping. She makes hula hooping into its own art form. Much like many types of dance, her hula hooping involves jumps, spins, and impeccable choreography. Unlike most dances, Kandy has to worry about the wind, which makes it “more difficult.” Watch a performance I recorded below. I was awesome to watch and particularly impressive because of how windy it was! Kandy likes to play music while she hula hoops and overlay special effects that give the viewer an even more magical, unique experience.
Check out Kandy’s artwork along with some great insights she had for each piece.
“I love stuffies. I thought: Wow, what would be a fun way for me to carry a stuffy everywhere and not make me self-conscious? It’s a purse, so you don’t look terrible out in public holding a stuffy.” The rainbow is actually the logo of Kosmik and represents “positivity, inclusivity, and freedom to be yourself.”
Kandy painted this portrait of Frida Kahlo two months ago. “I started thinking outside of myself,” said Kandy. “I paint my psyche or myself, typically.” This time, Kandy decided to instead “pay honor to an artist that [she’s] inspired by.” She immediately thought of Kahlo, whose story resonated with her. “Through her great tragedy she was still painting.” Kahlo taught Kandy that, “You shouldn’t stop living because tragedy happens.” Kandy’s boyfriend Will helped her refurbish the frame, originally thrifted from Goodwill. “I had a lot of fun with it. I really like spray paint.”
“My art pallet tells a story of all the pieces I’ve made. It’s just laid out in the sun to dry out basically. I don’t clean it even though I should. It gives it character!”
Will also put together a dresser and suitcase for Kandy. The suitcase is “to carry all the Kosmik merch.”
Speaking of Kosmik merch, Kandy has tons of fun things on Etsy and that she plans on one day selling at her gallery as well. “I really like this one!” she said, pointing to a necklace that says “Queen of hearts.” Kandy was nice enough to give me one of her necklaces, which has flowers and alternating yellow and white beads.
Kandy’s rave wear bikini sets all have names!: Moo moo set. Heart on ice. Unicorn set. Kosmik butterfly set. I asked Kandy if they were waterproof and she said no, more for wearing to concerts, raves, and festivals.
This painting is called Universal Love. “I felt like I was getting depressed and lonely.” Kandy explained that the painting is a depiction of her “heart feeling lonely.” Space is a frequent theme in Kandy’s artwork and brand, some of which says, “Space queen.” “I like space,” Kandy said.
“She was a Mexican singer, essentially a pop star, but she did traditional Mexican music.” Kandy explained that people still wear shirts and buy merch with Quintanilla’s face printed on it. “She’s an icon. When I was a little gir,l I watched her movie and listened to her music. Her vocals are so powerful.” To Kandy, Quintanilla stood for a strong, powerful Latina woman. “I’m a mix of Frida, who was this homey, down to earth, no makeup person–all about her art, love, and passions–and of Selena, who was all about performing and show, being a star.” Quintanilla’s manager killed her when she was 24.
This painting is called “the psyche.” Kandy wanted to paint her intrigue with the human mind. The cloud “signifies the place I was in at the time, as though I was foggy and looking for clarity. I study psychology when I need clarity. I actually took the max number of classes you can take as an art major.”
This painting began when Kandy decided she wanted to paint her depression, hence the dark background. “As I started painting, I realized I didn’t’ want to birth something negative. I wanted to birth life, give life, so I thought–how do I represent that—a baby!” The painting can also be construed as the inner child wanting to be seen.
“So fun!” said Kandy when I pointed out the mannequin in the corner of her apartment. Fashion design has been close to Kandy’s heart since high school, when she did a fashion show. The outfit on the mannequin is “just supposed to be cute but casual. It’s inspired by a Bratz doll. I asked myself, what’s something that’s bratty and cute but really feminine and girly?”
“This collection I started because I was thinking of how to expand my brand awareness for Kosmik Kandy. I want it to stand out.” Kosmik is “all about being colorful.” So, Kandy thought, “I need to get white sweatshirts and tie dye.” Afterwards, Kandy ironed on the lettering. “That was really fun! I did that all here!” Kandy actually sewed a pair of pants as well to go with the collection.
“Originally I put [the ivy] up to make YouTube videos on mental health.” The ivy would be the background to Kandy’s videos. “ I want to do that still!”
“This is called the Slaying of Medusa. It’s my spin on a modern Medusa that lives in many people. People get obsessed with money. Sometimes it can drive you insane. I have an idea for a new one with money. I’ll tell you about it later!”
This painting’s title is “Rage.” “This was a very manic painting of mine. I had so many ideas for one painting. It’s a mash up of many ideas if you look at it. If I’m more manic I tend to spray paint, so I just started going at it.” Kandy explained that the girl in the ice cube is meant to be her, and the hand is the hand of society. The face with the tongue is the female of society. “Hyper-sexuality happens when I’m manic sometimes.”
“At the time I was modeling a lot, exploring my own body. I believe I was high when I painted this! I smoke weed medicinally. So, that’s where the green smoke comes in.”
Someone bought “the trippy dancers” but haven’t picked it up yet. “This one was when I first started dancing here in Seattle just by myself. I used to take dance classes at gyms. I started meeting and being inspired by dancers. Jazz, ballet, contemporary, a lot of dance forms inspired my hula hooping.” The painting depicts Kandy’s admiration of all the different dancers she’s met.
“These are resin pour abstracts. I thought: You know what, I want to paint but just pour paint! I needed something to come out. Then I played with the colors, added some shine and sparkles.”
This painting is called “Time for Meds.” “I just sold and need to ship this asap. I painted it a day after I missed my meds and started to slip.” Kandy decided that, in that moment, she had to paint something to remind herself. “Ironically, because it sold it won’t be around her to remind me. I should paint another one!”
“It’s called While the World was burning. I painted this one in the first few months of Covid.” The painting represents Kandy trying not to fall into a depression by seeing everything through “heart-shaped glasses,” “love and positivity.”
“It’s named after the Lizzo song. So, it’s me being grandiose and confident with myself!” When I pointed out the yellow and blue sides of the painting, Kandy said, “Yeah, it’s double-sided! That’s before I was diagnosed!”
“That one was me coming out of a depression and I actually dreamt God and God coming to me. This was during an episode. I dreamt God came to me and said he had given me tools (my art) to use to better the world. I ran with that for a whole week and told everyone that God came to me and said these things to me.”