From the ALWAYS SPECTACULAR District of Columbia
I’m a self-employed, freelance graphic designer. At least I was one...
...for over three decades! But the busy-ness of my business took a downturn in recent years, due to several factors.
These days, I'm focusing more on my own art, or my own design-as-art and lifestyle-as-art, as somewhat explained in this website.
You should be able to reach me by e-mail at kathleencole@me.com.
My professional graphic design portfolio is located on Adobe’s Bēhance platform.
Where ya’ll from?
Since September of 1989, my apartment / home has been located near 16th & U Street, NW — just one block south of Meridian Hill / Malcolm X Park and 12 blocks north of the White House.
For over 10 years, I’ve maintained a Tumblr blog called “It’s art if I say so,” a quote from my favorite conceptual artist, Marcel Duchamp, as well as my answer to the eternal question “what is art?”
It’s not a lie to say my art is in the Smithsonian!
Or, at least, that it’s available to buy, exclusively through the experience of using an Art-o-mat® machine! Go find it on the 3rd floor of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) in Gallery Place / Chinatown.
While supplies last, the machine may feature the series EyeCloud and/or Looney Blooms.
Visit artomat.org for a full description of artist Clark Whittington’s “right smart” longterm conceptual art project.
I have a YouTube channel.
It’s made up of short clips from various concerts I’ve attended over the past few years, and is meant to demonstrate that DC is a very cool music city. Every clip is under a minute because otherwise I'm living in the moment.
The above photo is from the UK’s Lambrini Girls at the Howard Theater on 5/4/25.
Hello neighbor! My traffic control box art wrap at 12th & C Street, SW...
Hello neighbor! My traffic control box art wrap at 12th & C Street, SW...
...was installed in April 2025. It sits across from the Department of Agriculture and close to the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers.
The box was designed for SWBID, and features illustrations of some of SW’s “neighbors” living in and around the nearby rivers — crabs, heron, ducks, and striped bass (Rockfish).
The Traffic Control Box Beautification project is part of DDOT’s Arts in the Right-of-Way (AROW) program.
I make stylized geometric flowers using shrink film.
Hello neighbor! My traffic control box art wrap at 12th & C Street, SW...
Made from biaxially oriented polystyrene (BOPS film), commonly known as shrink plastic, the flowers are inspired by classic TV cartoons like Road Runner and The Jetsons. While supplies last, tiny versions of these flowers (named Looney Blooms) will be available in the SAAM Art-o-mat® machine in the coming fall/winter months.
A plan is in the works for me to lead a Beyond the Studio Workshop in the MacMillan Education Center of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) in early 2026. Check the link below for the latest.
I created a collection of fun and functional art-products.
Foremost for myself, but also because I hope other people will appreciate them and want to buy them.
The collection was conceived during the Covid-19 pandemic and realized thanks to my DIY-punk ideology and print-on-demand technology.
Some of my art-products were selected to be part of the 2024 Regional Juried Exhibition of the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital on Pennsylvania Avenue in Southeast.
I plan to auction my, and my late husband’s, combined art collections.
My long planned DC-music focused silent art auction is finally in the works, thanks to help from DC’s most rockin’ gallery — Lost Origins.
Check out the 30+ artworks up for auction.
Available exclusively through the experience of using an Art-o-mat machine! Like the one in SAAM!
My art-products collection is continually being improved and updated. Scroll horizontally to see the whole thing.
Timeline 1983-2010, 12 artworks, plus a set of 6 Raymond Pettibon SST Publications booklets.
Timeline 2011-2024, 14 artworks, plus Trevor Young’s Gulf gas pump turned floor lamp.