Submitted photo
At 17 years old, Karina Collins has a cult following of celebrities who have her art in their homes, including Alice Cooper, left.
POLAND — At 17 years old, Karina Collins is not just a naturally talented local artist alone, but she fully lives the artist lifestyle as well.
Describing herself as “the Honorary Goth,” when Collins creates a body of work, she strives to give audiences that shock factor, creating the kind of art that turns heads and makes people think.
“I love all things shocking and controversial. I live in Poland, and it is a small modest community, but I love shocking people. I love it when people give me interesting looks when I walk out in full trad goth clothes,” she said. “I am fascinated with subcultures, and I love expressing myself as an artist.”
Major influences on her work include music and goth subcultures, the latter of which is incorporated in varying tones throughout her art.
There’s also a holiday that allows Collins to fully immerse herself in the creativity.
“Every Halloween I love dressing up in a grotesque intense costume, and every year my neighbors look forward to my Halloween costumes. They never saw anything like my costumes before,” she said.
Despite growing up in Poland, Collins grew up around a lot of old-school punk, post-punk and new-wave music. Her father, Dr. Jim Collins, has an impressive vinyl collection and has played in a few local bands in the past.
When she was young, Collins would go through her father’s vinyl collection and try to draw the album covers. In addition to being a visual artist, Collins also plays the guitar.
The first musician her father “introduced” her to was David Bowie, and her first concert was KISS at the Covelli Centre, followed by another, seeing the Violent Femmes with Echo & The Bunnymen.
Her love of the arts led to an impressive fan following.
She’s created portraits and artwork for William Shatner, Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier), all of the members of KISS and the cast from the series “Ancient Aliens,” to name just a few.
When it comes to art, her go-to mediums include oil painting, oil pastels, oil-based colored pencils, digital art and graphite.
Before diving into her art, Collins wanted to pursue a more political path up until last year, when she began winning awards for her creations.
“At the time, I figured I was pretty good at art, but I figured I could also do political commentary,” Collins said. “Then I figured I could kill two birds with one stone, and I could do the political commentary a lot better with my art.”
For Collins, Dutch filmmaker, writer, artist and actor Tom Six is a huge inspiration on her artwork.
Collins has won numerous awards for her artwork in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and in the Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition, which she placed in the Top 100 in Ohio. In her freshman year at Ursuline, Collins got her work in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Exhibition in New York City.
She said that the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards goes from grades 7 through 12, and students are required to enter their work into this show. Collins said that every year she tries to enter as many mediums as she could to showcase her diverse talents.
Collins was recently accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia.
To suggest a Friday profile, contact Metro Editor Marly Reichert at mreichert@tribtoday.com or Features Editor Ashley Fox at afox@tribtoday.com.
