Katherine Klimitas

Katherine Klimitas is a New Orleans-based artist and designer who sold her first watercolor at age 10. As the daughter of veterinarians, Katherine expresses her family’s life-long love of animals through her meticulous life-like paintings. She earned a B.A. from Loyola University in 2011, and today at age 30, runs her multifaceted business KAK ART & Designs from home. When clients learn that Katherine has Osteogenesis Imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease, they are captivated by her unique perspective. She’s 2 feet 7 inches tall, gets around in an electric wheelchair, and creates all of her art, jewelry and commercial graphic design while lying on her side.

“Looking Up” is a glimpse into Katherine’s world, a world unlike most. Because she spends most of her time in an electric wheelchair due to her physical condition, she spends a lot of her time looking up. Though the book began as her college senior project, it evolved shortly thereafter into her story, complete with anecdotes, humor, and powerful photography.