To build a world of her own, Kathleen Marcotte uses pens, brushes, pencils and paint, rather than construction machinery. She populates that world with sassy characters who follow her orders and cater to her every whim: in Kathleen's world, Kathleen rules.

We asked Kathleen a few questions. Here's what she had to say:

Tell us more about this world of Kathleen, where sassy characters follow your orders & cater to your every whim. Who are these characters, where did they come from & how is it that you have such great dominion over them?
I guess these characters come from doodles. They're usually based on a mood or attitude I want to express. As I'm drawing a character I'm imagining that character's story. I think of that character's personality: his likes, his dislikes. This sounds kind of silly, but I also like to think of what they're saying when I'm drawing them and what their voices sound like. It really helps me give the character attitude. I think my stylized animals are influenced by the personalities of friends, family, or just random people that I've met.

We sense that your world of characters is expanding in exciting ways, all by your own hand. Where do you hope all this is going?
I had a great time this summer inventing new characters. I hope to continue having fun expanding my "world of characters" in my sketchbook and with class assignments. It's really exciting attending a college that gives you the opportunity to test out your ideas and experiment with different mediums. I'm using this time to continue to find successful and fun ways of working. Hopefully my characters' range of expression will expand as well.

What is your best dream?
I actually have trouble remembering my dreams. I think it's because my dreams tend to be collage-esque, bouncing around from one random scene to the next. I tend to only remember snippets of dreams. I really want to try keeping a dream journal because I've heard that helps you remember your dreams. I love the dreams where I'm doing something that's not possible in reality or when there's a celebrity cameo. Last year during finals week, I had a dream where Tim Gunn, from Project Runway, was helping me finish up a final project for my middle school home ec class.    

When you are in the middle of a project & things are going well- -no, VERY WELL- -how do you feel when you are making that art? What is this like for Kathleen Marcotte?
It feels amazing! When everything just clicks, I get really focused and I tend to lose track of time. There is a lot of planning and drafting that goes on before I begin working, but my favorite stage of the process is the part that you just described. It's when you are in the middle of the project and you can see your idea coming to life. If the piece had been frustrating up until this point, it reminds me of why I love creating art.

Your cats in the Sep/Oct issue of Cicada really remind me of someone I once met. She looks an AWFUL lot like you, Kathleen. Is she related to you in some way? What's her story?
They always say that artists tend to draw themselves when doing portraits of other people, but I didn't realize this rule applied to felines. She's based on a lot of different cats I've met in my life. Cats have that look like they know something that you don't know. I wanted to give this character that quizzical expression.

If I had 10 bucks in my pocket & I was in your neighborhood, where would
you tell me to go for an awesome bite to eat & why do you like this place?
When I'm in Baltimore, one of the favorite spots is the Papermoon Diner. It's a funky little diner with really great food. When I go to a restaurant, I go for the whole experience. The diner is decorated from floor to ceiling with toys, posters, furniture, bicycles, etc. There's constant visual stimulation. Even the bathroom is brightly painted and holds the same funky aesthetic. All of the dishes have creative names, and they serve a lot of different types of food. Plus, they serve my favorite meal of the day (breakfast) all day long!

If you could post a message on a big billboard in a major city where lots of people would see it every day, what would the billboard say?
It would probably say, "Don't sweat the small stuff." It's advice that I need to remember to take. It's easy to stress over the little things that come up, but at the end of the day they usually don't matter. I think if everyone practiced this little saying, we would all be much happier and kinder to one another.